Solar Panel Lighting

Hello Everyone

I`m in the middle of redecorating my Home , and decided to enhance the appearance of my plants with LED lighting.

I went and bought a few planters , added some strong plants that love sun and placed them outside my kitchen.

Now , when the evening comes, without the LED i will not enjoy their looks.

So , for that the next cool ( and easy ) project comes.

eNjoy and let me know what you think

Cheers !

:)

You need to buy the next :

Solar panel: http://www.ebay.com/itm/10w-solar-panel-for-12V-sy...

Solar panel charger : http://www.ebay.com/itm/20A-PWM-Solar-Panel-Charge...

12v 5AH lead acid battery: http://www.ebay.com/itm/PowerStar-2YR-WARRANTY-Bat...

6 Meter of wiring

Wire terminal ends: http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-175pc-Solderless-Crimp...

Led strip ( Waterproof ) http://www.ebay.com/itm/Waterproof-5M-DC-12V-SMD-5...

Crimp stripper

Soldering iron + tin foil

Time + Coffee + Music

I needed to place the Solar Panel at agood location facing the sun , so i built this mount so i can place it against the wall

Used two aluminum angles ,attached them to the Solar Panel back cover , attached to it the wood board, and from it two additional wooden boards

Continuing with the build

I drilled two holes in the wall facing the sun ( east ) -and slided the solar panel inside it

I need to place it in somewhere where it`s dry , and wont be in the sun , i i will need to build it some cover.

I decided the best place would be on some internal wall - outside of the building - where it`s quite dry

I will run the wired inside a small wiring canal so they wont " fry " in the heat of the sun

Now we need to start wiring all the cables from the Solar Panel to the controller

Since the original cable that came with the Solar Panel is short, i had to cut it and extend it using a different cable

I solder end caps for each wire, and made sure it is sitting tight.

Sooooo , the lead acid battery would need to be placed in a good location without direct sun or water.

I`m placing it near the solar panel controller - good place

Make sure all the wires are properly attached . and if you can , make sure that even if it will rain , the wires wont be exposed to water

I chose the regular SMD 5050 LED strips.

Cut two pieces of 60cm each , connected them together . and taped them to a 60cm plastic bracket

This bracket than we will stick in the palnter ( using two clippers for each bracket ) -it would be like an anchor

A must !

:)

I bought a small electrical part that feels when there is not light , and then , close a switch and transfers all the power gathered from the solar panel to the battery .- and from the battery to the LED.

Once the morning comes , the sensor will "feel " there is light and will turn off the switch --> and the battery will be recharged from the solar panel once again

to make sure the rain won`t touch my creation :)

Looks good

Sometimes when i wake up during the night to drink something, it`s nice to see it

Hope you like!
:)