I didn't consider 12v lights for inside. Something to think about. I could run the inverter and set up a 12v fuse block to battery if I decide to add any 12V powered devices.You can have both an inverter and 12V fixtures are the same time. I do; seldom ever turn on a 120V light but they are there…
At the sub-1A level do 120V switches present any hazards? Almost all my 12V lights are on standard 120VAC wall switches. The only one that bothers me is the 120V twist-timer that switches my 6.5A 12V water pump and the 12V-3V DC 500mA power supply for the tankless water heater.
However, it mostly switches on a load, seldom if ever does it switch the load off (it’s mainly to make sure there’s no major water flow if a line breaks).
And upstream manufacturing LED light assemblies are so inexpensive that a) you can roll your own, and b) have plenty of spares on hand. RV hi/lo LED ceiling lights are ~$12-$20. Some of my lights are 10? milliamperes and the ceiling lights are like under 300mA on high.
It’s plenty inexpensive to have 12V lights and 120V also available.
I didn't think about having the outside security light wired to a switch to turn it on/off, just having it plugged into inverter. I ordered some 3 blade plugs and have some romex from an earlier project that I was going to use. I think I'll add a switch just inside the door. Like many motion security lights, it has selectable range and duration. I was planning on setting to small/medium range so it will kick on when I cross existing bridge by shed and having it kick off after 1 minute. Sometimes wildlife set off the existing battery powered light.
Now I need to find a small breaker box to connect the PV to so I can scale. I was thinking about something like this from homedepot - Homeline 125 Amp 12-Space 24-Circuit Indoor Main Lug Plug-On Neutral Load Center with Cover, Ground Bar
Solar panel to 30A charge controller to (30A) fuse to 100aH battery to breaker box to light switch to security light
Now, having breaker box, instead of wiring inverter to battery, wire inverter to breaker box.
wire shop light (pull chain switch) to breaker box.
Then I can ground solar panel to breaker box - is it ok to run ground wire in same conduit (buried) as pv wire?
When I bury the conduit, I'll leave in a rope to pull more cable.
In future, I can add more panels into charge controller and more devices (outlets, lights, etc) to the breaker box.
Thanks
Dan