12 Volt Power
 

Im trying to find ome info on running some flouro tubes or cfls from 12v or solar energy??? is it possible and if so how many lumnes. would it be possible to grow greens in an enclosed enviroment with solar panels or wind power??

Re: 12 Volt Power
 

There are lots of 12v lights available, just go to a DIY or camping/caravan shop.
Or you could get a inverter to change the voltage
You need LED or sodium lights to grow plants, normal bulbs wont do it.

http://www.magicplants.co.uk/growlamps.html

Re: 12 Volt Power
 

I cannot completely decipher your abbreviations ... sorry

In order to light neon tubes you need a higher voltage 70 .. 80 Volts minimum.
So, since you have to raise the voltage anyway just look for a normal inverter producing 110 Volts AC.
I guess that's the most simple thing to do ... and because it's regular stuff it will not be too expensive.

I have 2x 1500 Watt inverters .... I used 1 two days ago when there was a short blackout in the evening.

I don't know if it applies for you but I made 2 extra male-to-male power cables. When the power is down I flip the main power switch
to assure being disconnected and plug the inverter's output into an ac outlet to power that whole group.
You would need at least one cable per group ....

I know there are also neon lamps for sale with a built-in inverter. But a separate one will be more versatile.

And another alternative is using halogen lamps. They are 12 volt applicable already and are also easy to get.

Cheers

Re: 12 Volt Power
 

thanks for that but im more interested in getting enough light power not halogen possibly cfls to grow with??

Re: 12 Volt Power
 

Hi reggaeman,

What is cfls .... ?
(Sorry maybe simple but I don't get it)

And I am not an expert on using light for growing stuff but a previous poster made clear that normal bulbs won't do anyway.

Cheers (good luck)

Re: 12 Volt Power
 

You're not using the right terminalogy for power. Electrical power is measure in watts, which is a product of volts X current (in amps). Power storage in a battery is related to it's size and type. Light bulbs are designed to work at a certain voltage, and you can always increase the voltage on a battery with a proper inverter. Then how long a battery will last depends on it's power storage, expressed as power X time. eg. a light bulb that has a certain output at 100 volts may draw 5 amps or 100vX5A= 500 watts of power. A 12V battery that is rated for 100A hour has a storage of 12VX100AXhr has 1200 watt hrs of energy. For that bulb, it can approximately light it for 1200watthr/500watt= 2.4 hours (it'll be less because some energy gets converted to heat in the battery).

The above assumes a proper inverter to raise the voltage to the required value and assumes no lose of power (which is not true in practice).