No Electricity to Coop, Need Solar Option

[melannjur]

This is the solar panel that comes with the fans.View attachment 3866192

This is what the outside looks like with the fans mounted.View attachment 3866193

This is the front of the fans, and you can mount them on solid walls or wire. They provide things for both.View attachment 3866194View attachment 3866195

Here are the cords. Despite the fans and solar panel being anywhere from 8 to 5 ft. away from the solar panel, there is easily another 5 ft. left of wire, so distance is hardly an issue.View attachment 3866196

This is a great setup, thank you for the picture! I love the Tiny Raptor sign too

 

[melannjur]

Solar only works when the sun is shining or when artificial or moonlight are sufficient to generate a current.

Anything solar that will require energy usage at night will need a way to store available daytime power.

This may get you started.
If you don't do it yourself, you may find it cost prohibitive.

Wonderful! Thanks for the help. Storing the power is the tough bit. No electricity to the coop has really become a bummer. I will take a look at the DIY options. Thanks again

 

[GlicksChicks]

This is a great setup, thank you for the picture! I love the Tiny Raptor sign too

Thank you! I painted the sign!

 

[PoleFarm]

Solar, while possible, isn't likely to cause a fire. To run lights and fans, you will surely be operating at a very low voltage - insufficient to be a fire hazard.
As you have noted, there are many options. Since you want to have a fan at night, it won't be strictly a solar system. It will need battery backup which will add a bit of cost.

You didn't mention this but using solar on a small scale is not an option for any kind of heat generating devices.

Solar, while possible, isn't likely to cause a fire. To run lights and fans, you will surely be operating at a very low voltage - insufficient to be a fire hazard.
As you have noted, there are many options. Since you want to have a fan at night, it won't be strictly a solar system. It will need battery backup which will add a bit of cost.

You didn't mention this but using solar on a small scale is not an option for any kind of heat generating devices.

Not even heated waterers? I'm researching info before I pull the

Solar, while possible, isn't likely to cause a fire. To run lights and fans, you will surely be operating at a very low voltage - insufficient to be a fire hazard.
As you have noted, there are many options. Since you want to have a fan at night, it won't be strictly a solar system. It will need battery backup which will add a bit of cost.

You didn't mention this but using solar on a small scale is not an option for any kind of heat generating devices.

Not even waterers? Trying to figure this out before pulling the $trigger on a solar generator. Thanks.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Not even heated waterers? I'm researching info before I pull the

Not even waterers? Trying to figure this out before pulling the $trigger on a solar generator. Thanks.

Depends on the wattage.
Anything is doable and as heat generation goes, heated water founts is the most feasible.
More is possible with more battery backup.
As long as the sun is shining, the system will charge. More battery power the more that will be available.
Basically, it boils down to a math problem. Determine what wattage fount you need to keep water thawed in your locale, then add wattage/amperage of all lighting, auto doors, etc. Then figure out how much battery backup you need to sustain all that for say 48 hours of cold weather assuming a rainy day here and there. The more time you plan for, the more reliable it will be.
The thing I've discovered about heated founts is that while powered, they will keep water in a liquid state but they don't generate enough heat to thaw out a frozen jug if there has been a loss of power when weather is below freezing.
Light energy use will be minimal because they are only used for short periods normally and auto doors will only be an energy draw twice a day.
Voltage is probably your biggest decision when planning. You'll likely want to go with a 12 volt system. for everything.

 

[KyCoop]

Thank you ChickenCanoe. I've been looking for info on this myself but didn't have the brain power to do the math. I think a lot of us will be looking for options for solar water heaters this winter. I personally am tired of running the bucket brigade in the dead of winter.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

The bucket brigade is brutal. One winter, the most severe we had in decades, I happened to have 7 separate flocks of chickens. We had snow on the ground most of the winter and carrying water to 7 different locations 2 or 3 times a day caused me to take a new direction. Luckily The farthest coop was only a little over 100 ft, from an electric source. I ran conduit underground to all the buildings. I set up continuously circulating liquid water to all the flocks.

If you need help with the electric math, let me know.

 

[KyCoop]

Thanks. Yeah that couple if years ago we had neg. 35 wind chill had to go out every 2 hrs and it was slush by the time I got there. Nope no thank you.
I think you answered it that a 12 vlt system to run on of those heated waterers?

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Thanks. Yeah that couple if years ago we had neg. 35 wind chill had to go out every 2 hrs and it was slush by the time I got there. Nope no thank you.
I think you answered it that a 12 vlt system to run on of those heated waterers?

I think many of these manufacturers make a 120 volt AC system and sometimes one built for 12 or 24 VDC. The latter is rarer, it may be necessary to make a DIY version.
While virtually anything is possible. It is always better to make things as simple as one can. It is possible to make the whole system based on 120VAC (house power). The sun doesn't work like that. It would require an appropriate battery bank for storage and then an inverter to convert DC to AC. Just clutter in my mind since low voltage lights and motors are already available that run on DC.
I would look at a 12 or 24 volt DC bird bath heater in a dog bowl type water container.