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Easy Solar Light Backup
This is an easy, economical, power outage solar light system. You can use this to save on your electricity bill, or during an electrical blackout. This is a list of the items you will need to construct this system:
solar panel, direct current diode, battery clips, speaker wire, or long extension chord, D.C. electrical meter, deep cycle 12 volt R.V.battery, 12 volt - power inverter, compact florescent bulb rated 13 watts, light fixture with a long power chord. First you need a solar panel. I use a panel rated at 50 watts, 21 volts, 3.33 amps. You use a deep cycle 12 volt R.V. battery, because it will allow you to almost fully drain it, then charge it up again with out causing damage. The compact 13 watt florescent light, is very efficient. It gives out about as much light as a 60 watt, incandescent light, using a fraction of the electricity.
That is what solar lighting is all about.
You want to make the best use of the electricity the panel makes for you.
Screw the florescent bulb into the light fixture.
Attach the light fixture with a long power chord to the ceiling with a screw in hook.
The solar panel is mounted on the roof of your house. Place it in a southerly facing direction. The solar panel should have an unobstructed exposure to sunlight.
The sunlight should hit the panel when the sun rises in the morning. The sun should still hit the panel
on its travel from east to west, throughout the day.
Run the wires from the solar panel to the room where you have the light installed.
Insert the wires into the room through the wall or floor. Use the D.C. power meter to check that the solar panel is making voltage. Mark the ends of each wire to indicate positive and negative polarity. One end will be positive and the other negative.
Attach a red battery clip to the positive end wire. Lightly connect a diode to the other end of wire. Touch the meter leads to the ends of the wire. Positive meter lead to positive battery clip, negative meter lead to the end wire of the diode. If the meter needle moves you have connected the diode in the correct direction. If it the
meter needle doesn’t move connect the diode in the
other direction, by swapping it end for end. By connecting the diode this way, the electricity from the solar panel can go into the battery. The electricity in the battery can not travel back through the wire into the solar panel. Attach the negative battery clip to the free end of the diode wire. Test with the meter to see you are getting
power from the battery clips attached to the solar panel wires. Tighten and strengthen all the connections on the
end of the wire leading from the solar panel to the battery clips. Connect the positive battery clip panel wire to the positive battery post.
Do the same with the negative battery clip, to the negative battery post. Allow the battery to charge. At night, attach the negative inverter clip wire to the negative battery post. Clip on the positive inverter wire clip to the positive battery post.
The indicator light on the inverter should light up. The power is ready. Plug the power chord from florescent light into the inverters' 110 volt outlet. Switch on the florescent light. It should light up for you. Make sure you connect the inverter wires with the correct polarity to the battery. It only takes a second connecting them the wrong way to blow the fuse inside the inverter. It is not fun taking the end off the inverter to replace the fuse. So be cautious when connecting up the inverter to the battery. Enjoy the independence and freedom of not being totally reliant on the power company for 100% of your lighting needs.
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A simple alternative to solar is to employ a series of small induction coils around the the consumer supply line, can charge a set of lead acid batteries, and using a sensing coil and switching circuit, power can be switched over to a battery bank feeding an inverter during power outages.
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