SomeoneWhoIsn'tMe
Member
I've been haunted by the idea of loosing power to the grow lights and screwing up a crop. As such, i have been playing with the idea of setting up a backup light system in case the main power goes out. The principle was seen in use on cellphone towers, they run 5-10 12v high Ah batteries to keep the towers functional in case of a blackout for up to 20 hours. Seeing as our lovely plants are worth almost as much as gold, it seems like a prudent investment.
DISCLAIMER: I'm not in any way certified or very knowledgeable about electricity. Got electrocuted over 20 times on various circuits so get someone to do it for you if you're like me.
So, with that out of the way on to the next step; a normal 12v lead acid battery should be able to put out 1000w of power for 1-2 hours. Not really feasible to run hids off them if you ask me. Thankfully, we can use cfls; not that great at growing, but they put out enough light to keep the plants happy and don't generate that much heat or draw too much power.
Out of personal experience (who doesn't forget the lights on in a car from time to time), i can say that a good battery can keep about 120w going for over 9 hours. So it should light up 4 25w cfls and a backup ventilation system for the duration of a blackout (for those that experience day long blackouts a couple of batteries linked in series should do the trick) without too many problems.
Equipment needed:
12v smart charger (so it doesn't cook the batteries and make a big mess\explosion; also it should automatically turn on if the battery drains)
As many batteries as you see fit
250w inverter (so the lights and equipment can use the 12v)
3 way extension cord
Timer for the lights
Also backup air and water pumps and fans
Circuitry to control the backup systems operation. And this is what i got hung up on. I will lay out the way i envision it to work, but i lack the knowhow to make it.
A power input from a socket or some way to detect if the power has failed. Ideally off some equipment that is always on so there is no need for a transformer (air/water pump in the case of the hydro growers; i believe they use low voltage to run the motors 5-12v). This input should control the current flow from the batteries to the inverter and should act like a NOT gate (when power is delivered to it, it turns the circuit off).
Anyone that has any idea on what components are needed or has built something like this please pm me or post in here.
Hope someone has found some use for this. Happy growing
DISCLAIMER: I'm not in any way certified or very knowledgeable about electricity. Got electrocuted over 20 times on various circuits so get someone to do it for you if you're like me.
So, with that out of the way on to the next step; a normal 12v lead acid battery should be able to put out 1000w of power for 1-2 hours. Not really feasible to run hids off them if you ask me. Thankfully, we can use cfls; not that great at growing, but they put out enough light to keep the plants happy and don't generate that much heat or draw too much power.
Out of personal experience (who doesn't forget the lights on in a car from time to time), i can say that a good battery can keep about 120w going for over 9 hours. So it should light up 4 25w cfls and a backup ventilation system for the duration of a blackout (for those that experience day long blackouts a couple of batteries linked in series should do the trick) without too many problems.
Equipment needed:
12v smart charger (so it doesn't cook the batteries and make a big mess\explosion; also it should automatically turn on if the battery drains)
As many batteries as you see fit
250w inverter (so the lights and equipment can use the 12v)
3 way extension cord
Timer for the lights
Also backup air and water pumps and fans
Circuitry to control the backup systems operation. And this is what i got hung up on. I will lay out the way i envision it to work, but i lack the knowhow to make it.
A power input from a socket or some way to detect if the power has failed. Ideally off some equipment that is always on so there is no need for a transformer (air/water pump in the case of the hydro growers; i believe they use low voltage to run the motors 5-12v). This input should control the current flow from the batteries to the inverter and should act like a NOT gate (when power is delivered to it, it turns the circuit off).
Anyone that has any idea on what components are needed or has built something like this please pm me or post in here.
Hope someone has found some use for this. Happy growing