PV Gap

Deanna Said:

How can I utilize a solar panel to power up a light?

We Answered:

First, figure out how many hours you want to run the lamp. Lets say ten hours for a nice, round number. That times 450 watts gives us 4500 watts of required energy.

That little 10 watt panel would need to run 450 hours to give you that much energy. I would recommend getting a 450 watt panel which, if in full sunlight for 10 hours would give you the energy to power your light for ten hours at night.

You also need batteries that will store enough energy to power your light for the required time.

Now, here comes the expensive part. You will need 4500 Watt/hours, which when divided by 12 volts (car battery), means you need 375 Amp hours in battery capacity.

I use semi truck batteries which give you 200 Amp hours each at 12 volts. These run about $350 each.

And you need an inverter that provides at least 500 watts continuous power.

In summary. 450 Watt solar panel, 2x 200Ah semi truck batteries (or 4x 100Ah marine deep cycle batteries) and a 500 watt inverter.

If you want to save on batteries, I get them for $10 each. I go to semi truck repair shops and pay the core charge for sulfated batteries. Look for batteries with no outward, visible damage and that are less than a year old. I use a special battery restoring charger that brings them back into service. See link below.