solarseller.com alternative energy by John Drake Services, Inc. | home
1 Site Search - Quick Index | 2 The Realities of Purchasing On-Line | 3 Why Do Business With Us? | 4 Distributor of IOTA Engineering, Quick Cable and Thin-Lite products | 5 Photovoltaics,Batteries, Cable and Wire | 6 Lumen Outputs of Compact Fluorescent and Incandescent Lights | 7 48 volt D.C. fluorescent lights | 8 Low Voltage DC Lights | 9 Why buy Thin-Lite lights? | 10 Thin-Lite Emergency Survival Disaster LED lights | 11 Bogart Engineering Battery Management System packages | 12 Educational Pages On This Site. | 13 Balanced Battery Charging and Dis-Charging by IOTA | 14 Portable & Emergency Fluorescent Light by Flexcharge | 15 DC Fluorescent Inverter Ballasts by IOTA Engineering and Montana Light | 16 Charge Controller Musings | 17 Bogart Engineering SC-2030 Solar Charge Controller | 18 PV Solar charge controllers with night lighting load by Flexcharge | 19 Thinlite Indoor Fluorescent Lights | 19 A - LED Lighting by Thin-Lite | 20 Thinlite Outdoor Lights | 21 Thinlite Replacement Ballasts | 22 Thinlite Replacement Lens - Diffusers | 23 Thinlite DC Lighting Products | 24 DC Lighting | Glossary of Alternative Energy Terms | 25 Parallel and Series Battery Bank Information | 26 What we sell and why. | 27 Amps Volts and Watts | CHARGE CONTROLLERS | 28 Emergency and Disaster Preparedness Notes | 29 Photovoltaic Module & System Wiring - Setting Up A PV System | 30 Wind - Hydro - Solar Charge Controllers by Flexcharge | 31 Water and Air Heating Diversion Loads for Charge Controllers | 32 Maximum Power Point Tracking Solar Charge Controllers by Solar Converters | 33 Solar Converters, Inc. Charge & Lighting Controllers | 34 SES Flexcharge Solar Single or Dual Battery Charge Controllers | 35 Thin-Lite ballast replacement installation guide | 36 Solar Converters Special Solar and Battery Charging Equipment | 37 TriMetric Battery System Monitors and Deltec Co. shunts | 38 Timers,Linear Current Boosters,Photoswitch,Voltage Controlled Switches | 39 Battery Desulphator by Solar Converters, Inc. | 40 Bogart Engineering Product Index - Links | 41 SES Flexcharge Products | 42 QuickCable links to instock products | 43 Thin-Lite products we stock | 44 DC Fuse & Circuit Breaker Types & Installation | 45 Switches - DC rated wall switches | 46 IOTA Engineering IQ4 Smart Charge Controller Owners Manual | 47 Our own alternative energy systems | 48 DC Fuses, Holders & Fuse Blocks | 49 Class T- DC Fuses & Fuse Blocks | 50 ANN - ANL - CNL DC Fuses & Fuse Blocks | 51 Inverter Cable and Overcurrent Protection Guide | 52 Installation and trouble shooting low voltage d.c. lighting | 53 Diodes - Blocking & Bypass, What do they do? | 54 Low Voltage D.C. Lighting Tips | 55 Your On-Line Privacy | 56 Special Order Lenses for Thin-Lite Fluorescent Lights | 57 Thin-Lite Special Order replacement ballasts | 58 Special Order Lenses for Thin-Lite LED Lights | BATTERY POST & TERMINAL CONNECTIONS, ADAPTERS AND BATTERY ACCESSORIES | 59 Battery Post Marine Conversions & Terminal Extensions | 60 Battery Post Connectors Conversions Adapters Repair | 61 Battery Terminal & Post - Cable Lug Covers & Protectors | 62 Heat Shrink Tubing & Cable Lugs by QuickCable | 63 Cable Lugs - Compression Connectors - No Crimping & No Soldering | 64 Heavy Duty Cast Copper Connectors - Lugs | 65 Cable Lugs - Copper Connectors - by Quick Cable - MAX | 66 Cable Lugs - Magna Lug Heavy Duty & Fusion by QuickCable | 67 Anderson SB Connectors | 68 Anderson SB Connector Accessories | 69 Solar Converters Special Order Items | 70 Thin-Lite LED and Fluorescent Comparisons | 71 Overview of Our Photovoltaic Systems | 72 Iota Engineering Battery Chargers / Converters | 73 SAE Connectors, Plugs, Sockets & Cords | 74 IOTA Engineering inverter ballasts | 75 DC to DC Voltage Converters & Dimmers by Solar Converters | 76 Universal Generator Starter switch by Solar Converters | 77 Stranded vs Solid Wire in low voltage systems | 78 IOTA Engineering Power and Lighting products | 79 Thin-Lite Ballast Wiring Layouts | 80 Wire & Cable Gauges and Information | 81 TriMetric 2030 and SC-2030 Wiring Layout | 82 Bogart Engineering WiFi unit | 83 TriMetric 2030 Battery Monitor Features | 84 IOTA Engineering DLS Battery Charger Features | 85 Lighting Systems | 86 Practical Alternative Energy Applications | 87 Portable and Emergency Power Systems | 88 Custom Cables | 89 Thin-Lite Special Order Fluorescent Models & Pricing | 90 Resources for Disaster & Emergency Preparedness | 91 Thin-Lite Special Order LED Light Models & Pricing | 93 My solar / photovoltaic history | 94 Battery Wiring Diagrams | 95 Battery Condition and State of Charge Charts | 96 Order Form | 97 Backup Power? | 98 Energy Expectations | 99 Power Needs Worksheet | 100 Efficiency | 101 Wire Loss Chart | 102 Solar Insolation Map / Chart | 103 SAE Connector Selection | 104 About Us | 105 Statement of Policy & Warranty/Returns | Contact Us | MPPT Charge Controllers - FAQ | Battery Equalizer/DC Autotransformers - FAQ | Constant Voltage Pump Drivers - FAQ | Linear Current Boosters - FAQ | Information | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | How To Videos and Reference by Quick Cable | Home Power Articles | R | P | A | B | C | D
(562) 423-48796
DC Lighting Information and Run Times of Electrical
Loads Powered By Batteries:
DC LIGHTING INFO:
We are all concerned with getting the most light from the amount of power
used, especially in a solar powered system.
> Our first recommendation would be to use fluorescent lamps. They are the
most energy efficient, have the longest life and produce the least amount of
heat (except for L.E.D. lamps.) The major drawbacks are that some types
will not work in very cold climates and they all need a minimum voltage
to start. When using a light sensor (on at dusk, off at dawn) they require a
solenoid or relay to fire up. Current fluorescent light fixtures have excellent
light color characteristics. NOTE: d.c. flourescent light fixtures use the same
tubes as found in a.c. fluorescent fixtures. It is the electronics, not the voltage,
that allows these tubes to be used in a low voltage d.c. light fixture.
> Our second recommendation would be quartz halogen lamps. They are
the most energy efficient incandescent (heat into light) lamps and have the
best light color quality. The downside is that they can produce a great deal of
heat and should only be used in an open fixture.
> Our third recommendation would be LED (light emitting diode) lamps. They
do not produce a great deal of light (except for the expensive multi-LED
units) but they are the most energy efficient and their lifespans can easily run
over 50,000 hours.
In an application where total reliability or the utmost efficiency is required,
the l.e.d. lamps are truly worth the money.
We can not recommend 12 volt incandescent RV and Auto types of bulbs.
These screw in or bayonet style bulbs use a lot of power and produce very
little light.
You will see lights commonly rated at 27K or 41K.
This refers to the color temperature of the tube or lamp in degrees
Kelvin.
The higher the number, the cooler (or closer to sunlight which has a
color temperature of 5500 degrees Kelvin at noon) the color.
Most people prefer the cooler temperature (which is why we only
stock cool tubes and lamps) as they "appear" to put out more light.
A cooler light will also have less influence on the color its
surroundings.
copyright John Drake Services, Inc.
RUN TIMES OF ELECTRICAL LOADS POWERED BY BATTERIES:
A simple and realistic way to determine the run time is to take the battery amp hour rating, deduct 20% and divide the remainder by the amp hour rating of the light or electrical load. EXAMPLE: a 100 amp hour battery running a 13 watt fluorescent lamp: 100 less 20 (20%) = 80, divide by 1.08 (the load amp hour usage) = 74 hours approximate run time. This is only a guide as the battery condition, temperature and on/off cycles can affect these times. The more often you let a battery rest, the more power you will be able to pull from it.
copyright by John Drake Services, Inc.
Tom's ballast cart:
