Newbie! Need advice

[GreenEyedMuse]

Hello all! I found this site through a youtube video and well, here I am. I am building a 12 x 16 coop and I need some suggestions. I am wanting to put a couple led lights in there, and also be able to run a heating plate for baby chicks ( would be 24hrs a day for 2 weeks, then only at night for 4 weeks, then off) twice a year for the heat. The most wattage the heat would be is 100 watts for an infared heater. The other heaters I am looking at are only 20 watts but do not have very good reviews. Could anyone give me some advice or direction on how big of a system I would need?

 

[MisterSandals]

wattage the heat would be is 100 watts for an infared heater.

100w x 24 hr = 2400wh
Assuming 5 hrs of full sun for charging, your array would be:

2400wh/5h = 480w of panels (assuming 100% efficiency, 600w better est.)

If you need to run 24h/day, then 19 hours have to come from battery:
2400 x 19/24 = 1900w from batteries.

A 200ah LiFePO4 battery has 2400wh so that's a good choice. If you have to run multiple days without solar charging, it will take more batteries.

If using lead acid batteries, using 50% discharge, would require 350-400ah batteries.

Make sense?

 

[GreenEyedMuse]

Thank you so much for the detailed information. Im so new to this but you broke it down so i can see how you came to those numbers. If I were to get 2 of the 200ah LiFePO4 batteries to be safe, how would I connect them?
I would need an inverter, something to monitor the batteries charge, anything else? Is there a brand you would recommend over others. I want to do it right but hoping not to break the bank. I got an estimate from a company and it was almost $7000

 

[MisterSandals]

I got an estimate from a company and it was almost $7000

Yow, that is out of line.

Lets get you up to speed with some info. Here is a system roughly what you are seeking. There are quite a few more videos (they're pretty easy and entertaining) on that "sister site" under the "more..." menu.

RV Solar Power Blue Prints

Building a vehicle mounted solar power system? Let me help.

www.mobile-solarpower.com

 

[GreenEyedMuse]

Thank you so so much! I almost had a heart attack when I saw that. I was thinking its just a chicken coop, i would hate to see the costs for a whole house if thats just a coop.

 

[thedodgersonline]

Thank you so so much! I almost had a heart attack when I saw that. I was thinking its just a chicken coop, i would hate to see the costs for a whole house if thats just a coop.

Hi GreenEyedMuse
It might be easier going down the road of a single integrated unit. Only downside is that you would need a weather proof enclosure (but you would probably need that anyway. Follow this link https://www.mobile-solarpower.com/all-in-one-solar-power-packages1.html
Regards

 

[GreenEyedMuse]

Hysolis Apollo 5K 240v Split Phase Setup Kit

1x AC Split Phase Y Cord (NEMA TT-30P to NEMA 14-50R) 1x 30″ Apollo Battery Cable 2x AC Sync Communication Cable This setup kit includes all the wires and cables you need to connect two Apollo units to provide 240 V AC Output.You will need one kit for each additional Apollo you purchase.

poweredportablesolar.com

Would this be an all in 1 kit that would work?

 

[thedodgersonline]

Hysolis Apollo 5K 240v Split Phase Setup Kit

1x AC Split Phase Y Cord (NEMA TT-30P to NEMA 14-50R) 1x 30″ Apollo Battery Cable 2x AC Sync Communication Cable This setup kit includes all the wires and cables you need to connect two Apollo units to provide 240 V AC Output.You will need one kit for each additional Apollo you purchase.

poweredportablesolar.com

Would this be an all in 1 kit that would work?

Hi
I do not have any personal experience with it so cannot give an informed opinion but it looks like it has all the bits and pieces. Personally I prefer the MPPSolar.

 

[GreenEyedMuse]

Thank you. Doing more research now. I greatly appreciate the information. At least now I have some numbers to look for ?

 

[Supervstech]

With the minor loads you are needing, the big expense needs to be the batteries. You don’t need the 1800W inverter of the titan.
You need 600W solar panels, and 400Ah batteries, a quality charge controller, and wire/fuses.
You should be able to build all this under $2000 if you are patient, and can order cells from China, under $1000 can be done... but it will take months to gather everything.

What is killing you is the 100watt continuous load. Having a shorter runtime will lower the demands from the battery.

 

[GreenEyedMuse]

So if i can find an efficient heater that doesn't use that kind of wattage that would help? Chicks need 95°the first week, and it decreases by 5° every week until 6-8 weeks. I only plan on hatching chicks in the summer so i should only need heat 3 weeks. I will research other heaters. There are some 20 watt ones, so i will see how well they are reviewed

 

[MisterSandals]

So if i can find an efficient heater that doesn't use that kind of wattage that would help?

Also reducing the need for that much heat with better insulation and heat retention (closed to outside air for example).
Power requirement reduction is usually far cheaper and easier than increased power/heat production.

 

[MisterSandals]

Here is a super insulated seed incubator in a styrofoam shipping box (lid too of course). Heat from 24’ of wire from an old heating blanket (13v x 5 ohm = 65w?). Cheap temperature controller ($3) that worked perfectly.
It was all an experiment that i thought was wishful at best but it worked 24/7 keeping the box at 85 deg for weeks.

Just an idea or two for you.

I am sure chicks are a little trickier and more mischievous than tomato plants.

 

[GreenEyedMuse]

That is awesome! The brooder area of the coop is being very well insulated. The heat lamps are less energy but the fire risk is so high so we wanted a safer heat. But i did not take into consideration the insulation. I can probably go down to a lower wattage heater and still maintain temps.

 

[Hedges]

How about going solar-thermal instead of photovoltaic?

You could get an evacuated tube solar collector system that has an insulated water tank at the top.
Add a 12V circulator pump, battery, charge controller, one PV panel, and thermostat to pump hot water through tubes or a radiator.

Here's one, for instance:

solarproductmaker.com

If you do go with electric heating, heat pumps are much more efficient that resistance heaters (at least when ambient temperatures aren't extremely cold.) Heat pumps are normally a large, expensive system requiring lots of power to operate. But a window air conditioner or cube fridge is a heat pump too, if you are on the warm side. Need to check some charts or engineering calculations, but I think power consumption could be 1/2 or 1/3 of resistance heating.

 

[Elevation]

I know this is a solar power site and Supervstech is a HVAC / Electrician. But since you need heaters 24/7, how far away is the chicken coop from residential electrical/grid ??