How to monitor low voltage/current

[Steve Q]

I've been looking at solar for about a year and I have concluded the only thing that makes sense for me is to use solar to pump water into an elevated storage tank. I would then use this for a gravity fed drip irrigation system. I could recover the cost in about 5 years and it would tie into homeseer to "automate" the flower garden. The other possibility is to use the same tank/pump to "prewarm" my well water. Note: I have pond nearby which would serve as the source of the water.

So I think there are some ways to use solar effectively just stay away from batteries.

Steve Q

[mwaite]

OK I've finally finished everything, except the mounting of the solar panels which I intend to do tomorrow.

I planned to use 8ga wiring but due to having an abundant of 10ga I just doubled up all the wiring, plus it was easier to fit the connectors with the smaller wire.

The Charge Control Box is a sprinkler box I modified to mount the charge controller. It was a great choice as it also had a separate compartment for the AC Outlet (my Insteon control). I have two conduits running between the Charge Control Box and Battery Box, 1 for the 120VAC and 1 for the 12VDC wires.

The Battery Box has 8 venting holes, plus standoffs to keep the wood base off the ground. Lots of primer and paint should make this weather proof.

I agree this adventure probably won't save me a bunch of money. The initial investment was not cheap (~2K USD), plus I have the battery life to contend with. But to me it'll be more phycological savings. In the past I didn't normally run my backyard lights unless I was outside or entertaining. Now with solar lighting, I feel more free to run the outside lights more often and don't feel like my electric meter is taping me on the shoulder. Now walking around the back rooms of my house I can see my backyard lit up all the time. So even if I'm not saving money I feel better about it . Time will tell.

[dschoppe]

OK I've finally finished everything, except the mounting of the solar panels which I intend to do tomorrow.

Wow, very clean installation. Congrats!

Now with solar lighting, I feel more free to run the outside lights more often and don't feel like my electric meter is taping me on the shoulder. Now walking around the back rooms of my house I can see my backyard lit up all the time. So even if I'm not saving money I feel better about it . Time will tell.

Very good point. For me, another reason to install a small solar setup like this would be to power LV lights away from the house where I don't have AC. Plus it looks like a fun project, and some of the expense could be allocated to the "entertainment" budget Looking forward to seeing the panels when you have them in the final position.

Don

[Czechmarty]

Very clean and neat install indeed. Nicely done!
I too was researching the solar energy option consider I live in FL, but the initial and maintenance costs are just terrible. I'm still hoping that the government will came up with same sort of grant to offset at least the initial cost. One would say there would be more support for green energy at least in southern states...

[GRumpf]

Very clean and neat install indeed. Nicely done!
I too was researching the solar energy option consider I live in FL, but the initial and maintenance costs are just terrible. I'm still hoping that the government will came up with same sort of grant to offset at least the initial cost. One would say there would be more support for green energy at least in southern states...

Well then if the government supports that it means you'll all be taxed for it It will just make some "solar green" companies use this opportunity to create a new "niche" for the market with your taxes money... Now whether this should be considered green or not will greatly depends on how much you take producing costs/pollutions and recycling of the waste into account. To make solar panels, we used machines and they don't run on goodwill energy. I won't even try to tell you how much a dead battery will pollute and how much crap is released in the atmosphere to produce it...

That being said (party pooper here ), the project is very well done and neat, congrats...

Now for yet another consideration: how much does your garden like being lit during 4 hours each night? Here, all the trees having branches into public lighting area are dying because they can process their night cycle...

[mwaite]

The trees and shrubs don't seem to mind a few hours of light a night. The KOI really like the night lights in the pond, they're very active during this period and hang by the lights perhaps for the warmth. Grumpf, if you provide your shipping address I'll send you my dead battery when it needs to be recycled .

[sdanks]

So, would the lifetime of the battery or the charge cycle benefit from changing all the lights out to LEDs? I know the Police Car lights here where I work use LED's in the overheads, and they are so bright that at night you get blinded by them. One of the projects I want to play with is buying a bunch of 18,000 mcd LEDs and making a replacement for a lightbulb and see how it goes. I imagine I could use ALOT less wattage to do that than the incandescent or florescent lights. . . Just wondered if any of you have experimented with that or not. I see them for sale here: http://www.superbrightleds.com/cgi-b...EDS#RL5-W18015

[mwaite]

It would definetly make a difference if you are consuming a lot less wattage but getting the same amount of light by switching to LEDs. Those 18,00mcd LEDs have only a 15deg viewing angle, you'll want to bunch them in some sort of angled pattern to get a good wide beam. The other issue is the artificial color they typically produce, but it may a look you can live with.

[mwaite]

FYI MrHappy,

I took your advise and invested in the Phidgets. I'm very happy with the results. I am now monitoring the battery voltage and current, and also the battery temperature using the Phidget sensors. This has inspired me to write an HS Plug-in -> MytMyk Phidgets. It's almost complete and I'll be posting it soon!

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