re-thinking my solar aquaponics setup...

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urbansun
urbansun Registered Users Posts: 1
in Solar Beginners Corner #1
I set up an aquaponics with a small pump running in my greenhouse.... I am getting ready for winter so I made a heater out of a heating element from a hot water tank, running off of 110....It didn't seem like it would be a bad idea to run this off of a 60watt solar panel w/two 6volt batteries.....but now I am thinking I was a little naive to think this would work as the subject of Solar energy has proved a little bewildering to me....8)
I am wondering how far my math is from getting this thing to work?
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  • NorthGuy
    NorthGuy Solar Expert Posts: 1,913 ✭✭
    #2
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    Re: re-thinking my solar aquaponics setup...

    Heating probably will require a lot of PV power, but if the area is small and it's not very cold outside it may be Ok.

    The best way to start is to buy a Kill-a-Watt meter and measure your daily consumption for heating.
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  • BB.
    BB. Super Moderators, Administrators Posts: 33,439 admin
    #3
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    Re: re-thinking my solar aquaponics setup...

    Probably not worth the time/energy... Best case, how much help would running a 60 watt light bulb for 1-2 hours per day in winter?

    Worse case, unless you add an AC inverter--Your 110 VAC heater running on 12 volts will not produce much heat at all.

    -Bill
    Near San Francisco California: 3.5kWatt Grid Tied Solar power system+small backup genset
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  • Cariboocoot
    Cariboocoot Banned Posts: 17,615 ✭✭✭
    #4
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    Re: re-thinking my solar aquaponics setup...

    One 60 Watt panel and a string of 6 Volt golf cart type batteries?
    Won't even charge the batteries, much less provide any extra power for heating.

    Typical 120 VAC water heater element is like 1500 Watts. Now how do you get 1500 Watts from a 60 Watt source? Answer: you don't.
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