rooster423 Posted March 17, 2012 Share Posted March 17, 2012 I not sure if anyone has asked this before.....but here goes. Would i be feasible to use solar power(panels) to power a small display. I have 2 CTB16PC controllers and about 10000 lights(all incans). Just wondering about this and wanted some experienced members input Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
james campbell Posted March 17, 2012 Share Posted March 17, 2012 I would asume they are all minis and not c9s. I would say the you could if your solar panels could produce about 35 to 40 amps and bout 4500 watts Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dad02 Posted March 17, 2012 Share Posted March 17, 2012 Unless you plan on leaving the lights on.....doubt your would see the ROI. Besides for the price of solar panels you can by a lot more controllers and lights. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rooster423 Posted March 17, 2012 Author Share Posted March 17, 2012 kinda what i was thinking , but wanted to ask and see if anyone else had thought or tried this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max-Paul Posted March 17, 2012 Share Posted March 17, 2012 With icans, no way in heck. But with LED you might have a chance. But some things to think about. First you do not indicate what area you live in. Which can make or break the possibility. Further north the less possible that this would work. But even San Antonio, Tx has a rainy season. Also it would depend on the size of the solar panel array and the size of your battery bank. then you would loose some using an inverter to change the D.C. back to A.C. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steven Posted March 19, 2012 Share Posted March 19, 2012 There are only 2 practical (excluding educational and experimental) reasons to use solar power:1 Where other means of supplying power are impossible, impractical, and/or unreliable.Examples of this are roadside emergency phones; solar powered billboards in remote locations; RV's (especially useful where generators are not allowed); solar powered flashlights; or homes in remote locations without power lines.In these situations, the solar panels charge batteries. Depending on the scale and use, these systems can be very expensive, and can require battery maintenance.2 To save money by "turning the meter backwards."These are the typical "solar power" installations you see, especially in areas like California where electricity is expensive. In this case, the solar power generated is virtually stored in "the grid". If you have such a system on your house, you could legitimately advertise your display as "solar powered."We installed solar panels on our house last month, so I plan for the electricity for my display to be paid for by the system.If you want to combine these two reasons, then you will have a typical solar system and a big UPS. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DownTown Posted March 19, 2012 Share Posted March 19, 2012 rooster423 wrote: I not sure if anyone has asked this before.....but here goes. Would i be feasible to use solar power(panels) to power a small display. I have 2 CTB16PC controllers and about 10000 lights(all incans). Just wondering about this and wanted some experienced members inputRooster -To answer your question directly, it is technically feasable. But in your scenario (use solar power(panels) to power a small display) it doesn't make sense. The sun has to be shining on the solar panels to make the electricity. If the sun is shining, then no one is going to be able to see that your lights are on.See Steven's post (above)...I have installed 10kw of panels on my house, so that would be about 30kw of energy produced on a clear, sunny, winter day. Unfortuantely, there are cloudy days, rainy days and snowy days. These all have a major impact on production.If money is no object, then by all means, go ahead and do it. If you want to do it to save the money that the show would cost to run, it is a loosing proposition. (That 10kw system on my roof cost more than a large addition to the house would have cost here in the north east...).D.T. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest wbottomley Posted March 19, 2012 Share Posted March 19, 2012 Renewable energy is a great way to go. I power my display with this: It works very well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Rise Posted March 20, 2012 Share Posted March 20, 2012 wbottomley wrote: Renewable energy is a great way to go. I power my display with this: It works very well.LOL.....That's what most peoples cars run on down here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rainyoregonchristmas Posted March 25, 2012 Share Posted March 25, 2012 On a severe closeout deal I bought some solar powered Christmas lights to say I had a little Green Energy to my display (the static part). I had 1000 lights total. Unfortunately, poor/low quality manufacturing, and rainy Oregon weather means I only get 2-3 hours of light out of the few which survived at all. A mistake I will not make again. On the flip side, I now take the survivors camping to light up the summertime campsite. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CKSedg Posted March 26, 2012 Share Posted March 26, 2012 wbottomley wrote: Renewable energy is a great way to go. I power my display with this: It works very well.That little guy is a bit inconsistent, George. Maybe you'll have to get a bunch of them, so when one stops, the others keep going, and your lights stay lit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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