PV Gap

Sonia Said:

Where can i purchase a solar panel? (read details)?

We Answered:

It doesn't work like that

You can set a solar panel in the sun and let it charge a battery for a couple of hours and then power the light bulb from the battery. But the instant that the solar panel loses light, it's output drops to zero, no matter how long it has been in the sun prior to that.

Use the smallest light bulb that you can get away with. I suggest a bright LED. Solar panel of any practical size tend to get expensive very quickly, so you want your power drain (the light bulb) to be as small as possible.

Small solar panels can be obtained from science houses like Edmund Scientific.

Here's a link to another place that has an item that is almost exactly what you describe:
http://www.realgoods.com/product/solar+p…

Vicki Said:

I would like to purchase a solar panel and heating system for my greenhouse, Is this possible?

We Answered:

Your greenhouse essentially IS a solar panel so to supplement that you would need it set up where it would not cast a shadow on the greenhouse.
While it could certainly be done your biggest concern is preventing frost in the greenhouse and that is only likely at night when there is no sun. So somehow you would need to store heat which might make the solar system a little more complicated than it's worth. If there is any part of your greenhouse that catches the sun, such as a path down the middle, you could line it with dark colored bricks.