12V LiFePo4 for shed

[ruralsolar]

So I have a small shed that really all I need is lighting for, inside and possibly motion sensing outside. I have 240Watt panel, 24AH LiFePo4 (without cold temp sensor) that was a gift and a solar charge controller that supports Li chemistry. I know I'll need a small heater pad to keep the battery from freezing, what I'm debating is the box to house this. I was thinking of buying something waterproof (even tho it'll be inside) and insulating that but then thought, is it nuts to use a 30qt cooler? Drill a couple holes for wire glands for the cables and be done with it? I can get a cooler that size for ~$30, 12v pad heaters for ~$20, controller for those ~$10. Seems like a no brainer versus buying or building something more purpose built?

 

[Rednecktek]

Cooler is the cheap and easy option. For a simple heater grab one of the little 12v heating blankets and snip the tip to run to eitger a simple 12v thermostat or a switch. Easy, cheap, effective.

 

[ruralsolar]

Cooler is the cheap and easy option. For a simple heater grab one of the little 12v heating blankets and snip the tip to run to eitger a simple 12v thermostat or a switch. Easy, cheap, effective.

Basically what I'm going for, also cooler option makes it easy to use somewhere else if needed

 

[ruralsolar]

So I did get as far as getting a cooler, little controller for temp with a 20 watt heater and a "master" switch mounted to the outside. No loads other than the heater and the thing worked well, battery when I checked it has been full and the temp appears to have never dropped well below freezing. I want to get a couple 12V lights setup for exterior and interior at least, want to get a small (300watt) inverter so I can charge my battery powered tools, thought might be better to spend the money on the 12V DC Charger and skip the inverter.

 

[chrisski]

So I did get as far as getting a cooler, little controller for temp with a 20 watt heater and a "master" switch mounted to the outside. No loads other than the heater and the thing worked well, battery when I checked it has been full and the temp appears to have never dropped well below freezing. I want to get a couple 12V lights setup for exterior and interior at least, want to get a small (300watt) inverter so I can charge my battery powered tools, thought might be better to spend the money on the 12V DC Charger and skip the inverter.

RVs use 12 volt lighting, so 12 VDC is an option.

If you have 24 VDC, there are still options, but not as many.

There’s even dual 12 VDC / 24 VDC LEDs.

You can even add USB charging points or get a DC connector for accessories.

Either way, DC lighting is a valud option and can save around 700 Wh per day on inverter idle draw and efficiency losses.