I have no background in building any solar power kits. I am not looking to do a diy on a big kit to power many things or something like a shed. All I am looking to do is to power a single commercial quality outdoor light that would help in lighting a patio area. I rent, so I wanted a light rig that I can transport to another place if I move. Because solar power is wireless, I thought creating a portable solar kit for a outdoor light would be the best solution if I wanted something that could be moved easily. I see a lot of products sold on Amazon or other websites that are all-in-one solar outdoor lights with the solar panels (battery kit, etc.) included that use a remote to control them. They all seem to be cheaply made lights with cheaply made batteries that won't hold up over time. I thought with the purchase of good USA commercial quality LED light paired with a custom created solar power kit that has a quality battery would be the way to go. I am looking for some information on how I would go about doing this. I am surprised that there are no YouTube videos on a diy outdoor customized solar kit that is made to run just outdoor lighting. I would think that would be useful to some people trying to light areas a good distance away from their house. Especially people who own a lot of land, and who don't want to invest in cheaply made solar lights with commercial retailers. Again, any information on this would be greatly appreciated.
Trying to create a small solar kit to power a commercial quality outdoor solar light.
- Thread starter MikeJD
- Start date
sunshine_eggo
Happy Breffast!
First, define what you need to power, how much power it uses and then how many hours you want to run it.
Second, where will you put the solar panel? Ideally, you need sunrise to sunset exposure.
Third, how long do you want to be able to power the light in the event that solar is not available due to clouds, etc.
Second, where will you put the solar panel? Ideally, you need sunrise to sunset exposure.
Third, how long do you want to be able to power the light in the event that solar is not available due to clouds, etc.
This is the specs on the light I am looking to get. I am looking for a solar kit that could possibly power it within a 8 hour period if I need it on during a whole night, and charge over a day or two in the daylight if that is possible. I would have the panel face the south in a pretty open area about 10 feet off the ground.
- COLOR TEMPERATURE (CCT)4000K
- COLOR ACCURACY≥ 70 CRI
- DIMENSIONS11 13/16" L x 9 11/16" W x 6" H
- INPUT VOLTAGEUniversal (120V through 277V Operation)
- LIFESPANEstimated > 150,000 hours of maintenance-free operation to L70 at 25°C (77°F)
- LIGHT OUTPUT6300 Lumens
- MOUNTING DETAILSMounting sold separately - see accessories below on available options
- OPERATING TEMPERATURE MAXIMUM122°F (40°C)
- OPERATING TEMPERATURE MINIMUM-40°F ( -40°C)
- POWER CONSUMPTION40W
- REPLACES175W MH
sunshine_eggo
Happy Breffast!
Pick a DC bulb. I doubt you want to run an inverter to power a light bulb.
Just go to an off road 4x4 shop and look at light bars, maybe a couple smaller ones to make a floodlight pattern. Then match a lifepo4 battery for your 8 hr. use. A simple 20 amp charger would do.
I'm thinking one of the new 12v 100ah mini would be about right, unless you go nuts about the light
I'm thinking one of the new 12v 100ah mini would be about right, unless you go nuts about the light
JWLV
-.-. --.-
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Instead of building something or piecing parts together, you might want to consider a prebuilt solar street light.
A search on Amazon for "solar street light" returns hundreds of items. They are all self-contained. That is, it has the light, battery, solar panel, charge controller, bms, and whatever else they put in there.
A search on Amazon for "solar street light" returns hundreds of items. They are all self-contained. That is, it has the light, battery, solar panel, charge controller, bms, and whatever else they put in there.
I appreciate all of the feedback, but I was hoping to avoid an all-in-one solar street light because the solar panel is connected to the top of the light. I would like the solar panel to be separate with a wire connection due to me having to place the light in a different direction than the panel. So I guess I am looking for more of a flood light to use that can be connected separately to the panel through a wire. I was hoping to get something with more quality than the Amazon all-in-one solar flood lights because they come with cheaply made Chinese batteries. I could possibly change the battery out for a better one, but I have a worry about getting one of those lights off Amazon for many reasons including having to find a battery replacement. I have a feeling that I would have to toss the light out in the trash after a 6 month to year time frame because of the poor quality. Now, a truck light bar is an interesting concept. I see one online that has a IP67 protection grade on it with built in Osram led light chips (around 6,000 lumens - 3 watts for each light chip - 60 watt total / kind of fancy). Not sure if I could combine it with a certain type of charger and solar panel to power it, I would need more education on how to do that. I also trust Cree lights, but they don't make them as all-in-one with solar kits. Cree seems to only sell just the flood light fixtures. To add, I see other all-in-ones commercial solar lights on other sites than Amazon, but I have no idea if I can trust those dealers (Outdoor Solar Store as one example).
To add, I would love it if somebody on here has a YouTube channel to do a video on this. Most of the solar kits are made to be stored indoors with the exception of the solar panel. I would like to see a set-up using a juntion box as a casing to protect the electronics (amp charger, controller, inverter, battery, etc.) while also hooking everything up to a solar panel and flood light (or multiple lights). Maybe it could be mounted on a pole or something like that. Again, I don't see anything like that on YouTube because I think most people just buy the all-in-ones on Amazon that don't seem to last too long, or people probably contract a professional to install commercial grade solar lights on their property. It would be nice to see a diy on that.
Truck light bars are 12v, no inverter is required. A HD waterproof case, (Pelican makes superior cases), gets the battery, SCC and 120v charger. There are waterproof rv roof fittings for the pv wires. Make things easy to move, a 240w portable solar set, with an MPPT controller. The only time the case needs to be open is if your using the 120v charger.
P.S. Pelican also makes all-in-one portable lighting systems, but $$$$
P.S. Pelican also makes all-in-one portable lighting systems, but $$$$
Partimewages
Solar Addict
You could look at superbrightleds.com I've had pretty good success with their products although never in an outdoor setting
Very old post, but here is something I just found...https://www.ltaprojects.com/airlight-series
schmism
Solar Addict
you just go buy one? this is a solved problem for less than $100
Typical stuff on Amazon is poorly documented to make any intelligent choice. The ones with information are not held to prove their information. If I could find a "kit" with actual 40,000 mah battery, 40 wattt solar panel, 40,000 lumens of light I woud be happy. It may be too much to ask that it works flawlessly, dusk to dawn here in the PNW but at least the specs woould give me something to start on...
Here is what one user wrote in reviews of a ty[ical unit:
"the listing is full of lies,below is what we found when we tested these 800w units. real world results, below is the email we sent to the seller with our findings,
we did full testing of the 800w led solar lights, we are very disappointed because your description is all lies, the led 5370 chips themselves have a watt rating of .05 watts each, which would make your light rated at 400 watt max not 800 watt you say.
The battery size you stated in the description the unit used was 40,000 mah size , the battery that is in your unit is a 12,000 mah battery.
Your solar panel you state is a 40 watt solar panel with a 25% conversion rating of sun power, we tested the solar panel you used and it is only able to produce 17.3 watts and is just a basic polycrystalline that converts only 14% of the sun power, your numbers are 40 watt solar panel and 25% conversion of sun energy, the real numbers are 17.3 watts and 14% conversion of energy.
You stated your solar light puts out 50,000 lumen of light, we tested the lumen output to be right at 2800 lumen output on full.
You state IP66 waterproof rated, that is a lie, we tested the ip rating and full water intrusion during our testing proves not ip66 waterproof rated.
the plastic housing is weak and will not hold upto the weight of snowload before cracking and breaking. sorry but i am sending back the test unit as it is not what your description states.
60 people found this helpful"
Looking for real world honest specs if anyone "knows" of anything. A decent replaceable battery and suitably sized solar panel are a must.
Here is what one user wrote in reviews of a ty[ical unit:
"the listing is full of lies,below is what we found when we tested these 800w units. real world results, below is the email we sent to the seller with our findings,
we did full testing of the 800w led solar lights, we are very disappointed because your description is all lies, the led 5370 chips themselves have a watt rating of .05 watts each, which would make your light rated at 400 watt max not 800 watt you say.
The battery size you stated in the description the unit used was 40,000 mah size , the battery that is in your unit is a 12,000 mah battery.
Your solar panel you state is a 40 watt solar panel with a 25% conversion rating of sun power, we tested the solar panel you used and it is only able to produce 17.3 watts and is just a basic polycrystalline that converts only 14% of the sun power, your numbers are 40 watt solar panel and 25% conversion of sun energy, the real numbers are 17.3 watts and 14% conversion of energy.
You stated your solar light puts out 50,000 lumen of light, we tested the lumen output to be right at 2800 lumen output on full.
You state IP66 waterproof rated, that is a lie, we tested the ip rating and full water intrusion during our testing proves not ip66 waterproof rated.
the plastic housing is weak and will not hold upto the weight of snowload before cracking and breaking. sorry but i am sending back the test unit as it is not what your description states.
60 people found this helpful"
Looking for real world honest specs if anyone "knows" of anything. A decent replaceable battery and suitably sized solar panel are a must.