Solar powered horses are the next rage you know? well maybe not, but having some comfort when your at the stables is essential not only does it add security, but all in at £0.68 a day, its a great choice. Lets talk about what solar can do for your paddock.
Solar energy can play a significant role in enhancing your paddock and agricultural operations. Here are some ways solar power can benefit your paddock:
- Electric Fencing Energizers:
- Solar-powered energizers are excellent for maintaining electric fences around paddocks. These energizers provide a reliable pulse to keep livestock safely contained.
- Whether you’re protecting garden areas, poultry enclosures, or sheep netting, solar energizers are a sustainable choice.
- They come in various sizes and power outputs, suitable for short runs or long-distance fences.
- Paddock Solar Farms:
- On a larger scale, solar farms can be established in paddocks. These farms harness sunlight to generate renewable electricity.
- For instance, the proposed Paddock solar farm in County Meath, Ireland, will have an export capacity of up to 70MW, meeting the energy needs of over 20,000 households annually.
- Off-Grid Power for Remote Areas:
- If your paddock is in a remote location, solar panels can provide off-grid power.
- Solar systems can run water pumps, lighting, and other essential equipment without relying on traditional grid electricity.
- Investment and Income:
- Installing solar panels on your property is an investment for the future.
- Not only will it help reduce energy bills but if you’re fueling a generator you could save money and noise as well as the maintenance.
Remember that solar solutions can be customized to suit your specific needs, whether you’re managing a small paddock or a large farm. If you need further advice or assistance, feel free to contact us
Small scale solar for a single light can be achieved by solar, but if we are working the yard, we may want more than a light. the kettle, Fridge, radio, CCTV, and wifi maybe some of the things that we would want available.
This is where installing a small solar installation can really work out for you and staff.
For most small holdings, a 3KW inverter will run all of the general things found around the yard, the key to this is the battery which will store the suns energy though the day and keep things powered at night.
For some yards around 9kwh of battery storage is needed. This can give a few days running time in the dark days of winter.
The solar array should be suitable sized, and you could run just two panels. That’s about 840 watts, its not ideal for winter. In the UK solar is a bit feast and famine so we would recommend setting up two arrays, one for summer and the other for winter. the reason is that the sun angle changes, and there can be a 50% performance difference on the panels. The winter array can be fixed to the wall rather than the roof, and should be south facing.
Its recommended that you should have, if you don’t already, wiring carried out for LED lighting. The standard set up is a inverter which runs out to a consumer unit with the protected circuits. This is similar to what you would have in your home.
Weather you have a charge dock for your fence batteries or independent solar charging is up to you and down to the time you want to save. the solar battery choice is down to the type of placement you have.
I’m sure you have heard of the lifepo4 battery that’s all the rage, well we know more about these than the public hype, like they are terrible at low temperatures, Therefore if you are considering LFP (lifepo4) you need to keep them warm, if you wanted lead acid (traditional batteries) these fair better in the cold.
you still can have LFP but you have to arrange heating for them.
lets run the day…
Your up early mucking out, the suns still down there is light rain.. and the temperature is around freezing.
You go to the tool room to grab your tools and get on with it. you turn on the stable lights and by the time you have done the rounds your hands are freezing so you pop into the tack room, put the kettle on and warm your hands on the heater while you wait for your microwave snack. Time for the hack, and then its back to the tack room to clean down the gear, while trying to dry off on the heater, and then time for more tea and a listen to the radio. Feeding time and then its time for home.
Your off home and you check up on the CCTV as your PIR sensor has gone off.
if you need to go down the yard lights meet you making it easy to see rather than spoking the horses with a flash light.
As you may gather I’m no stranger to the paddock but lets look at what we need for power.
The kettle – We have used around 360 Wh of power. ( are you thinking in your head double that?)
The heater – depends on the room, but say 4kwh for a few hours.
The fridge – (coffee with milk or cold drinks in summer, okay meds storage too) 2.6kWh a day
CCTV – 1.4kWh a day
Wifi – 336wh a day
Lighting – 120Wh.
Total 7.4Kwh a day
The average solar array needs to be around 1.8kW. Without running a generator in winter, that’s close to 7kw. but there is always a play off in big load of solar panels and a small generator to “top up”.
I would say 6 panels, with an inverter, that less that £1,000; add the battery.. well we are between £700 and £2,000 on top depending on the type of battery. then there is the electricals, this is a few hundred. installation is around £450 plus expenses.
If I were to guess and say £2,500, how does this work at a return?
thankfully solar tends to last a long long time, about 25 years. Batteries last about 7 to 10 years
and the inverter should be good for 10 years to. I normally say ROI Over ten years.
We are looking around a cost of £0.68 per day; which in todays world, seems pretty good to me.
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