Has anybody had any experience of 12v solar lighting? I’m thinking of a couple of applications

We’ve got a club house that could do with some lighting in the evening (it wouldn’t be very high usage).

A light inside and outside my coal shed would be good too.

I’m wondering about the longevity of the kit? will the batteries die if they’re left out over winter?

I’ve looked at these so far:
http://www.solarshop.co.uk/solar-lighting-kits/index.html

Thanks in advance!
Mat

Been using a 10w solar panel together with a charge controller for a few years now with no problems. At the moment it’s powering a 12V 10w LED flood light which is connected to a 12V night and day sensor.

You need deep cycle batteries as used in caravans etc and the charge controller will keep them topped up when not in use.

With the Advent of 12v LED lights the power reserve in these batteries are superb.

Check out

http://www.sunstore.co.uk/Off-Grid-Power/?gclid=CLz_4omm57gCFRMPtAod3kYASQ

Loads of products on Ebay also

Those fluorescent tube kits seems a bit dopey to me for this, not efficient enough.

On the cheap you could use this – the second one the Solar NiCd charger as a starting point for the power capture/storage. Mount them RIGHT under a skylight.

I have 2, they’ve lasted 3 years and I’ve currently hacked the 2 panels into a USB charger. There’s a small socket on the side, pop a wire into that. Add a switch, and some batteries [decent quality C-cells will fit] and then head over to

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/forum.php?

To find a simple “Buck” [voltage dropping] regulator.

I’d try it with a pair of 1W 4000k [natural white colour] LED’s. They will need a heatsink about the size of a matchbox each, maybe less.

I reckon the whole lot will cost you less than the £50 for the cheapest kit you linked to, let you learn more and you get a pair of great portable solar battery chargers you can unhook and use camping/touring [As I did, all the gear I took on my trip used AA or AAA batteries and they were kept topped by sitting these chargers on the top of the panniers 🙂 ]

Work out how much light you need for how long at a time and see whether it wouldn’t be worth it just using normal rechargable batteries and swapping them over when they need charging. The first solution is expensive for what you get – the second is way more complicated and less efficient than it could be.

This might give you some ideas: LED strip lights