Questions about a building a small system to run a fan in my chicken coop

[Delphi014]

I have several questions I'll list below. Basically last year a long heat wave made some of my chickens sick and I want to build a system to run a fan in my 4x4x5ft chicken coop using some parts I already have; including:
Rockpals 60watt 18v solar panel
Weize 36ah 12v LiFePo battery

I have a lot of the wires plus a 4 Circuit fuse block and my plan is to get the Renogy 10 Amp 12V/24V PWM Solar Charge Controller. Then get 2 computer 12v DC cooling fans placed 4 feet apart that will be less than a combined 10 watts, all managed by and a temperature controller so that the fans turn on automatically when the coop gets too warm.

I am specifically looking at ones I found on Amazon:
GDSTIME 120mm x 25mm PWM 4PIN ComputerCase Fan, Powerful 120x120x25mm 12V DC Brushless Cooling Fan for PCCases, Radiators or CPU Cooler (2-Pack)
PWM Driver Module, DC 12V 24V 48V PWM4-Wire Fan Temperature Controller with Digital Display 2 ChannelTemperature Governor for PC Fan/Alarm



Question 1: Am I correct in assuming as long as everything is DC I can build this without getting an inverter?

Question 2: Is there a better way to have the fans automatically turn on with a temperature controller? I cannot find a 4ft 4pin extension to connect the fans with the controller I selected.

Question 3: I like being able to look at my phone to tell that my system is on and was looking at Shelly 1L because it can also act as a switch but if I want it to use it as a switch at the battery before going to the buss bar, amperage can be a problem. Is there a reliable 10a or 15a DC smart switches for under $30?

 

[Minimoose]

I have several questions I'll list below. Basically last year a long heat wave made some of my chickens sick and I want to build a system to run a fan in my 4x4x5ft chicken coop using some parts I already have; including:
Rockpals 60watt 18v solar panel
Weize 36ah 12v LiFePo battery

I have a lot of the wires plus a 4 Circuit fuse block and my plan is to get the Renogy 10 Amp 12V/24V PWM Solar Charge Controller. Then get 2 computer 12v DC cooling fans placed 4 feet apart that will be less than a combined 10 watts, all managed by and a temperature controller so that the fans turn on automatically when the coop gets too warm.

I am specifically looking at ones I found on Amazon:
GDSTIME 120mm x 25mm PWM 4PIN ComputerCase Fan, Powerful 120x120x25mm 12V DC Brushless Cooling Fan for PCCases, Radiators or CPU Cooler (2-Pack)
PWM Driver Module, DC 12V 24V 48V PWM4-Wire Fan Temperature Controller with Digital Display 2 ChannelTemperature Governor for PC Fan/Alarm



Question 1: Am I correct in assuming as long as everything is DC I can build this without getting an inverter?

Question 2: Is there a better way to have the fans automatically turn on with a temperature controller? I cannot find a 4ft 4pin extension to connect the fans with the controller I selected.

Question 3: I like being able to look at my phone to tell that my system is on and was looking at Shelly 1L because it can also act as a switch but if I want it to use it as a switch at the battery before going to the buss bar, amperage can be a problem. Is there a reliable 10a or 15a DC smart switches for under $30?

Amazon.com

We put 2 of these solar powered fans in my sons shed to help with the heat. They work pretty well when the suns out and move a decent amount of air. They slow down a bit when it gets cloudy. No battery needed though. At 4x4x5 ft. you could have one blowing air out and one drawing air in like we did.

 

[wme]

Go to Amazon and search for a Snap thermostat

 

[Delphi014]

Amazon.com

We put 2 of these solar powered fans in my sons shed to help with the heat. They work pretty well when the suns out and move a decent amount of air. They slow down a bit when it gets cloudy. No battery needed though. At 4x4x5 ft. you could have one blowing air out and one drawing air in like we did.

Did they do a decent job of keeping the room cooler? I, too, plan to have 1 input and one output fan. But I already have the battery and since we have loads of trees getting full sun may be issue, I figured why not.

 

[HarryN]

Do you really need it to be on a thermostat ?

Just buy a fan that runs on ~ 1 amp x 12 volt and connect it through a fuse block to everything.

Digikey has lots of fans. That is the place to buy items like that - not amazon.

 

[Delphi014]

Go to Amazon and search for a Snap thermostat

oooo. snap thermostat is a really cool concept. it seems like i would have to worry as much about faulty wiring and failure rates as much, as well.

 

[Minimoose]

Did they do a decent job of keeping the room cooler? I, too, plan to have 1 input and one output fan. But I already have the battery and since we have loads of trees getting full sun may be issue, I figured why not.

As long as the sun is out they move a surprising amount of air for the size, but if you need 24/7 air they may not fit your needs.

 

[Recovering EE]

If you include a battery, the fans will run after the Sun goes down (for a while), drawing in *cool* air, rather than warm.

A thermostat will not turn the fans on until after the coop gets above the set temp, so the power that would run the fans earlier in the day, instead goes to recharge the battery.

I did this in my garage, with an eyebrow vent, and used an automotive radiator fan. Loud, but boy, does it move air.

 

[cotter`]

Also many solar powered roof vent/fans. Could use an automotive type fan thermostat if so desired.

 

[Recovering EE]

Also many solar powered roof vent/fans. Could use an automotive type fan thermostat if so desired.

Those have anemic PV panels, often about 25 square inches. They move little air.

That's why I went with three 100W PV panels and an automotive radiator fan.

 

[cotter`]

Those have anemic PV panels, often about 25 square inches. They move little air.

That's why I went with three 100W PV panels and an automotive radiator fan.

I'll have to measure, thought it was about 12x12...

 

[Rednecktek]

So I did something similar many years ago with my ex's greenhouses. Evidently cooking plants is worse than freezing them so I rigged up some fans and a thermostat to a small battery and panel. Llights and temp controls needed the battery so they could work after sundown until the place got down to temp.

I found that Noctua makes a 120mm IP67 rated 12v fan so weather resistance was nice and Noctua is the bees knees in computer fans. I connected them to a super basic digital thermostat and it worked great. As far as wiring, the yellow (+12v) and black (-12v) can just get crimped/spliced/wire nutted to whatever wire you want to run.

I think I started with a little 15ah AGM because it was cheap and eventually replaced it with a little 20ah LFP when it died from too many dark winters.