I’ve found some $50-80 solar panels for 15 watts of power used to keep ATV or boat batteries charged. Will these panels be able to be used to power my on-at-dusk light bulbs or will I have to buy other adaptive equipment?

This would be my first solar panel purchase and I’m wanting to be able to add panels as I can and as I learn how to use them effectively.

To run lights…you will need solar panels which charge the batteries and an inverter to run the lights…the lights will have to be wired to this…(this is just a basic rundown)…for more info go to your local store…check yellow pages..to discuss what you will need at a specialized store for solar (not hardware store)..then you will have a better idea of what you need and how it works in more detail.

I found portable solar panels used for boats etc. and was wondering how I could effectly use them for my home instead. If you have used them in the past, please tell how they worked (good or bad).

Most people think all one needs is some solar panels to make power. It doesn’t usually work that way. On a boat it is easy because most boats use batteries and DC power.

If all you want to do is make DC power, you will need a battery to hook your portable unit / units to. You can then use the battery to supply power to something that uses battery power. You may need a voltage converter if the device is not 12 volt.

Hi there, my father just bought a house that has solar panels on the roof to heat the water for his pool. The water goes through pipes by the panels and flows back into the pool. I was wondering if there is any way to use that solar energy for other areas of the house. The panels were put in when the house was built in the mid 80′s and the house is in Central Florida/E. Orlando.

What should I use between the solar panel array and the battery shed on the ground? Also, what type of wire should I use to connect each of the panels? I know a lot of panels come with plug and play connectors but I understand a lot of people replace them with…something.

Normally all the wiring is THNN. The wire size depends on how much voltage and at what amount of amps you are running through the wires. The wires from the solar array has to be 256% of the rated power out put.

There is a lot to it.