Posted: 4/10/2014 8:14:20 PM EDT
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So here's the scenario: We have a dive point with a covered picnic bench and steps going down into the water. Used to have power going to it but some asshat pulled all the wiring out.
Looking to see if there's a cheap solar lighting option. Something that could power an overhead light where the picnic table is while getting all our gear on and maybe one or two decent output lights on the stairs. Usually when people do a night dive they would only need the lights on for 2-2.5 hours at most. Not too familiar with how long something can run on solar charged batteries. I figured something like this could run a few bright lights for that amount of time... 
Not sure how many solar panels it would take to charge those back up to capacity during the day. Suggestions? |
I don't have time to give you a long detailed answer, but it's all based on how many amps your lights will draw and how many hours they will run. Use this formula. Volts x amps= watts. Then you'll need to know the amp hour capacity of your battery bank. Lastly, once you know how many watt hours you'll need to replace every day, design your solar array around that. Depending on your latitude, the solar array size will vary. If you need further help, I'll try to get to a keyboard and answer your questions. Looks like a fun project. 
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