Hey everyone! I just finished building a 20x20 shed on my property and I'm looking for some advice on setting up a solar power system. I want enough battery power to run some exterior LED lights that operate from dusk till dawn, plus some indoor lights that turn on when I walk in. When I install a rain catchment system, I'll also need to power a 1HP well pump (from Harbor Freight) that runs at 120v and consumes about 10 amps. I've looked into the Pecron 3600 power station, but I'm not sure what or how many solar panels I would need to support it. Ideally, I'd like the battery to be oversized so it can recharge slowly with one or two panels after the pump kicks in. This setup would be manually operated every couple of days, so I need something straightforward without advanced wiring or controllers. Any suggestions?
2 Answers
Have you thought about using a different pump? Opting for a 12v or 24v system could really boost efficiency for both your lights and pump. I found several options for 1hp 24v pumps online, which might be a solid route. You would just need a couple of panels and a charge controller that can handle 24v.
To determine the number of panels and batteries you'll need, you'll first want to figure out your overall watt hours consumption. Start by looking for solar panels that produce around 24v to 48v. A 24v lifepo4 battery with at least 100ah would be a great choice. Also, consider a Victron 75/30 or bigger for the charge controller. Don’t forget about proper wiring and fuses too. You can always add an inverter later if you want to access 110v power.
That's a good point; I didn't think a 24v pump could handle the load. Thanks for the tip! I'll check it out.