12 volt led lights off grid how to#

You’ll need a different charge controller if you want to use one.) ( Note: The PWM charge controller I used and linked to above doesn’t have a port for a temperature sensor. The sensor helps the controller provide accurate temperature compensation. You can limit the chance your battery overheats by connecting a temperature sensor to the charge controller. Extreme heat and cold can worsen a battery’s performance and shorten its lifespan. Protect the battery from extreme temperatures.Here are a few ways to add on to the system to improve its performance or power more devices: This is the simplest solar power shed you can make - it just powers some lights. It’s compatible with 12V and 24V solar power systems and has a current rating of 10 amps. These aren’t exactly demanding requirements, so I just picked up a cheap and reliable PWM charge controller from Renogy, the Wanderer 10A.

(A 20W 12V panel will put out around 1-1.5 amps in optimal conditions.) The charge controller also needed to be compatible with 12V solar power systems and able to handle the maximum current output by the solar panel. I knew I wanted to use a PWM solar charge controller because they’re much cheaper than MPPT charge controllers. To be frank, I could’ve sized my panel a bit smaller, but I found that 20 watt panels are only a few bucks more than 10 watt panels. That means a 20W panel could recharge the battery in about 1-2 sunny days - plenty quick for my purposes. Using my solar charge time calculator, I calculated that with a 20W panel - and PWM charge controller, which I’ll discuss next - it’d take 4.7 peak sun hours to recharge a 12V 7Ah lead acid battery. I just needed a panel that could recharge it eventually. My dad rarely uses his shed at night, so I didn’t need a panel that could recharge the battery in a day. I did a back-of-the-napkin factoring in of these inefficiencies and determined that 7 amp-hours was still enough for my needs. No battery is perfectly efficient at discharging, and discharge rates and temperatures affect a battery’s capacity as well. However, I knew a lead acid battery only has 50% usable capacity, so in reality the battery could only provide 42Wh of energy (84Wh * 50% = 42Wh.) With these things in mind, I settled on a 12V 7Ah SLA battery, which on paper has a capacity of 84Wh ( 12V * 7Ah = 84Wh). Running them for 2 hours consumes 36Wh of energy (18W * 2 hrs = 36Wh). Running 18W lights for 1 hour consumes 18Wh of energy ( 18W * 1 hr = 18Wh). I also needed a big enough battery to keep the shed lights running for 1-2 hours. I knew I wanted to use a lead acid battery to keep costs low. So I picked out some 12V LED strip lights that consume a maximum of 18W when running at peak brightness. LED lights are the best option for solar power systems because of their energy efficiency. With that in mind, here’s how I picked my components: Lights My goal was to make solar-powered shed lights that could run for 1-2 hours. Note: This wiring diagram doesn’t include the fuse block I used because it’s unnecessary if you are able to connect multiple wires to your battery terminals. Here’s the wiring diagram for DIY 12V solar lights for a shed: Here’s what the shed lighting looks like at night: My solar shed lights are BRIGHT! They light up the entire shed beautifully. Mine work great and are plenty bright for my dad’s shed. Turn the light switch on, and your lights should light right up. (I mounted them all close together to limit the amount of wire I used.) I placed the battery on a 2×4, then mounted the charge controller and fuse block to the shed wall with wood screws. Battery, Charge Controller, and Fuse Block

12 volt led lights off grid how to#

If you also decide to mount yours on a wall, check out my tutorial on how to wall mount a solar panel. I chose the latter and built a DIY wall mount for my solar panel. You can mount your solar panel on the roof, on the ground, in a window, or outside on the shed’s wall. I started by mounting the 5 main components of this setup: You can copy it as is or adjust the sizes of the various components for your energy needs. Note: I sized this 12V solar lighting system so the lights would last 1-2 hours. 5 amp fuse x2 (these come included with the fuse block linked to above).12V LED strip lights (this light kit comes with a light switch).Renogy Wanderer 10A solar charge controller.Note: If these DIY lights aren’t what you’re looking for, check out my reviews of the best solar shed lights. I’ll show you how I made mine with step-by-step photos and videos. Turns out, solar power shed lights aren’t hard to make. I recently made some DIY 12V solar shed lights for my dad’s shed.