Outdoor Solar Lights

And cutting energy consumption (E.G. city lights visible all night from space, advertising signs etc) and developing solar power etc. Ockham’s Razor principle – simplest solution best!

Yes, definitely. Greedy consumers are the cause of the waste through their excessive demand. The one good thing about the recession is that their awareness of waste is growing, and the demand is declining. Sure it’s for the wrong reasons, but it’s still in a good direction. If the cost of gas goes up, the recession will get much worse, and waste will go down even more. I would much rather see change for good positive reasons, but that’s not in my control.

Looking at buying product called ‘snakestop’ which is like a solar light, sticks in ground and creates vibrations to drive snakes away. Hundreds of testimonials about how great it is but they may be fake! Has anyone tried a similar product or have advice on how to deter snakes?

I have had no success with sonic devices for rats, mice, ect and doubt if they will work repelling snakes however throwing red pepper about snake infested areas do positively work.The snakes then move to a cooler climate!

Looking at buying product called ‘snakestop’ which is like a solar light, sticks in ground and creates vibrations to drive snakes away. Hundreds of testimonials about how great it is but they may be fake! Has anyone tried a similar product or have advice on how to deter snakes?

I have had no success with sonic devices for rats, mice, ect and doubt if they will work repelling snakes however throwing red pepper about snake infested areas do positively work.The snakes then move to a cooler climate!

I notice a lot of people purhase those solar Malibus from Wal-mart they are independent and each have a set of rechargable batteries. You stick them into the ground and the sun charges them over time. Are they worth it……

I have both solar powered and electric lights in my yard. Since I live where temps can soar over 100 degrees in late summer, I note the solar lights are made better and don’t crack or break with temperature changes. However, they don’t last as long overall as the electric lights. For some reason, the little solar battery gives out after a few years and it cannot be replaced or recharged any more. The housing on the solar lights is fine, but they won’t light up after dark. On the other hand, the problem with the electric wired lights is the connection cord which is strung light to light. Over time it simply goes bad. The good news is that you can replace the length of cord that goes bad, but you have to have the gizmo to find where that is. Hence, they each have their own unique problems and we just replace them every 2-3 years. Most of them are made in China and just like Christmas lights, they aren’t made to be a lifetime purchase.

I notice a lot of people purhase those solar Malibus from Wal-mart they are independent and each have a set of rechargable batteries. You stick them into the ground and the sun charges them over time. Are they worth it……

I have both solar powered and electric lights in my yard. Since I live where temps can soar over 100 degrees in late summer, I note the solar lights are made better and don’t crack or break with temperature changes. However, they don’t last as long overall as the electric lights. For some reason, the little solar battery gives out after a few years and it cannot be replaced or recharged any more. The housing on the solar lights is fine, but they won’t light up after dark. On the other hand, the problem with the electric wired lights is the connection cord which is strung light to light. Over time it simply goes bad. The good news is that you can replace the length of cord that goes bad, but you have to have the gizmo to find where that is. Hence, they each have their own unique problems and we just replace them every 2-3 years. Most of them are made in China and just like Christmas lights, they aren’t made to be a lifetime purchase.

I connected the solar cell that would run a small motor. I figured it would turn the base on. I connected the positive to the base of the transistor and the negative to the ground of the breadboard. The power for the LED is a 9volt battery with a 200 ohm transistor going in the collector and out the emitter to the ground of breadboard. nothing!!!

Let me see if I understand your circuit. You’ve got an NPN transistor with the emitter grounded. The positive terminal of a solar cell is connected to the base of the transistor, and the negative terminal of the solar cell is connected to ground. The cathode terminal of an LED is connected to the collector of the transistor through a 200 ohm resistor. The anode terminal of the LED is connected to +9 volts DC. (The LED and the resistor may exchange positions so long as the LED polarity is not reversed.)

Around 40 mA should flow through the LED when the transistor is on, causing the LED to light. However, to turn on the transistor, the solar cell will have to source around 1 mA at 0.7 volts or more. There are different types of solar cells, but a silicon-based cell produces only around 0.5 volts, which is too low a voltage to turn on the transistor. However, two silicon solar cells in series will produce around 1 volt which is adequate and should solve your problem.

I have two comments about your circuit. First, you should have a resistor in series with the solar cell(s) to limit the current through the base of the transistor. Second, you should have a resistor from the base to ground to keep the transistor from turning on due to the collector leakage current, known as Icbo on the data sheet. The values for these two resistors depend on the transistor and solar cell parameters, which you have not specified.

I want to create a Japanese Rock garden in front of the house, the are is 30 feet by 7 feet. I just bought me a small lime rock got them delivered this morning. After laying them on the ground, what is your idea / recommendation to get the look? I have seen MANY photos, but I know it wont be like that unless you hire a professional or spend tons of money. WOULD YOU PUT A SOLAR LIGHTS like so popular in the US? Along the edge of the rock garden? or not?

position the stones so that from any view there is a stone behind another . night lights around the edge is a good idea

I have in mind a water recyling system, we have severe water supply shortages.
I plan to take the water from a commercialy available waste water treatment plant, pump it into a 200 litre holding tank, gravity feed for toilet flushing in the house.
To do this safely and meet governemt rules, i need to be sure of killing bacteria. I’d like to conserve power also, so it looks like UV light is the go, I have learned that the water needs to be at least 55 celcious for these to occur.
How many light globes are needed for no more then 50 litres per hour treatment? Is 55 degrese enough? Is Polyethylene a suitable material for UV lights.
I have in mind running the water through a container exposed to this light source before the 200L storage.
Thanks for you help with this, I have been weeks on it, and 5 mins here I have made some ground.

Considering that you eliminated; solid waste, toxic waste, and inter-reactive chemical waste, at the beginning. UV filtration is most effective when liquid is continuously circulated by exposing to UV waves. UV exposure would eliminate certain types of bacteria, however, wouldn’t be enough to total disinfection. Heating method requires 350F for at least 20 minutes.

and should i have 2 separate grounds one for DC from array and one for AC from inverter and should they be connected together or just use the ufer from my house for everything?
This is not a grid tie it’s a battery charger that i invert for lighting purposes

I do not know what country you live in but in the USA.

All electronics must be UL Listed. That includes the solar modules, inverter and charge controllers. You must have DC breakers and disconnects for the DC side of the system and AC breakers and disconnects on the AC side. You must have a neutral ground in the main switch box on the AC side. You will need an equipment ground on every thing including the solar array. And you must ground the neg from the battery bank on any system above 12 volts.

Most people I know that do it them self’s will do the complete install and then call an electrician and pay for an inspection and them to get the permit. Or just do it and never tell anyone which is not such a good idea. If you are not an electrician your insurance will not cover your home should you burn it down. And you could end up in jail the rest of your life if someone is in the home when it burns down. Someone could touch it and being you did something wrong you could kill someone.

Here is a diy page with pictures to help you out.

http://www.oynot.com/solar-info.html

Oh yeah. You should drive an 8 foot ground rod in the gound. One for the array and one for the power side.

last summer we had a set of solar lights you push into the ground in the garden they were lovely very atmospheric then as the winter drew in they seem to lose some of their power obviously due to lower light levels in the day until they went off completely so we brought new rechargable batteries for them charged them first then put them in some worked some did not but even the ones that did still seemed very dim we have not had a bad bad winter in the uk so light levels have been fair i have now been out and replaced them with a whole new set of lights do they have a lifespan does anyone know because we had only had them under one year and cant believe they have to be replaced so soon

They need about 8 to 10 hours of fairly strong sun light to charge rechargeable batteries, we don’t tend to get that amount on a regular basis in the UK in Winter. I store mine away over winter as its not worth it.

You could just charge your rechargeables up in doors using a mains charger if you really want to use them all year round.