quite a few people have asked to learn
more about the solar system I installed
that serves as my power source for my
off-grid cabin if you'd like to learn
more about that off grid solar cabin
which you'll see in this video please
click this link above in the upper right
hand corner here you'll see two 100 watt
solar panels on top of my Cooke shed
these can be purchased on eBay or from a
solar supply shop which are easily found
on the Internet
I suggest the panel's face in a
southerly direction if you're situated
in the Upper Midwest of the Northern
Hemisphere as I am here in northern
Michigan I'd also suggest you increase
the angle about three times greater than
what I have on my panels if you're going
to be using these in the snowy climate
to help facilitate the shedding of snow
in the winter time
here I run the cabling down through the
roof and onto the backside of the shed
the cables connect with what are called
m4 connectors which are very simple to
use my cabling then runs along top and
down the sides of the inside of the back
of the shed and from there runs
underground and underneath my cabin be
sure to give yourself a little extra
cable you'll never know when you need it
but believe me you're gonna need it your
mic cables from the panel come up
through the floor to my charge
controller
I don't endorse any particular product
here but this is an example of a charge
controller you can find on eBay for $27
it's rather simple device your leads
from your solar panels connect to this
and then to the battery and prevents
overcharge into the battery it usually
has a digital display as well that tells
you what your battery levels in input
and output levels are here you can see
on my display that I've got about 8.6
8.7 amps coming in and by the press of a
button you will tell me that my battery
level is a hundred percent and my output
is about six point four amps what that
means is the charge controller is not
charging by battery at the current time
because I've got more energy coming into
the system into a battery that's already
a hundred percent full everything that I
have on in the cabin right now is
running completely off the panels
let's talk batteries for a moment I'm
using one v-max charge tank 125 amp hour
battery for my system my system is very
basic because I'm only running 12 volts
throughout I'm only running lights and
fans I don't have any high amp energy
needs like TVs or appliances so I've
kept this very simple this battery is
available for $299 on the internet and
although I don't endorse this brand it
has served me well now for about 2 years
I do recommend the use of an AGM battery
due to the low risk of gassings as
you'll be using this inside of a
confined space
might wonder what kind of lighting did I
use throughout the cabin
I found these on eBay and purchased
about 15 of them and strategically
placed them in the cabin pointing toward
the ceiling and in each one of the bunks
they run on three tenths of an amp and
they pivot to point in almost any
direction they also have an individual
on/off switch the low amperage means
that if I left one of these on it would
take about 17 days to drain my battery
if you watch the video on how I built
this cabin you'll note that I put in USB
power ports each one of the bunks that
power a fan and also could be used to
charge your phone at night
I also installed LED strip lighting in
between floor joists that loft above it
reflects upward and then is reflected
down from the steel wainscoting that I
placed in between the floor joists 15
feet of the strip lighting will set you
back about eight dollars and can be cut
to any length you want it to be
one of the keys to efficient power use
in an off-grid solar cabin is to set up
a switch panel so that you can adjust
the lighting to whatever degree that you
want this will ensure that you don't
waste power unnecessarily
this is an eight gang switch panel that
could be found on eBay I suggest you to
click around on Amazon eBay you'll find
all kinds of interesting 12-volt light
fixtures available which will suit
whatever your particular needs may be
here I encased a stainless steel utility
box in wood and added a 12-volt switch
to it hanging from it is a recessed
light fixture that hangs above my
kitchen table
the lighting is a standard e 26th socket
that screws into the light fixture and
runs off a 12 volt this two can be found
on Amazon and eBay although I'm in
northern Michigan we do get hot days in
the summer this ceiling fan runs on one
amp and comes along with a six position
switch which allows me to tune it back
and use even less than one amp if I so
desire it also comes with a remote
control which you could take to bed with
you if you desire
you
