Hi I live in Australia and electricity prices are continuing to go up and up making it harder for passionate growers to grow indoor plants.
so my question is this. Can you use solar panels removed from a solar powered hot water system to power my lights?
I don’t think you can. Most solar panels for a hot water system do not provide electricity, only heat for the water. But if they are photo-voltaic panels, they should be able to be used to power various devices as long as you know the volt amps and likely you’d need a special battery to store much of the electricity for times when the sun is not out.
ok thanks heaps MacGyver stoner and yeah I have done some research, the battery is called a deep cycle battery that is used on most systems that I have looked at.
looks like ill have to save up a few grand to get a brand new system
Not usre you won’t come off better enduring the electric bill once all is spent and done…hmmm…
Let us know what you do. Thanks
I live in Aus also mate, The bloody electricity prices are bordering on criminal, Think about giving LED’s a go, there has been massive advances in LED lighting lately.
Cheers
Figure out what the total draw on the system will be. Buy the amount of photo voltaic panels you need to provide that amount per hour. Buy the deep cycle batteries for your storage bank ( not nessecary if you want to merely supplement your power instead of replace). Buy a controller board for the charging (if using a battery bank). Buy a power inverter to convert the incoming power from DC to usable AC. Now you can either hook the inverter up after your batteries going into your home power grid or hook the inverter up after your panels and into the home grid.
I have a couple home made wind turbines on my property and use them without a battery bank to supplement my power at home.