First Small solar garage project.

[GCWP]

Hi,
I am a student and still living in a rental place and would really like to get my feet wet into solar power systems.

I just watched a video on making a DIY milk crate solar power system which got me really interested. Because I don't own the place I want it to be portable too.

I have a one car garage to park my car and I would like to make a cheap DIY milk crate solar power system to charge my batteries for power tools and one or two lights in the garage.
I will mostly try to use most of the parts from the video.

I have a few questions,
will one solar panel still work even though I can charge the system using the grid?
Is one LIFe battery enough to charge the batteries for power tools and lights?

Thanks in advance.

 

[rmaddy]

Is one LIFe battery enough to charge the batteries for power tools and lights?

Without knowing how much power you need and what size LiFePO₄ battery you are referring to, there is no way to know.

The important first step is to work out how much power you need each day. From that you can work out what size battery you need. To work out your power needs, look at things you wish to power and see what their power requirements are. If you know how many watts a device uses you can then multiply that times how many hours per day you need to use it. For example, a 10W light for 5 hours per day uses 10W x 5 hours = 50 watt hours (Wh). Add up all of the watt hour needs for each device to get a grand total watt hours per day.

will one solar panel still work even though I can charge the system using the grid?

If you plan to charge via the grid, why bother with the solar setup? Just plug your tools into the outlet in the garage. It will save you a lot of money.

The primary benefit of making a solar generator is that you can use it and charge it without using the grid. If you only plan to use it where you have grid power it really serves no practical purpose other than being a fun learning project.