Crazy idea with portable solar power.

Discussion in 'Lighting' started by Bandages, Jan 16, 2011.

  1. With the spectrums of light given off by the various leds, MH, HPS, and CFL's out there, would placing a portable solar panel (26 watt range) and running that into a 600 watt charger/inverter self-power the grow or at least reduce the energy cost?

    Think of a space like a closet of small room with high reflective surfaces. So you could place it on the side to soak up rays.;)
     
  2. #2 packitandsmoke, Jan 17, 2011
    Last edited by a moderator: Jan 17, 2011
    i had the same idea long time ago but why loose light to the solar panel which is black and soaks up that precious light. since energy (aka light) is always lost no matter wat. there is no perpetual energy source out there.... yet

    you could put the solar panel outside though to use the suns rays, it would work as long as all the wirings correct and stuff

    for the price of the solar panel,inverter etc your better off to just put that money towards you electricity bill.

    bummer eh?
     
  3. #3 Bandages, Jan 17, 2011
    Last edited by a moderator: Jan 17, 2011
    I see what you're saying but to my mind the whole of human evolution can be traced back to one person doing the same thing... differently.

    I just need to know if it absorbs the spectrums used in grow lights. I figure we have some experts around here on lighting so...:D
     
  4. ah gotcha, i may not be known on herewell but i've been tinkering with solar panels for a couple years. yes it would work but light bulbs(cfl,led) are no where near the power of the sun so the power output from the panel would be fairly low, unless you using a HPS or a MH system which would give you a higher output.
     
  5. You're absolutely right...this is a crazy idea.

    You would need a ton of that light to go to the solar panel, displacing plants, and all to generate at best 26 watts?

    A few guys named Newton and Einstein and Hawking have proved that you cannot have a perpetual motion machine nor a perpetual energy machine, you would expend more energy than you would create/capture.
     

  6. I kinda of figured that it wasn't possible to be perpetual but surely we can feed some back into the system?

    Eh, just an idea.
     
  7. Sure you can feed some back into the system. Just burn about 200-300 of those watts to shine light onto the solar panel and generate 26 watts that way. You have to take away from your plants to do this, and the only reason you're doing this in the first place is to grow plants, so...
     


  8. I'm not talking about placing a solar mat above the plant, I figured below it or off to the side that's not getting reflected light. Light not going to the plant is wasted so I figured maybe you could pick up some of it at the very least (like the braking recharge systems on hybrids) and recycle it. Make a more effecient system. (Not optimized since the panel won't be operating at full capacity, but it's sort of free since I've already paid for the power once.

    It looks like the power requirements are far and above what it could do though. Thanks for the answers!:wave:
     
  9. You are better off with mylar to reflect that "wasted" light back to the plants. I don't think you could power a solar panel with that kind of indirect light anyway, and again not worth it to get back enough power that at most will run a single CFL bulb.
     

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