Question about solar panel setup and garden lighting - Is this setup Right?

[Earunder]

What do you mean by 'each link'?

I mean each parallel link. So 3 lines with 8-10 lights on each.

If the ultimate plan is to have that many lights, then the 12V option would have been even more problematical (in terms of cable size).
Kind Regards, John

Ah ok, good to know! So in hindsight I went probably the best way even though this is a starter setup.

No. If you had been using 12V bulbs, you could just have connected them straight to the battery.
Kind Regards, John

Hmm ok that's food for thought on the additional lamps then. I've already got these ones so it'll be interesting to see if they work and run as expected with the solar system keeping the battery charged.

Forgive me if I've not clocked on yet, but if I were to use the 12v system on the remainder of the lights I'd only need to get thicker cable to adjust / compensate for the drop according to the length of cable and power used on the lights then? Would that sized cable, under ground also, need to be SWA? or not as the voltage would be too low to cause harm?

 

[Earunder]

That makes sense if you have no experience of using SWA. If you are interested in knowing what would be involved in 'terminating' it, you could look at our wiki - (click here) .

Thanks for the link!! I'll take a look.

 

[JohnW2]

Forgive me if I've not clocked on yet, but if I were to use the 12v system on the remainder of the lights I'd only need to get thicker cable to adjust / compensate for the drop according to the length of cable and power used on the lights then?

That's right.

Would that sized cable, under ground also, need to be SWA? or not as the voltage would be too low to cause harm?

Safety-wise, there obviously is not an issue. In practical terms, I'm not sure that anything other than SWA (or similar) would be 'mechanically protected' enough to be sensibly buried.

Kind Regards, John

 

[Earunder]

Fingers crossed on my little solar adventure!

That's right.

Safety-wise, there obviously is not an issue. In practical terms, I'm not sure that anything other than SWA (or similar) would be 'mechanically protected' enough to be sensibly buried.

Kind Regards, John

That's absolutely great stuff! So pleased I asked the questions!

Thanks John you've explained it great!

 

[flameport]

Maybe I've gone OTT but just got a £6 safety adaptor RCD

An RCD plugged into a battery supplied inverter will do absolutely nothing, unless the output is modified so that it is ground referenced.

 

[JohnW2]

An RCD plugged into a battery supplied inverter will do absolutely nothing, unless the output is modified so that it is ground referenced.

Very good point. I'd completely forgotten where the power was coming from when I wrote about the RCD!

Kind Regards, John

 

[winston1]

No. If you had been using 12V bulbs, you could just have connected them straight to the battery.

Kind Regards, John

Anyway you can't use a transformer with a battery. Transformers are AC devices, batteries are DC.

 

[JohnW2]

Anyway you can't use a transformer with a battery. Transformers are AC devices, batteries are DC.

The OP isn't using a transformer, he is using a (DC -> AC) inverter powered by his (DC) battery.

Kind Regards, John

 

[winston1]

The OP isn't using a transformer, he is using a (DC -> AC) inverter powered by his (DC) battery.

Kind Regards, John

This is what OP said about using 12v lamps on a battery:

Wouldn't I have needed a transformer, or could I have just connected directly to the battery using a connector?