Connect the light from the car battery. Autonomous lighting in the country

Autonomous lighting in the country can become an alternative to centralized power supply in cases where in the future it is impossible to connect to the power grid at all or the cost of connection is incredibly high and troublesome. Also, the use of various options for autonomous lighting in the country is being pushed by ever-increasing electricity tariffs. Consider the two most popular options for energy supply and analyze which one is more profitable - these are: inverter gas generator And battery converter .

Inverter gas generator

Currently, an inverter gas generator is very popular for providing autonomous lighting in the country. This is explained by the fact that the unit is quite affordable, easy to operate, does not require special configuration and installation. All actions necessary for its functioning are as follows: installed, filled with fuel, started and received electricity. Everything, it would seem, is simple, however, in order to determine the appropriateness of its application, we will analyze all aspects of this issue.

Take as an example a Chinese-made Werk IG-2600 generator, which produces 2.3 kW of power and costs about 22,000 rubles. Fuel consumption at rated power is 0.9 l / h (according to the passport). For convenience of calculation, the cost of fuel is equated to the price of AI-92 gasoline, which is equal to 36 rubles / liter. To determine the cost of one kW / h, we will perform the following actions: 1 kW / h \u003d 36 rubles / liter x 0.9 liters / hour: 2.3 kW \u003d 14.0 rubles.

The value is 14.0 rubles. for one kW - this is, in principle, not bad, but we must not forget that 22,000 rubles were paid for the Werk IG-2600 inverter gas generator. And if we take the motor resource of this device equal to 5000 hours, then we can get the final cost of one kW / hour. For this, 22,000 rubles. : 5,000 hours and get 4.4 rubles. Now, in total, one kWh will cost: 14.0 + 4.4 = 18.4 rubles. If we take electricity tariffs in Moscow, which are equal to 5.38 kW / h, then we can see that the cost of autonomous lighting in the country will be approximately 3.4 times higher.

It is profitable or not, everyone decides for himself, based on his cash income. Now many generator manufacturers are reducing the cost of one kilowatt by creating devices that run on both gasoline and liquefied gas, which is twice as cheap as gasoline.

Battery Converter

The battery inverter consists of powerful batteries with a voltage of 12 - 24 Volts and a special device that converts direct voltage into alternating 220 Volts. Therefore, it is necessary to pre-charge the batteries from a stationary power grid in order to use this supply of electricity in the country later. It should be noted right away that ordinary car batteries are unsuitable for this purpose, since they give out a large current only for a certain period of time and cannot power the converter for a long time.

Therefore, batteries for an inverter will be four times more expensive than car batteries of the same capacity, but their service life is up to ten years, which cannot be said about car batteries. Therefore, the cost of a battery converter consisting of two batteries with a capacity of up to 300 Ah will be about 150,000 rubles.

To determine the profitability of such an installation in the country, we first give the formula for the required battery capacity depending on the power consumption. The formula looks like this: E \u003d N t efficiency / U. Where E is the required capacity in A / h, t is the battery discharge time, N is the power consumption in W, efficiency is the safety factor, the value is equal to 0.7 and U is the voltage battery volts.

Now let's calculate what the battery capacity should be with a battery discharge time of 5 hours in order to provide a consumer power equal to 2,000 watts. For this, 2,000 5 0.7: 12 = 583 Ah. Installations usually have two batteries, so the capacity of one should be 583:2 = 291 Ah ≈ 300 Ah. Which corresponds to the cost of the entire unit of 150,000 rubles.

If we took a time of 10 years for the battery life, then it will take 27,000 kW / h to recharge it during this period at a price of 5.38 rubles per kilowatt. That is, 27,000 5.38 \u003d 145,260 rubles will be spent. Moving on: the total cost of all costs is now 145,260 + 150,000 = 295,260 rubles.

Mean the cost of one kilowatt when using a battery converter will be: 295,260: 27,000 = 10.9 rubles. That is, it is now clear that this is almost two times less than the cost of one kilowatt of electricity than when using an inverter gas generator to provide autonomous lighting in the country.

It is clear that these calculations are tiring, but without them, a comparison of these two installations would be unfounded. As a result, it is up to you to decide which installation and at what price to purchase, based on financial capabilities.

The life of a modern person is difficult to imagine without electricity. There are many different electrical appliances used in everyday life. electronic devices that make life comfortable and allow you to solve various problems.

At a picnic or on a hiking trip, the question arises of where to get electricity in nature, because even far from civilization, a modern person cannot do without a number of electrical appliances and devices.

We will not give advice on how to get electricity from wood, fruits, natural materials, etc. - these methods will fit only as an experience showing the presence of a minimum potential.

We are only interested in reliable and proven methods that will provide power to electrical appliances for the required period of time.

External accumulators, batteries

If you need to use various gadgets in nature, photo, video and audio equipment, a flashlight, a radio receiver, etc. you can limit yourself to using external batteries or from galvanic cells (batteries), if such a possibility is provided. As an alternative to external batteries, you can purchase an additional battery for a particular device.

Car battery and inverter

For a long stay in nature charge external batteries may not be enough, so another power supply is needed. In the case of going out into nature by car, you can use electricity from car battery to charge and operate the necessary devices.

For this purpose, it is necessary to have appropriate devices that allow you to convert 12 V of the car into the required voltage for the operation of certain devices and electrical appliances.

The car battery can also be used to power household electrical appliances. To do this, you need to purchase an inverter - a converter that allows you to get output from 12 V alternating current voltage 220 V.

When considering the possibility of connecting electrical appliances to a car battery, it should be remembered that its capacity is limited and does not allow turning on powerful electrical appliances.

When using an inverter, the battery will be discharged very quickly, which may eventually lead to over-discharge and the engine will not start. To avoid this, it is necessary to control the battery charge and periodically start the engine to restore the battery charge.

Diesel (gasoline) generator

The next option is to use a diesel or gasoline generator. This option obtaining electricity in nature will be relevant for those cases when it is necessary to power powerful electrical appliances that are not enough to power a car battery.

A generator with a sufficient supply of fuel will solve the problem of power supply if you need a long stay in nature.

Alternative sources of electricity

Considering the possibility of operating electrical appliances in nature, we can mention alternative sources of electricity - a wind generator and solar panels.

The use of alternative sources of electricity is relevant in the absence of a centralized power supply from the power grid nearby, for a long period as an alternative to a generator, for the operation of which it is necessary to have an adequate supply of fuel.

For hiking in nature, you can purchase portable solar panels as independent devices or built into a backpack, bag, etc. Especially for field camps and camping, there are foldable solar panels with built-in LEDs for lighting and outlets for charging various gadgets and other electronic devices.

Autonomous lighting in the garage will be needed if there is no electricity on the site or it is often turned off. Today, there are many ways to solve the problem associated with interruptions in the power supply of the site. If you spend quite a lot of time fixing your car, we recommend that you learn how to make your own garage light without electricity! Below we will provide a few ideas ranging from the most complex to the most available options for home and garden.

Installation of solar panels

Whatever one may say, the most effective way is the installation of solar panels, thanks to which you can not only make autonomous lighting in the garage, but also an independent power supply for the entire site. Yes, this is a costly option and you certainly cannot do without the help of specialists in installation. However, once you spend money, you can not only turn on the light when there is a power outage, but also significantly save electricity bills.

About what we talked about. If your budget allows, seriously consider this option.

Homemade wind generator

An alternative option for autonomous power supply to the garage and the cottage as a whole is to install a windmill, which can also generate free electricity. You can buy a ready-made device, but it will be quite expensive. For a 2-kilowatt model, you will have to pay about 100 thousand rubles. That is why we offer you, thanks to which it will be possible to use the light in the garage without electricity.

The only thing to consider is wind speed. If there are no strong gusts of wind in your region or the location of the site, it is unlikely that you will be able to get free electricity.

Diesel or petrol generator

You can also make the light in the garage without electricity, if you use a gas generator. In this case, as in the option with solar panels, it is possible to fully provide the site with electricity by connecting the generator to the mains. It is rational to use such an idea only if the light is turned off for a short period of time, and if you use a power tool in the garage.

Otherwise, 1 kW of electricity from a gas generator will cost you quite a lot, so it is unlikely to be profitable to use it all the time. About that, we talked about in the corresponding article.

Battery application

Do you have an extra 12 volt car battery in your garage? So why not make autonomous garage lighting with it? Everything is quite simple - get a 12 Volt LED strip (it is the most practical), install it above the work area and along the room, and then connect it to the battery. light from LED strips good quality, and if you choose the length of the tape wisely, the battery will not run out too quickly. You can see how such a backlight looks in reality in the video below:

Battery application

The second battery option

You can see the result in more detail in the video:

Use of economical LEDs

LED lamps with battery

On the Internet, you can now find many offers for the sale of battery-powered LED lamps. A battery is installed inside the 5-12 watt bulbs, which is able to maintain autonomous lighting for 6-12 hours.

Using such a lamp is quite simple - it is screwed into a standard E27 cartridge, charged from the mains throughout the day, after which it can provide lighting in the garage without electricity. The cost is about 600 rubles, so you can buy 2 light bulbs and forget about problems with power outages.

Garden solar lights

A similar idea is to purchase garden lights on solar panels, place them in the open air on the territory, and in the evening, if the lights turn off, bring them into the garage. Such lighting fixtures enough for 5-6 hours, if they are of high quality.

The only drawback is that over time, the brightness of the lighting will fall, in fact, as well as the time of autonomous lighting. However, many people use this idea, so there are reasons for its existence.

Philippine lanterns

Well last way, which allows you to make free light in the garage during the daytime - the use of Philippine lanterns, which work on the principle of light refraction. Making a Philippine lantern with your own hands is quite simple - a part of the bottle is cut out (although you can use the whole one), mounted on a rigid base and mounted in the roof. If the roof is made of corrugated board, you can simply cut a suitable hole in the sheet into which a water bottle is installed, as shown in the photo below:

To prevent rain from getting inside the garage, the joints between the roofing material and the bottle must be well sealed with sealant. This idea is suitable for residents of regions in which sunny weather prevails. Otherwise, the light will be dim and nothing will work. If you do everything right, the result will be something like this:

So we have listed all the popular ways to make the light in the garage without electricity. Our opinion - if you really need only autonomous lighting, and not full power supply, it is better to purchase LED bulbs on a battery or make a windmill with your own hands. All other technologies are either too expensive or not effective enough.

It often happens that there is no electricity, for various reasons, and there is no lighting. Then we use candles, lanterns, and, at worst, kerosene lamps. Candles are smoked and fire hazardous, a flashlight has a directional light and not always a large glow resource. I suggest making an alternative.

This design will use available components, mainly from old computer power supplies. circuit diagram device is shown below:

The circuit is powered by a 12V battery with a capacity of at least one and a half ampere - hours. The role of the light source will be performed by the "housekeeper" light bulb, with a power of 8 - 15 watts.

Components borrowed from a computer power supply:
– pulse transformer;
- PWM controller TL494;
- high-voltage capacitors (С3, С4);
– high-frequency diodes (VD1, VD2);

The rest of the components must be purchased. All components are mounted on a single-sided printed circuit board, 50mm in size. at 54mm. (minimum dimensions, excluding space for fasteners).

File printed circuit board made in Sprint-Layout 6.0 (5.0) and attached at the end of the article, in the archive. In the file, the view of the board from the side of the components.

The output transistors must be installed on a heat sink, radiator, for example, from the processor of an old computer. A properly assembled device does not need adjustment and will work immediately. When turned on, the board consumes for a short time, to charge the capacitors, about 1.5 amperes, then at the end of the charge 0.75 amperes per hour.

Since there is no case yet, I did not screw the radiator for the sample.

The light bulb lights up almost immediately, and shines like from a normal electrical outlet. The light bulb can be positioned either next to the body or on the ceiling as an alternative luminaire.

ATTENTION: at the output of the circuit, we will get a constant voltage with an amplitude of 220 volts, BE CAREFUL!!!

Files:

Surely you have heard about lighting networks low voltage, but the meaning of their use remains unclear. In this article, we will explain why the application direct current for domestic lighting it makes sense, as well as in what cases and how you can rewire your own home.

The use of low voltage to power lighting and other electrical appliances has been practiced for more than half a century. This trend originated in industrial plants, where, for a number of reasons, voltages of 36 volts and below were considered safe. When opening contacts in such a network, no sparks are formed, and the effect of such a low value on human body does not lead to serious consequences.

Today, with the development of more efficient light sources, the use of low-voltage networks in residential premises has become not only possible, but also very rational. It can be argued that the laying of a low-voltage lighting network in conjunction with the use of LED sources lighting is an integral part of modern renovation.

Benefits of low voltage

As many people know, such a dangerous voltage value as 220 volts is used in household networks due to limited bandwidth wires and requirements for small dimensions household appliances. For example, an electric kettle of the same capacity, but powered by a low voltage network, would load the wiring with about ten times the usual current.

Few people know that a significant part of modern household appliances has an operating voltage much lower than the mains voltage, they are powered through built-in transformers. Lighting networks can also be attributed to this category of consumers. In the era of the total rejection of incandescent lamps, it became possible to run low-voltage current through the lighting network, but why do this?

1. Electrical safety. Such a small voltage is not capable of harming a person, most will not even feel this effect.
2. Fire safety. Especially for lighting networks, where rather long sections of cable lines are laid in a flammable environment with open access air - in suspended ceilings. Short circuit in such a network, it is more likely to disable the transformer than burn the wiring.
3. Reducing the number of transformation steps. It is known that it is cheaper to install one powerful transformer for the entire network than to supply each lighting fixture with it.
4. Energy savings when using low-voltage light sources can range from 10% to 30%. Needless to say, low voltage lights are more durable and don't have to be replaced as often.

Problems and disadvantages of low-voltage networks

The most obvious disadvantage of low-voltage networks is the potential loss of voltage during the transmission of electricity through the conductor. Density plays a significant role in resolving this issue. electric current. If there is a conductor of a sufficiently large cross section, the losses are not so high.

As practice shows, the length of the cable line from the source to the consumer of low voltage is rarely more than 20 meters, if we are talking about household electricity. If you lay these sections with a standard copper wire at 1.5 mm 2, the loss will not be noticeable.

This may seem doubtful for larger facilities such as cottages and multi-storey mansions, but they are wired according to distributed schemes and taking into account the requirement of selective protection. So, nothing prevents you from installing one transformer in each group panel.

Note! Here it is important not only the cross section of the conductor, but also the quality of the material. Cheap Chinese cable products of the ShVVP or PVS brands are not suitable for these purposes. It is necessary to use cables of the VVG or VVG brands, in the veins of which there are no impurities of brass and silumin.

The optimal solution to the problem

Like any innovation, low-voltage lighting networks are best laid down at the design stage of a building. This will help avoid problems such as cable overruns or incorrect junction box layouts.

Scheme of assembly of modular shields from junction boxes

First of all, you need to take into account extra bed in group shields for installation of modular transformers. Devices like the ABB TS25 or HAGER ST313 take up four slots, while the more powerful HAGER ST315 takes up 6 slots. The cost of such transformers is up to 3000 rubles, the rather high price is due to the possibility of mounting on a DIN rail. Free-standing devices are cheaper, easier to find, and have a much higher power range. For example, devices such as TASCHIBRA can deliver up to 250 watts, which is enough to connect 30-40 halogen lamps.

If you plan to use LED light sources, conventional electronic transformers will not work for you. To power the LEDs, you need a stabilized current transformer. To get it, you can use devices like the Deluxe NV1236C LED driver (cost about 1000 rubles) or popular Chinese-made LED power supplies. If you need to mount the device in a group shield, it is better to purchase an LED RGB controller, such as Supernova LED Dimmer for 2500 rubles. It has multiple Pulse Width Modulation channels and can operate in standalone mode. This means that you can also set it to control the brightness and color of the RGB LED strip.

House shield layout diagram

As for the connection scheme and wiring of such a lighting network, you most likely will not encounter difficulties. The transformer is connected to mains voltage, further wiring is performed independently of the system. Switching of lighting is carried out by conventional switches; polarity does not matter for halogen lamps. But in the case of LED lamps, especially those operating in RGB mode, you will have to maintain polarity and put only the positive wire in the gap.

You can also experiment and run a four-channel control scheme through a three-gang switch, opening the negative contacts of different colors. Such a switch must have three independent keys, so use Schneider Electric WDE 000331 or equivalent. In this case, it becomes possible to control the tint of the glow without first adjusting the controller.

Connection box examples

Low voltage lighting in a residential apartment

The question involuntarily arises: is it possible to conduct a low-voltage lighting network in an already inhabited apartment? Yes, you can. Maybe not so economically and with the loss of a number of opportunities, but it is possible. It is best to carry out such modernization during the overhaul of electrical wiring (this way you will avoid the need to install junction boxes). It is advisable to lay the power cables of the outlet lines along the floor, connecting the outlets in a chain.

For laying cables of the lighting line, cavities of suspended ceilings can be used, thus almost completely eliminating the need for horizontal chasing. But there is also an alternative layout option: if you replace the junction boxes with modular boards, you will not only provide selective protection against overloads, but also get a place to install transformers.

Little tricks for low voltage lighting

And a little life hack as a conclusion. How often have you encountered the need for emergency night lighting, so that at night you could walk through a dimly lit room? If you have low voltage wiring, there are two interesting solutions to this problem.

The first is quite simple: put in each box with a switch a small piece of LED strip or a bunch of NE-2 neon bulbs connected through a current-limiting resistor from 100 kOhm to 5 MΩ.

In this case, you will get a rather interesting inner glow effect. From all the cracks and gaps between the plastic parts, light will ooze, which looks rather unusual and provides the necessary level of illumination for orientation in complete darkness.

The second option: the backlight can be made brighter by mounting ultra-bright LEDs directly into the frame, but this is quite a difficult job. First of all, you need to make a groove of 1 mm at the bottom of the frame, removing a little plastic at the end with sandpaper. LEDs must be soldered in series, the optimal number of which is three pieces. A current-limiting resistor is also soldered in series in the circuit, the value of which is selected individually.

The entire garland is attached to the cavity of the switch frame with a glue gun or silicone sealant, it is advisable to orient the LED heads to the edge of the frame. And if during the repair you make several thin strobes and put a thin two-wire wire into them, you can also highlight the sockets.