I want to get a solar panel to run a fan (or two) for swamp coolers.I'm not looking to power 20box fans, just maybe some of those auto fans.What the heck kind of panel do I need? What is a power inverter and what does it do?Will I lose all my power if I use a 00' extension cord?How do I choose what I'm going to need?
Solar panels turn sunlight into direct current electricity usually at 2, 24, or 36v. You could probably have a very simple system with just a panel and a few dc fans assuming that: the panels never put out more power than the fans can handle, you don't mind the fans slowing and stopping when the sunlight fades. If you want the fans running more of the time, you will need the panel hooked to a charger that charges a car/marine type battery and the fans connected to the battery. The longer the wires, the thicker they need to be (and more expensive). If you want to use AC (alternating current like your house uses) you will need an inverter (which turns DC into AC). Each device and each section of wire loses power due to inefficiency (heat produced). Contact a solar company on line, in person, or learn more.
Here is one that can work for a small swamp cooler, but if you want to build a larger one, use multiple fans. This model uses .4 amps at 2 volts DC. 2 X .4 = 5 watts. You'll want about 6 watts per fan for the panel, so if you had 4 of these fans, at 5 watts each, look for a 25 watt or so sized panel. The panel should have a Volts Open Circuit (Voc) rating around 8 volts, that is normal for a 2 volt system. Then you can just wire the fans, in parallel to each other, to the output of the panel. I read an article in Home Power Magazine about a guy who did this to ventilate his crawl space. He only wanted the fans to run when it was dry weather outside, like when it's sunny. The panel not only powered the fans, but were perfect for sensing when it was sunny. You can do the same thing with the swamp cooler. This fan was clipped from Marlin Jones website, they sell small electronics and such, the link is below. They do not sell solar panels, but I've found OKorder to be a great source for them. We have two small arrays here that run LED lights in parts of our home, and charge cell phones, ipods and small electronics. Take care Jorge, Rudydoo
Any fan you find in a store is going to expect AC, not DC, which is what solar panels produce. An inverter changes DC to AC. You'll probably want a deep cycle car battery to smooth out overages and underages. Any fan will tell you how many watts it uses. Panels should (i haven't looked) tell you how many watts they produce. Just off hand, I'd guess you're looking at a 2'x4' panel. Considering how much you'll be paying for the rest of the stuff, a good 00' cord is appropriate,. Last, it's worth the experience, but you'll never recover the cost of everything that you'll have to buy. Have fun.
