5 Ways To Use Solar Power In The Greenhouse And Garden
Saving money, saving the environment and saving time. These are the main reasons why using solar power in the garden and greenhouse is such a good idea!
We’ve all seen the large-scale solar power installations on buildings such as the new Apple Park, Tesla’s factories and even grocery stores.
And we probably know people who have solar panel installations on their roofs. And then there are the huge solar farms in deserts and other areas that generate enough electricity to power a small town.
These are a massive investment in materials and labour. But the pay-off is clean, free energy from the sun. Especially with all the concerns over the burning of fossil fuels to produce power.
So this begs the question: can small scale solar help us in our gardens and greenhouses? Of course, otherwise this article would be really short!
Let’s have a look at what is required.
Solar Power System Equipment You’ll Need
There is an investment up front with any solar power project. While there are ways to save money, you need to realize that solar energy is not 100% free.
ROI or return on investment varies, mainly depending on how much energy you can produce, how much you can store and what you use it for.
There are really only two things you need: a way to generate power and a way to store it.
Solar Panels
Solar panels have really come down in price. According to this article in 2009 the average cost of a solar panel installation was $8.50/watt. A little over 10 years later in 2020 the cost dropped down to $2.81/watt.
So it’s now more affordable than ever for the average consumer.
Now for your garden, you likely won’t need an extensive solar power array. And that’s where the camping niche helps.
There are now lots of portable solar panels available that are super easy to setup for RVs and people camping with tents.
These can range everything from very small 40 watt panels to larger 100 watt panels that are less portable. Here are a few options on Amazon but you can often find them locally too in big box stores or hardware stores:
They all come with easy-to-connect cables, a charge controller for hooking up to a battery and some even come with convenient stands to tilt them for maximum sun exposure.
Honestly you can setup a panel in about 5 minutes and have it producing power when the sun shines to power low voltage devices. I’ve done so with two of my solar panels.
But there are a few things that will make your solar power system better.
Power Inverter
Usually the power coming out of a solar panel is a low voltage, typically 12 volts. This is the same voltage that you get when you plug something into the accessory port in your car (which used to be used for a cigarette lighter).
While you can get various electrical devices that can run from this 12 volt source directly, some devices may need full line voltage, similar to what you get when you plug something into an outlet in your house. Usually this voltage is 120 volts or 240 volts.
To increase the voltage that your