4 projectors 200 watts installaion

Legolas
Legolas Registered Users Posts: 4
Dear all,

i bought 4 pieces outdoor led projectors 50 watts each 220DC to put outside around my house corners, and i need to light it up all night long (about 12 hrs) so i was wondering what exactly do i need from solar panels and battery size to get them to work for long hours. Thanks for any info

Comments

  • inetdog
    inetdog Solar Expert Posts: 3,123 ✭✭✭✭
    Re: 4 projectors 200 watts installaion
    Legolas wrote: »
    Dear all,

    i bought 4 pieces outdoor led projectors 50 watts each 220DC to put outside around my house corners, and i need to light it up all night long (about 12 hrs) so i was wondering what exactly do i need from solar panels and battery size to get them to work for long hours. Thanks for any info

    200 Watts total, for 12 hours is 2400 watt-hours. From a 12V battery and using a DC to DC converter to get the 220V you need, that will be 200AH of current. That in turn would need a minimum battery bank size of 1000AH using conservative design rules. So (although this is not the way you should actually construct the system) that could be in the form of ten six volt 200AH golf cart batteries.
    That will cost you three arms and four legs and is likely to convince you that your goal uses too much power to be economically practical.
    The panel requirement, if you have an ideal mounting location and are not too far away from the equator, would be about 1000 watts. That could be in the form of four 250W panels at about $250 each if your shop around. Than you will need a Charge Controller to go between the panels and the batteries.

    If you have commercial power available, using that will cost you between 1/2 and 1/10 as much as the "free" solar power would.
    SMA SB 3000, old BP panels.
  • john p
    john p Solar Expert Posts: 814 ✭✭✭
    Re: 4 projectors 200 watts installaion

    Legolis you dont need anything like what you ask if its only security lighting you need... I have used on my house and others 12 x MR16 3w LED 12v lamps..mounted just under the roof so they are as high as possible. get the 38deg ones.. this will give you excellent lighting along the 4 sides of your house..if sides no longer than 40ft(12m)... 12x6w is only 72w or 6 ahr on a 12v battery.(total for 12 hrs 72ahr). 1x200ahr deep cycle could do this. 300w of panels if you in ok sunlight area all year (4hrs a day)..
  • BB.
    BB. Super Moderators, Administrators Posts: 33,431 admin
    Re: 4 projectors 200 watts installaion

    Many of the 220 VDC led fixtures should work just fine on 220 VAC... Check the specifications (although, many times the specifications from China Direct vendors can be very confused).

    Also, I would suggest getting motion detector lights. They will both save you money and are (in many cases) better security lights because they turn on when there is motion--Attracting attention to the bright lights.

    And, 200 Watts of LED lighting is a lot--More or less, the way our eyes respond to light, a 1/2 change in lighting is very difficult for our eyes to see (you could drop from 200 watts to 100 watts of lighting and not even see the difference). A 10:1 change (200 watts to 20 watts) is a "night vs day" difference to our eyes. The 20 Watt lighting would be "swamped" by the 200 Watt lighting and our eyes would not even see the 20 watt lights.

    -Bill
    Near San Francisco California: 3.5kWatt Grid Tied Solar power system+small backup genset
  • john p
    john p Solar Expert Posts: 814 ✭✭✭
    Re: 4 projectors 200 watts installaion

    Bill why use 220v lights if only for security lighting that needs an inverter if it can be simply done on 12v dc ??If its for some special effect then it may be ok to go to the far greater expense... Cree 3w MR16s put out a lot of light far more than most people would believe and the wide angle versions from about 10 ft off ground cover an area about 8ft dia... Its doubtful if he needs lighting so bright to read small print in a book ..????.
  • BB.
    BB. Super Moderators, Administrators Posts: 33,431 admin
    Re: 4 projectors 200 watts installaion

    200 watts of 12 VDC and you are looking at sending 17 amps around... So, I could see using a higher voltage lamp--However, I also think that a lower wattage lamp like your MR16 12 VDC modules would be a good solution too.

    I was just trying to understand the 220 VDC requirement that Legolas seemed to have--No answer for that yet.

    -Bill
    Near San Francisco California: 3.5kWatt Grid Tied Solar power system+small backup genset
  • BB.
    BB. Super Moderators, Administrators Posts: 33,431 admin
    Re: 4 projectors 200 watts installaion

    I have seen the modern car/motor cycle headlamps also called LED Projector lamps too:

    http://www.ebay.com/bhp/projector-headlights

    In the US, the standard filament headlamp is around 50 watts--So it is possible that these are "50 Watt" equivalent automotive/motorcycle lamps re-used as security lamps.

    We could also be looking at a language/translation issue (such as between English and "American" :p).

    The original poster may be out of Beirut, Lebanon/Middle East area.

    -Bill
    Near San Francisco California: 3.5kWatt Grid Tied Solar power system+small backup genset
  • john p
    john p Solar Expert Posts: 814 ✭✭✭
    Re: 4 projectors 200 watts installaion

    Bill I would not suggest 200w on 12v .. The amps as you noted way to high and big losses on reasonable sized cable... 12x3 watt lamps that have total draw 72w run in two directions is only 3a each.. #14 cable be fine (and cheap) im cheap...... He never gave exact reason for the wattage or brightness he wants ?/
  • BB.
    BB. Super Moderators, Administrators Posts: 33,431 admin
    Re: 4 projectors 200 watts installaion

    No problem John... I am just waiting for Legolas to post again and can find out more about the application.

    -Bill
    Near San Francisco California: 3.5kWatt Grid Tied Solar power system+small backup genset
  • john p
    john p Solar Expert Posts: 814 ✭✭✭
    Re: 4 projectors 200 watts installaion

    Yes Bill many upmarket vehicles use so called "projector lamps"" they are really just like a film projector lamp.. but new as they are to vehicles will soon become "old" as LEDs are about to take over headlights and all a vehicles lights as is now in really top end vehicles..