DIY Solar Powered Shed Setup
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- čas přidán 22. 02. 2024
- Calculate Solar Panel Cost For Your Home - www.solarreviews.com/solar-es...
Power Kit I Used - shopsolarkits.com/products/ec...
Tilt Angle Calculator - www.everydaysolar.com/calcula...
I loved putting together this project and bringing together a capable power solution for a storage shed, garage, or barn that is capable and doesn't break the bank. I will walk you through the different aspects of putting together a solar power solution for your structure and also how to size the correct components for your own needs.
DISCLAIMER: This video is for entertainment purposes only. Also, this video and description contain affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links, I’ll receive a small commission. - Jak na to + styl
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Calculate Solar Panel Cost For Your Home - www.solarreviews.com/solar-estimator?aff=66965&cam=713
Power Kit I Used - shopsolarkits.com/products/ecoflow-delta-2?ref=1287
Tilt Angle Calculator - www.everydaysolar.com/calculators/tilt-angle-calculator/
DISCLAIMER: This video and description contain affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links, I’ll receive a small commission.
FYI they've found that a 90° angle (from the earth) on the solar panel actually improves efficiency because of reduced overheating. It adds to longer panel life as well.
Your solar link sucks. They require all of my contact info for an estimate, and then they will bombard me with sales pitches. Then, when they receive no reply, they will sell the info to someone else.
@@bisonpaleofossilriveradven3528
Good to know.
Great setup! Thanks for the video!
Go DHS Vikings!
This is ridiculous. Just run a generator at this point or don’t have power. That box alone is $629. You can do this MUCH MUCH cheaper with a dc to ac inverter, battery charger with over charge protection , 12 v battery storage.
I love these solar and electrical videos. I'm studying an electrical apprenticeship and I've learned a lot from this channel. Thanks!
Nice, we are happy to have you and best of luck during your apprenticeship. 🙌
@@EverydayHomeRepairs Thank you!
Thank you for breaking down your calculations and installation. Great video.
I am really liking these episodes. This on very interesting information. Thank you for sharing
Nice overview Scott. I'd be tempted to rotate the shed 90 degrees, pointing the roof pitch South, and load up that side of the roof with more than 2 panels so long as you had enough battery to collect it (assuming sunny days.)
You'd skip the ground and trench install ... and I say this as someone who would probably never want to put panels on a _house_ roof.
Not a bad idea at all, thanks for the feedback 🙌
There was another video from some egg head about double sided solar panels being mounted vertically. Apparently the back side gains more efficiency from reflected light. Would this mean you could mount the panels like a fence in front of your shed, and if your shed was painted white, it would work just as well as roof mounted panels? Or consider a greenhouse with solar panel walls... or even alternating skylights with structural solar roof panels? Maybe a solar panel trombe wall?
Great video and very well explained. One thing I would consider is 12v led lighting, although the range of products isn't as extensive as 120v or 240v (yes, in the UK we have 240v lights), this would allow the lights to operate even when the inverter is off, saving the 260wh per day.
A lot of good info here. I'm going to have to watch this video a couple more times to fully understand it all. Thanks for sharing.
I'm also a rookie. I bought my first solar generator a few months ago and let me tell you, solar is addictive. I've bought more batteries, and plan on buying another inverter to generate 240 for the home. Since I bought mine we have lost power twice and it's as simple as wheeling the dolly out of my closet with my generator, plugging into my house through a transfer station ( I learned on this channel) and we have several hours of noise free electricity for all important 120 volt systems ie freezers, refrigerators, WiFi, living room. In addition, I am building a carport next to our house and you can bet the south side of my roof will be solar panels going right into my house. Two of my friends just did this and they are enjoying $30 per month electric bills.
Sounds like a pretty sweet setup 👍
Nice and thorough build. Too fancy for me but you did it right.
I am 100% going to do this at my place, I know it’s not “free” but when you don’t have grid access, it’s a great idea.
Best part is I could bring home the power station with me for home backup and to prevent theft (the property is quite remote)
You are really good! Thanks for guidance.
This was cool to see. Gave me lots of ideas for my shed. Thank you
Awesome!
Another very helpful video. When deciding on the tilt angle its worth considering that you will see far less electricty generated in the winter than in the summer and plan the angle accordingly. Personally I always add 5-10 degrees to the base optimum angle to improve winter generation and as a bonus the panels self clean better.
Thanks so much for the feedback!
I understand the $ 1K cost. But getting the math, size needed, tools used. Better than an electrician or solar company cost. Thousands. That's why I like your channel.
One thing I've been thinking about is a Large Honda Gennerator on wheels. 😊
I literally had an electrician tell me "I can wire this up, but we'll have to get permits, probably upgrade your service drop (home was built in the 50's), and trench conduit for 30ft. You can trench yourself if you want to rent a machine and not pay me $150 to dig a hole, but even then it's still way more expensive than just getting a solar kit from big box for $750 and doing it yourself. If you don't need high draw or all day power, that'll probably do you and save you a lot of hassle."
Is there a video of this whole process at a speed I could follow? That would be awesome! Thank you for sharing your knowledge! 😊
Well done!!
Thanks!
Thanks for this!
Nice video, I would've put the GFCI receptacle inside then everything connected on the load side from inside the shed.
That’s a cool project. I see you connected ground wires to all the receptacles - was there a ground rod or other method to provide “earth ground”? I know the gfci will sense current differential between neutral and hot on an ungrounded system - is that the protection you are expecting? And any need for over current protection or is that provided through the solar power converter? Thx…
Good project for a very remote shed. Personally, I’ll just trench an AC feed from my house. All in cost with room for expansion would be about the same $1K. But, thanks to watching your channel, would be a lifetime solution that will always exceed the demand of my charging needs. Buy once, cry once😂
bonus of this solar setup is if your power goes out you have a place to charge your phone or run an extension cord to power some other stuff in a pinch
This is exactly what I need for my mini barn and Blueti 200max. Now I just need good ideas and considerations for a insulating box for the Blueti. It does not like freezing temps.
So true, the Delta 2 does well until you get below 20F or so. An insulating box that could stretch that bottom end operating temp would be a great addition.
Nice setup
I think it's a great idea to do Solar! What was the reason for a wooden ground mount vs a metal one? What's the expected lifespan of your array?
Thank you.
Two of your three video links never made it to the left side of the screen.
Why did you use 12/2 for the lighting?
Much more efficient to use 12 volt lighting, including the motion sensor lighting. Then the inverter is only running when AC power is needed.
Use a windup 60 minute time switch for the inside lighting so it is never left on.
At my location, at least 400 watts of solar power would be needed for year-round power at that level - it's not unusual to have a week of partly cloudy, cloudy and rain. I've tested 6 brands of 100 watt solar panels and in real-world, backyard solar exposure it's rare to get more than 75 watts from those panels. The Jinko 250 watt panels I tested were much better, delivering a measured 235 watts in backyard sun. If I were putting AC power in the shed, two of those panels would be my first choice.
However, my lawn equipment shed does not need AC power, just lighting. One 30 watt solar panel, PWM charge controller, 10AH LiFePO4 battery, 60 minute time switch, DC-DC buck regulator to provide just enough power for the strip lighting. For the area being lit - 8' x 16' - the 5 meters of LED strips do NOT need to be at the 13+ volts of the battery - 11.0 volts provides all the light needed and ensure the LEDs run cool and last a long time. Installed in 2017 with an AGM battery. Upgraded to an LiFePO4 battery in 2023 when the AGM battery reached end of life. I'm a strong believer in "Once and done" for outside lighting ;-)
Cool! First, I have a shed with no power in a county which requires a pro electrician to do the wiring. Second, I have a family member with sleep apnea who requires a CPAP, and I have been wondering about how to power that if our power goes down for more than 24 hours. This answers that question! Yay! 🎉Thanks! ❤
You bet!
Nice techniques 👍
Thanks!
Thanks great video . I didn't no Illinois let's you use pvc out of the ground.
i understand everything but the 4 hours in your panel equation. Is that an expected 4 hours/day that the sun will provide energy to the panels? If so that seems very conservative. i'm looking into setting up solar to run lights at our deer shack in northern MN. So, essentially, just power 5-6 LED light bulbs for 8 hours/day (considering it's used in the fall when it's getting dark around 4pm). Maybe this is overkill, but I can copy/paste your calculations considering the lights alone would take around 400 wh.
Have you tought to install the solar panels on the doors? Vertical panels get less sun but get less hot by a lot so effiency can be higher in some situations. Also if need more power, there is still 2 spot left on the doors to get 4 panels 😅😅 I know Im weird but thoses farn/shaker style doors would be perfect to fit thoses panels! Doesnt take place, will not collect snow and would not add that much weight on doors.
Seems like a lot of videos out lately trying out different vertical mounts. So maybe not too weird. 🙂
Did you need a town permit code to do that or not Awsome video
We recently bought a house and a couple of acres and are working on our plans for sheds, etc. Having power without wiring them from the house would be great. However, we have limited experience with wiring things ourselves. Is this a project that someone who knows the basics and understands how to read instructions and follow safety practices could take on, in your opinion? Thanks!
There is some new research about using bifacial panels and having them exactly vertical, and having them face due east/west. The idea is that they avoid the worst of the midday heat where they take the most abuse and actually lose efficiency, and then you have earlier and later power input meaning you don't actually cycle your batteries as hard. That does mean you need clear skies to the east and west, but the reports say you gain 4% more efficiency on your panels in that orientation.
I'm sure glad I built my cabin setup 5 years ago. Prices have gone wild! My complete setup was less than $2000, as I recall. Now, that's the battery cost.
2 Battleborn batteries 12v
1 charge controller (a)
1 inverter (a)
1 24v to 12v converter (a)
8 ft 4 or 6 ga. wire (of which I only used 4 ft) (a)
24 P-clips (to tie down the wires) (a)
10 ft of red 12 ga wire to interconnect all the devices. (a)
10 ft of black 12 ga wire to interconnect all the devices. (a)
2 12v battery switches (to shut off the system for winter) (a)
Edit: one for the battery positive cable and one for the panel positive. So when you shut down, the entire system is inert.
6 big wire lugs (for the big battery wires). I used arc welder wire.
2 12v RV dome lights
1 Hammer crimper (for ends on the battery wires)
6 P-clips for the battery cable ends
2 solar panels with 25ft of wire
1 manual transfer switch (to switch from generator to solar, if needed). And it never has been needed.
And I learned how to wire the entire thing setup from watching YT videos.
Hint: Wire all negative connections first so you don't accidentally cross-wire something. Screw all the equipment marked (a) on plywood then hang the plywood.
What? Everything is way cheaper now.
I went very minimalist with a shed power setup. 200 watt solar panel ($150) on the roof side which gets the most sun, 27-size lead acid marine battery ($100) , 2000 watt pure sine inverter ($230), and panel-to-battery charge regulation module ($30) all up on a plank in the rafters. Power switch to turn on the inverter an light switch on wall, outlet box 24" off the floor on the same wall as the light switch. About $500, self-generating and sustaining, and no trenches to run a long line to the house involved! Love it.
Paul, where did you get your components?
@@dana8819 Renogy, except the marine battery was from an auto store
Question: When installing an electrical switch plub combo switch, what happens when the hot wire was accidentily connected to the brass screw (reserved for load) and the load wire (black) was connected to either of the black screws right below the brass screw?
Are you running this in the winter months? What's the temp inside your shed and how does the system handle cold charging?
How do you keep the unit charging when it drops below freezing? My Ecoflow shuts down and prevents charging in severe cold.
I have 6 Trojan T-105's as a backup power bank for my home/camper just to run a few things when the power goes out. All I would need is solar panels and charge controller just for recharging not both recharging and running things. How do I figure what panels and charger I need? I'm not a math wiz when it comes to this kind of thing.
If i was using a Anker F3800 which has the 240v 50amp output (NEMA 14-50 AC Output Port) how would I wire that into a offgrid panel for a shed? Id want a breaker for a 20amp pool pump, 15amp breaker for lights and 15amp for tools?
I'm planning to do something similar, does there need to be a grounding installed in case of lightning strike to shed and or solar panels? Or is that just a chance you take with an outdoor setup like this and all the components getting fried.
Check you local code as I think there is a lot of different opinions on a shed/system this small. For me I will not have dedicated ground rod(s) for shed or 200W of panels. If it was a detached garage with more panels I would have 2 ground rods which I did for the detached garage right next to this shed.
Informative :) The pop up links on the left of the screen at the end of the video are not appearing. Rob
Thanks for the heads up Rob. Those 2 videos will be released next week 👍
How did you get your ecoflow to stay on all of the time providing power? My tends to shut off after a certain time period. Thanks, love the videos!
In the App there is a timeout setting for the AC outputs. Mine was set to 2 hours but now it is powered all the time.
How do you keep EcoFlow from over heating? Mine in shed kept over heating
Cool and interesting video, just found your channel, Liked and subbed too, cheers.
looking for recommendations on parts i would need
to build an apartment power system that would fit in a small garbage can size faraday cage
power source (solar panel or car battery)
dc to dc converter to step down power from solar panel to micro inverter
micro inverter (300w to 500W) dc to ac (no battery)
power target (small appliances)
any ideas or product recommendation would be greatly appreciated
Do you bring the ECO FLOW inside, in the winter? Does it hurt to leave it out in freezing conditions? Thanks, really like your stuff.
The Ecoflow Delta 2 will run without issue down to about 20F. Below that you need to figure out some type of insulated box or bring it inside or the battery will not discharge at the lower temps.
@@EverydayHomeRepairsthat’s kind of a big deal since most people live in places that routinely go below 20 and makes this solution a nonstarter
Nice mini array for your shed! The only calculation I’m wondering about is how many watts you get out of your panels. My experience is 200 watts of solar doesn’t equal 200 watts of output. Many inefficiencies factor into that. I suspect some people watching the video may not be aware of that.
I'm fixing to do something similar to this in my barn. What happens if the batteries are fully charged, your not using any electricity but the sun is out full sending voltage to your system?
In this case the EcoFlow will cut the solar input power. Once the battery starts to drain down then the internal charge controller will open up for solar input power. No danger of damaging things.
Well done, thanks. I like the look of your shed. Can you tell me where you get yours and how much?
Never mind. I just looked up your earlier post on building the foundation and that you got the shed from Home Depot. Another useful information!
I will have the whole build video on that shed coming out next week to give you a little more information 👍
@@EverydayHomeRepairs Great! I am looking forward to view it. Thanks!
Does your outside outlet box have a gasket on the back to keep out moisture/water from coming I behind it and travel down that entrance wire to the inside the shed?
The back of the cover has a gasket the back of the box I just used 100% silicone to seal things up.
@@EverydayHomeRepairs Nice set up! I'd like to do a setup in a shed type cabin at my parents property.
It would have been nice to see the lights on inside your shed and at least one power station on. Next time! 😊
I did something similar...but I went through my shed roof using a solar entry gland. Took way less realistate.
For sure, I wanted to both ground mount and roof. I am planning on putting a 400W panel on the roof in the coming weeks to show the other option. What did you use to mount to your roof?
So many of these DIY videos are using "solar generators" but thoae are not ment to be used full time, wont it burn the device out quickly?
Any city permits involved?
Check with your local inspector. When it comes to small storage sheds the rules and regulations vary from state-to-state and city-to-city. Also, some HOA's would not allow ground mount panels.
Why didnt you spin the shed 90 degrees and mount the panels on the roof??!!
Personally i would mount the panels on the shed itself. Save yourself from running wires underground.
And i really like the ecoflow products but man are they pricey.
My thought exactly
One thing that you didn't mention: Since the portable power bank is portable, if you had even 10 days in a row of no power coming from your solar, you can just carry it into the house or garage and plug it in for a couple of hours. Not ideal, but then you are not trying to compensate for that problem by buying a larger unit. 95% of the time, it works just fine. For the other 5%, use a cheap and easy fix.
Yeah, the portability is a BIG benefit compared to putting together your own DIY setup 👍👍
There a up front cost. There a mounted of time before u recover your up front costs.
Kinda wish you went through the step by step in the electrical wiring
I tried to pull multiple video together in this higher level video of the whole system. Here is the complete video on the shed wiring czcams.com/video/s791YHa_w2Y/video.html
Repost? I swear I saw this a few weeks ago: DIY Guide To Wiring A Shed For Electricity
I did the wiring side of it on a more in depth video. This one was less details but pulling everything together.
Vid would have been good if it was not in super speed. The part i needed to see was useless.
Thanks for the feedback, at the end of the video I direct you to multiple individual parts of the build that will dive much deeper and should help.
Stand-alone solar battery security lights…
I have been a licensed Electrical Journeyman for close to 40 years/IBEW and find these projects when advertised as "free electricity" are ridiculous!
Solar power for the most part is inefficient and especially when you actually 'need' power.
What I would do, for much less cost, is run a 10/3 UF cable (up sized from #12 and extra conductor in case of need for future expansion) from a single pole 20A breaker @ your house service panel to a 20 amp rated single pole switch, which can be located inside or outside the shed, but easier to mount inside and no need for outdoor rated box/cover.
From the the switch, wire as in the video or as needed.
$1000 buys many, many years of electricity and no replacement of solar panels, power stations etc. and you will have all the power you need ON DEMAND.
Its great but its an eye sore
Seems expensive for something "free"
Congrats, you can now charge your phone.
Everyday, for 30+ years
If you’re an electrician no problem but you definitely didn’t provide info a do it yourself would need.
While this maybe a good Idea, it is not free a solar setup is expensive.
You could just pay less for an electrician to run a circuit from the garage to the shed and then have constant power. Even if you used the 1.1 kWh every day that is only 20 cents in energy costs. Take the $1,000 solar setup cost divided by 20 cents and that is 5,000 days (13.7 years) of daily usage before you break even. By then the battery on the Ecoflow will have failed and you will need another $800 investment to keep going. Now if this was a remote shed with no power available anywhere close, then this is a good idea.
I agree with you, if you have grid power close that makes sense to tie the shed into your house or garage. This type of setup really shines in the remote setups.
I call bullshit on it costing less than $1,000 for an electrician to do all of the work to dig a trench and run wiring from a house and setup a sub panel in an exterior building. Materials alone would cost half that and this ain’t no 2 hour job!
And if you only have 100amp service to your main panel they may not even be willing to run a sub panel unless you upgrade your service too, so that’ll be another $2,000 minimum.
If you want to save money you could do a similar setup with an inverter and lead acid battery for half the cost. It’s the Ecoflow that makes this so pricey.
@@johndoe6032 You don't need a subpanel as a simple 15 amp circuit would handle everything he covered. 100' of 12/2 direct burial wire is $140 and 250' is $200. Two LBs would be $5 each, and 1 stick of 3/4" conduit split between them is $10. Rent a trencher for $300 a day and the cost of everything but labor is $500 - $600. Since this was DIY video if you do it yourself that is the total cost. You can buy the material, handle the trench, and place the wire and simply pay an electrician to do the connections (if you can find someone to do such a small job) and you would still be under $1,000. Pay someone to everything and it might be $1,200 to $1,500 but then wouldn't be a DIY project would it.
Too fast
We have all the individual portions of this build on Everyday Home Repairs and Everyday Solar channels. At the end of this video I point you to each of the individual videos if that would help.
Sorry, this video isn't for the average homeowner😊
You just have to decide that’s what you want to do then go for it.
Which part? Just Solar in general?
The average homeowner doesn't watch these kinds of videos. Now the average diy home owner certainly does and benefits from this kind of content.
More that it isn’t for the average homeowner’s wallet. Off-grid shed power at >$1K is fun, but not so justifiable, me thinks.
Sorry, I just had to jump in:
Don't speak for a class of people you have no knowledge of, nor statistics to back up such a statement. If they aren't interested, they're not watching Scott's presentations and don't need a spokesman.
Scott's lessons don't address the "average homeowner" you are "speaking" for. And they might not appreciate you attempting to speak for them.
You don't need $3k to set up a complete solar system. Use one panel, one car battery, one charge controller, and DC lights, a limit switch so you don't over-drain the battery, and with a switch (useful to light a shed or security light). That's barely a $.4k setup.
Those panels look like they are shaded by a branch in winter, let alone summer.
Make sense in a total offgrid situation, its financially stupid in an ongrid situation.
Depends upon the shed's proximity to that on-grid power. I went very minimalist with a shed power setup to a shed way in the back acre. 200 watt solar panel ($150) on the roof side which gets the most sun, 27-size lead acid marine battery ($100) , 2000 watt pure sine inverter ($230), and panel-to-battery charge regulation module ($30) all up on a plank in the rafters. Power switch to turn on the inverter an light switch on wall, outlet box 24" off the floor on the same wall as the light switch. About $500, self-generating and sustaining, and no trenches to run a long line to the house involved! I don't use it extensively, but the power is there when I need it, for hours. Love it.
@@paulh6591 Okay, you proved my point? Your back acre is not on grid.
For all the money you spent on that limited fixed system, you could of spent 100's less on a invertor generator, and its portable.
@mnSure, integrated inverters are nice. It's funny they're now calling them generators, even if there is no generator attached. . It's fairly similar to my setup, less the solar panel. I like having the battery and inverter components separate, and prefer a cheap, stable lead-acid marine battery for built-in applications. If you go lithium, and espcially if you invest in an "inverter generator", make sure the internal battery can be replaced at the end of its service life. Find one with safer. longer life lithium iron phosphate battery (LFP / LiFePO4) batteries, instead of a built-in NMC one. As for hard-wiring to the grid, it's certainly a solid option. I hacked a long trench, pulled wire to a camp shed in Maine. It costs time and money too, but It's all good.
It isn't really free power when you have to spend a thousand dollars to get it.
I had 6 point font underneath that said "after $1,000 initial investment." 😂
What’s the expected lifespan for these solar panels and the battery pack? Should be included so we can compare how long the payback would be if we knew our local cost for kilowatt hours and roughly how much it would cost to trench power from our house to shed
You would spend double that easily getting an electrician to run wiring out to your shed and install a sub panel. And you better hope you main panel service is high enough to be able to taken on the additional load, because upgrading main panel service is another $2,000-$5,000.
And then after all that you still have to pay for electricity used!
Some people are just impossible. Everything cost so why not use solar. At least you can do the work yourself. I could run a line underground but the cost of copper and the conduit because direct burial is not the best way either.i would rather pay a couple of hundred dollars for panels and you can run the lights on 12 volts and wouldn't need an inverter I could do a small setup under a 1000 dollars and would have backup power for the house if needed which would be good during a hurricane. 73
@@johndoe6032 Additional load? This set up can not handle much of a load. If you needed any kind of a load in the shed the solar setup would cost thousands of dollars more.
👎
This guy doesnt know whats hes talking about.
No offense but I find this project completely useless for a shed. Solar can be a pain and unreliable and you are not going to get enough current to operate an air compressor, welder and similar. I do not work in a storage shed that needs lighting, especially at night.