Hey everyone! I'm reaching out for some advice on wiring up a solar system for my chicken coop. I've got two linear actuators that run on 12V and draw about 3 amps each, plus I plan to install two exhaust fans, which I'm estimating will be around 12V and 80W (that should be about 6.6 amps per fan, right?). I'm running this setup off a small solar panel with a charge controller, along with two 12V, 10 amp rechargeable batteries.
I'd like to keep the wiring as simple as possible—ideally, I want to wire everything using just one battery if I can, but I'm unsure how to connect both batteries to the solar panel since it's only one panel. Any tips on if I should invest in larger solar panels or batteries? I'm here for all suggestions!
1 Answer
So it looks like your actuators draw current when they operate, not just the fans. You're right about the fans likely being 6.6A, but that might be the max. You should definitely test the load to get a more accurate number.
Quick math: you're looking at a total draw of 18 amps. If the actuators run continuously, both batteries in parallel would only give you about an hour of runtime. You’d need something like a 100Ah battery to run this longer—about 10 hours, theoretically.
For solar charging, you’d want at least 200W to fully charge a 100Ah battery in a day of good sun, maybe more if you're also running everything at the same time during the day. So if you have a 400W panel, you'll likely require 4-5 hours of direct sunlight to charge and run your setup simultaneously.