Hey everyone! I'm planning to build a greenhouse on some land my family has, but I'm keeping it a bit away from the main house, which means I won't have access to wifi or electricity. I want to set up a TV, run wifi, and charge a phone and a PS4 for about 3 hours at night. What's the cheapest solar panel setup I could get to make this work? Any advice on how to achieve this would be awesome!
2 Answers
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It’s great that you're looking into solar! For your setup, first, consider that a PS4 typically needs about 250W, and your TV will be around 50W. If you plan to run everything for about 3 hours, you’ll need roughly 900Wh just for those. Don’t forget about additional needs like wifi and phone charging—let’s estimate about 100Wh for those daily. Also, a greenhouse can get pretty hot, so you might need a fan—like an 8x10 greenhouse would need a 700 CFM fan if it gets warm.
All this combined suggests you’d want at least a 12.8V, 200Ah battery (or two 100Ah in parallel), a 1000W inverter, and around 400W of solar panels. You’re looking at a total budget of $700-$800 for a decent setup. Alternatively, portable power stations can work well since you can charge them indoors, and you won't need extra capacity for bad weather. Just depends on what you prefer!
That sounds reasonable! I think a portable power station with a 2kWh battery could be a better choice for convenience. If you go that route, I'd suggest pairing it with about 2 solar panels in the 350-450W range.