9/13/2023 0 Comments Diy panel light![]() ![]() Note that although LED lightbulbs come in "fake incandescent watts", LED strips are rated according to the power they actually use. You should use a few I predict you'll only need a few - need less than 5 and certainly less than 10. The lighting probably tells you how many watts it uses per meter (or per foot). We'll do the energy calculations with amps because it's more convenient. If you don't cut them, you don't need to solder. They only come with connectors attached at the end of the reel, so at the cut points you have to solder your own, which isn't difficult, but it requires a soldering iron and solder. If you buy a 5m reel you can cut it up into 5 times 1m or whatever length you like. Make sure they say 12V.Īll types of LED strips can be cut and joined at certain intervals (e.g. You can even get RGB ones where you can change the colour by remote control, but I won't explain how to wire those. The lights come in different lengths, different colours, many have a water-resistant coating, many have adhesive backing - take your pick. Lighting: Instead of E27 bulbs, I recommend LED lighting strips ( example, ignore the power adapter, you will not need it). Usually they come with stands to put them in. Don't leave the metal part touching a flammable surface. Don't touch the metal part until they cool down. You wouldn't want to start a fire because someone littered a sheet of aluminium foil and a strong wind happened to blow it perfectly against your battery terminals. Also consider that things on the ground might be impacted by metal objects blown around by strong winds. That doesn't mean you have to go overboard - the insulation on wires protect them from moderately heavy rain, and you can get lighting strips with a kind of plastic coating that does the same - just make sure water doesn't build up there. Since this is outdoors, make sure electrical parts are safe from water, even in in very bad storms. Short-circuiting a solar panel of this size is usually not dangerous although you might get a little spark. However, short-circuiting a lead-acid battery causes it to discharge quickly, producing a high amounts of current (amps) that can make sparks and burn and melt wires. Sometimes you can find red and black wires together in a bundle. It is conventional to use red wires for positive and black wires for negative, so that you won't accidentally mix them up, but the electrons don't care what colour the wire is. It is for at least 10 amps and probably more. ![]() ![]() Personally I'm a fan of soldering or butt connectors as they are quite versatile.ĪWG 18 / 0.75mm^2 is a good wire size. You can do this by soldering (remember to put heat-shrink tube over the joint for insulation), or with by crimping a butt connector over both ends, or with a WAGO connector, wire nuts, etc. ![]() This can be done with a wire stripping tool, or with scissors and patience.Īt some point you'll probably need to join two bare wire ends. To connect a wire end you have to remove (strip) some insulation to expose the actual metal wire inside. If something comes with a wire, you can always cut the wire and then you have a bare wire end. LED strips are solderable they may come with connectors attached. Batteries are likely to not come with screws, but rather come with holes that you can put your own screws through. Charge controllers and solar panels often have screws. If you don't want to buy the tool you can look for parts with screw connections instead. But you need the crimp tool (mine was about $30). There are spade terminals, little sticking out metal tabs which slot into corresponding connectors that you can crimp onto wires. A switch will turn the lights on and off.Ĭonnections: When choosing parts pay attention to how the wires can be connected as you'll have to actually connect them. A charge controller will protect the battery from being over-charged or under-charged. Overview: You will make a separate 12-volt power system with a battery, a solar panel, and 12-volt lights. And I don't know squat about building codes. I may have made some mistakes which someone else will correct. Although I've written a lot in this answer, there is not excruciating detail and this is not a tutorial on how to solder, use a crimp tool, or strip wires. I am not a professional electrical engineer but I did build something like this in my spare time. It will cost approximately $100-$200.ĭisclaimer: I'm some random person on the internet. If you want to learn about electricity, I think putting together this system is an excellent starter project. You did ask in the electrical engineering forum and not the home improvement forum after all :) I'm not sure if my answer is applicable to your situation, but here's how I'd approach making the system myself. ![]()
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