Solar powered lights

[Travis Kelcee]

Anyone else using solar to run their lights?

12k split phase off grid inverter
4500 watts of solar panels
45Kwh of LFP batteries

1 CMH light

 

[Creeperpark]

Anyone else using solar to run their lights?

12k split phase off grid inverter
4500 watts of solar panels
45Kwh of LFP batteries

1 CMH light

Thats exciting friend. Can you post a photo of your setup so we can see what it takes to run a CMH light with solar?

 

[exploziv]

How much did that cost to install? Do you pay any other electricity besides that?

 

[Travis Kelcee]

How much did that cost to install? Do you pay any other electricity besides that?

Inverter - $800
Solar panels (2000 watts) - $1700
2 - 48 Volt LFP batteries - $7000
Wiring - $700

I built the system to serve as my backup "generator" without solar panels originally. My location is horrible for solar or so I thought. Turned out I could get full power out of the solar panels 4 hrs a day on a sunny day. Cloudy days I get about 25%.

I run my critical loads off grid 24/7 , ie. 12k BTU mini split, refrigerator, freezer, lighting, CMH light, exhaust fan and internet. Electric Hot water heater, electric dryer, 30K BTU mini split and most of the light and outlet circuits still on grid. My electric bill is about 1/2 of what it was prior to the install. Roughly $100 - $150 a month which is pretty good considering the whole house is electric.

 

[Travis Kelcee]

Thats exciting friend. Can you post a photo of your setup so we can see what it takes to run a CMH light with solar?

I copied this setup, mine lives in faraday cage so you would not be able to see the system if I took a pic. It's completely covered with a military grade faraday cloth.

 

[Travis Kelcee]

I used higher quality, higher capacity batteries that what is shown in the pic above. Those 2 batteries have a higher Kwh capacity than the 6 batteries shown above. You don't need this much battery power to run a CMH off grid 24/7.

 

[Travis Kelcee]

How much did that cost to install? Do you pay any other electricity besides that?

Also should mention that you can operate in a gray area buy building your own solar "generator" as far as permits go. I've never heard of anyone being required to get a permit until it gets connected to your house electrical system. Tied in to a code compliant transfer switch you'd only have to get a permit for the transfer switch install, which would not include your solar "generator".

WORD OF CAUTION: 48volt batteries can kill you. The 2 I have are capable of outputting 400 amps. It's important to know what you are doing when it comes to DC power. Also proper grounding, surge and lightning protection of your solar panels to avoid fires.

Lithium Iron Phosphate is a much safer battery chemistry that what they use in EV's. So the risk of fire is very low compared to the occasional flaming Tesla you see on the news.

I ran circuits off the inverter output independent of house system and simply landed the new off grid outlets next to the existing ones where the freezer and other things were located.

I have a separate dual fuel portable generator that can run the rest of the house if the grid is down as well as charge the batteries in the event of 5 days or more of rain (no sun).


For anyone interested in learning more I suggest you follow Will Prowse on youtube.

https://www.youtube.com/@WillProwse

 

[Hiddenjems]

Taylor swift is ghey.

Sorry had to do it.

 

[Travis Kelcee]

Taylor swift is ghey.

Sorry had to do it.

And unattractive, both physically and spiritually.

 

[Hiddenjems]

And unattractive, both physically and spiritually.

I’ve always said she’s built like a 12 year old boy. Doesn’t seem to have a set of principles either.

 

[Orange's Greenhouse]

What is the plan here? For 10 k you can buy a whole lot of weed.
By the time your single light produced that much most components need replacement.

 

[Travis Kelcee]

What is the plan here? For 10 k you can buy a whole lot of weed.
By the time your single light produced that much most components need replacement.

If you read the thread you'd see I'm running my 75% of my house off grid."The Plan" is off grid power and back up power.

Now run along

 

[Orange's Greenhouse]

If you read the thread you'd see I'm running my 75% of my house off grid."The Plan" is off grid power and back up power.

Now run along

Thanks for clearing that up. It wasn't clear at all that you are talking about your house and not your grow. It is easy to confuse that since you talk in a subforum called "growroom design".

btw: some EVs use LiFePO batteries.

 

[Travis Kelcee]

Thanks for clearing that up. It wasn't clear at all that you are talking about your house and not your grow. It is easy to confuse that since you talk in a subforum called "growroom design".

btw: some EVs use LiFePO batteries.

Running a grow off grid has it's benefits. No one is going to spend $10k to run a couple 1000 watt lights.

But a lot of people spend $10k on a Generac whole house generator install. I imagine some growers have or are thinking about installing a backup generator. This is about another option that allows growers to power their house and grow/lighting off grid without fuel or electric utility costs.

Who knew a thread about an alternative multi use power source in lighting forum would confuse some folks.

 

[Orange's Greenhouse]

I don't really see the use case. The idea of off grid is attractive until you need replacement parts, food and other supplies or your neighbours see that you're the only house with lights.
To safeguard a grow a UPS to keep ventilation running (and odors low) is a cost effective solution. Plants survive days without light.
After 3 days without electricity there are other problems than weed.

 

[Hiddenjems]

If you read the thread you'd see I'm running my 75% of my house off grid."The Plan" is off grid power and back up power.

Now run along

I’d love to get a light meter under the light and over the solar panel to see what the efficiency is.

 

[Orange's Greenhouse]

I’d love to get a light meter under the light and over the solar panel to see what the efficiency is.

The solar panel has 10-15 % efficiency. The light has about 20-25 % conversion of electricity to useable light.
So its in the single digit percent range.

 

[Porky82]

Nice set-up. I've got a 6500w solar system but no battery storage.
I've got quotes for upto $16000 for 13kw of battery storage. My household uses an average of 45kw per day. So really not viable. I feed it back to the grid and get paid 7.5cpkw so very little.
I'm in Australia are you in America?

 

[Travis Kelcee]

Nice set-up. I've got a 6500w solar system but no battery storage.
I've got quotes for upto $16000 for 13kw of battery storage. My household uses an average of 45kw per day. So really not viable. I feed it back to the grid and get paid 7.5cpkw so very little.
I'm in Australia are you in America?

Yes I'm in the US



15 Kwh for $4700 US or $7200 AUD

48V304E-2 – Trophy Battery

 

[Travis Kelcee]

I don't really see the use case. The idea of off grid is attractive until you need replacement parts, food and other supplies or your neighbours see that you're the only house with lights.
To safeguard a grow a UPS to keep ventilation running (and odors low) is a cost effective solution. Plants survive days without light.
After 3 days without electricity there are other problems than weed.

Let me try again to explain it to you.

I live in the middle of nowhere. Neighbors and odors are not a thing for me. When we lose grid power it can take days to restore. So having a back up generator is essential to keep the lights, heat and appliances going where I live.

Most people use a portable generators or have a Generac type whole house generator installed. So they can have heat, lights, etc in the event of a blackout. We usually get a couple a year that last 24 hrs or more up to 10 days.

Portable generators are not designed to run continuously can use quite a bit of fuel.

An installed whole house generator with propane tank costs around $8k - $10k and use a lot of fuel.

My solar DIY backup generator cost around $9k, "fuel" is free.

Now if I had a portable generator or a whole house gen, using it in place of grid power to run a grow would be costly and stupid.

The same way it would be stupid not to take advantage of the free electric my DIY solar backup generator makes everyday.

Not sure why this is so hard to understand.