Hey guys, I'm almost about as beginner as it gets when it comes to electrical engineering (architect by profession). I understand concepts really well but the technical stuff gets me hung up on times. I'm a hobbyist at best. With that said, here's the project I have:
I want to put LED Strip lights on my balcony and power them with small solar panels that are charging a little battery. The lights would need to run for 4-8 hours after the sun goes down. I know I'm going to need two "1W/6V/150MA" solar panels wired in series, a charge controller (no idea what size/type), battery (I was thinking a 12V 8AH battery would work), a switch for on/off, and the LED Strip. All links are posted below.
I'm really looking for any advice you have on this project because I'm just starting off my solar panel adventures. Eventually I'm going to try to become an expert in solar power but for now it's just a fun project to help me understand it better. I'm viewing this project as an ultra-small-scale whole house solar powered system. Also, am I going to need an inverter to power the lights? I planned on wiring them directly and ditching the power supply that they have in the LED kit. Thank you for your help!
Link to lights (Consumption: 2.4W/m ; Input: DC 12V)
Link to solar panels (two panels in series @ 1W/6V150MA each)
Link to battery (up for suggestions) (12v 8MA)
I want to put LED Strip lights on my balcony and power them with small solar panels that are charging a little battery. The lights would need to run for 4-8 hours after the sun goes down. I know I'm going to need two "1W/6V/150MA" solar panels wired in series, a charge controller (no idea what size/type), battery (I was thinking a 12V 8AH battery would work), a switch for on/off, and the LED Strip. All links are posted below.
I'm really looking for any advice you have on this project because I'm just starting off my solar panel adventures. Eventually I'm going to try to become an expert in solar power but for now it's just a fun project to help me understand it better. I'm viewing this project as an ultra-small-scale whole house solar powered system. Also, am I going to need an inverter to power the lights? I planned on wiring them directly and ditching the power supply that they have in the LED kit. Thank you for your help!
Link to lights (Consumption: 2.4W/m ; Input: DC 12V)
Link to solar panels (two panels in series @ 1W/6V150MA each)
Link to battery (up for suggestions) (12v 8MA)