Hi – forgive me if this has been asked recently but has anyone found a good solar powered fan? I have two run in sheds that do not have electricity close by and I would love to put some fans in. I did see an old post where someone used a solar attic fan and covered it with screen. Any other recommendations?
I don’t have any recommendations for solar fans, but I bought two of the Geek Aire 12" rechargeable battery fans this year:
https://www.amazon.com/Geek-Aire-Rec…/dp/B078PBRD68
The price has gone up on the 12" model by about $15 since I bought mine last month.
So far, I really like them a lot. They are sealed motor/weather-resistant, like barn fans are supposed to be. The 16" model actually shows horse barns in the advertising materials… at the time, I couldn’t justify paying that much more for a larger fan. Instead of traditional low/med/high settings, they have a dial. On the highest setting, they move a lot of air-- as much as an equivalent size shop fan. The battery only lasts a few hours on the highest settings, though. On the lower settings, the battery will last all day and then some. I hang them in the morning, then charge them in the evening. It takes maybe a couple hours at most to completely charge them from 0. You can also just used them plugged in like a normal fan.
I have electricity in my barn, but I only have one outlet and it’s poorly placed for stall fans. Last year, I had extension cord city going on, which made me super nervous. These have been a welcome alternative! I am curious to see how long it takes before the batteries start to weaken.
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I’ve looked around for a solar fan for my chicken coop and come up surprisingly lacking, so curious what others are able to find for you!
Tex, those battery fans look pretty slick–awesome that they’re suitable for the barn with a sealed motor. Maybe I’ll give one of those a shot. I’d just love to find something that doesn’t need to be charged, though!
@Simkie I hear you about finding something that doesn’t need charged! It’s also annoying I can’t turn the fans up to high and let the horses stand under them all day, like I would with electric fans. But the Geek Aire ones are nice enough that I feel like they are a good compromise, and worst case scenario, I can pull the extension cords back out and use them that way. All of the solar fans in the same price range had abysmal reviews.
I also have a cheaper 10" rechargeable fan that I wouldn’t recommend to anyone. I’m not even sure I can say that one is better than nothing. My experience with that fan makes me especially appreciative of the quality of the Geek Aire fans!
Thanks for posting that link, tex. Too pricey for me, but hopefully will get cheaper with time.
I have been waiting for good solar fans to be a thing for several years, no luck yet. I do use a solar panel to power the deep cycle battery for my fence charger, so you could go that route - power fans with a DC circuit. But you’d have to set it up, which isn’t necessarily hard but does require some investment. I have about $275 in my solar panel (with charge controller) & AGM battery, but I would imagine with fans you probably need multiple batteries if you are going to run all day. Could maybe get by with 2, so swap connectors in evening so one battery is charging while one is in use.
I have been tempted to try an attic fan, wasn’t sure if it would be enough airflow though. If anyone could comment on that, I’d love to know.
I finally have a great solar light in my feed room & found an awesome rechargeable super bright light for winter grooming (I only have to charge it maybe 1-2 times per week in winter & it’s magnetic since my shed is metal, so I just charge it in house overnight & take back out when I feed in am).
Now, someone solve the fan thing!
Good topic. I was just searching day before yesterday for solar fans. Found a lot of 5" fans that weren’t too expensive, were fully solar, but 5" isn’t going to move much air in a run-in shed.
However, in my search, a couple of battery operated ones popped up - like this one. Too much for my budget right now, but an option I might look at if our $ situation changes. If you already have Dewalt power packs and chargers, this is a nice addition to your tool set.
Here is a similar one in Millwaukee brand:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQqJffD2Cig
Those are great, if that is what you need.
We attempted this – solar panel on the roof, charge controller, deep cycle battery, sealed fan from Farmtek.
Unfortunately… we didn’t get the math right and the panel doesn’t generate enough power to keep the fan running all day. Oops! It’s excellent for running a shop light hung from the rafters. Not that I ever need light out there.
So it can be done, but it is not cheap, and you need to be able to figure out all the sizing correctly.
Thanks for the ideas. I’m determined to try one and I’ll post back on how it goes!
You start with the fan you want and determine it’s power draw. Then figure out how you will meet that draw.
Not only do you need to know much it takes to spin the blades you also have to know how much it take to keep it running for a period of time.
If you want short term, a few hours during the heat of the day program you will have certain choices to meet this need. If you want it to run before the heat of the day so that you can draw in the cool morning air and then run the rest of the day to keep the space vented you will have a different problem that will be more expensive to solve.
G.
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Not solar, but I use a motion sensor outlet on my run in fan to save on electricity. I can set it for how long it runs when activated. It’s not rated for outdoor use, but I have it fully sheltered and it’s doing fine so far. https://www.amazon.com/Westek-MLC12BC-4-Indoor-Activated-Control/dp/B009KSECO8/ref=asc_df_B009KSECO8/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=194946745349&hvpos=1o1&hvnetw=g&hvrand=15278709813972041264&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9005570&hvtargid=pla-313605858373&psc=1
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My real world is experience is that Guilherme’s last paragraph is true. My husband mounted a 160W 12V solar panel on the roof of the run in and hooked it up to a 12V radiator fan. We’re not solar experts so probably could finagle the mounting a bit better… it’s mounted on the SW side of the run in in an open, non-shady area. It first catches the Maryland sun around 10am and peters out around 5pm this time of year. It’ll run as well as a box fan in full direct sun about 12-3. Any other time it’s functioning like a light breeze if you stand within 2-3 feet. It will also fall back to the light breeze status if clouds pass through or it’s a bit overcast day and it’s not running at all if there’s real cloud cover or rain.
We’ve got about $200 into it and it’s probably not worth quite that much to anyone else. I have an Arab cross with COPD and a propensity to stay fat (and hot) so any and every cooling option is a benefit for him. I’m happy (enough). The fan covers only half my run in and the horses use both sides equally so they seem to feel the same. I won’t be dropping another $200 to add a second or to upgrade the power with another panel and/or deep cycle battery. The math all works in our setup but the sun exposure just isn’t there for a single panel to function well all day and under most conditions.
suggest a Glass Mat battery (AMG) rather than a lead acid deep cycle marine battery
The glassmats can be fully discharged without causing a problem whereas the lead acid you really do not want to discharge it more that 50%. A discharged lead acid can freeze and if still connected to the solar grid can explode while being charged. AMG batteries are not subject to freezing.
Regarding Glassmats, suggest staying away from the Optima brand as since they were bought and production moved out of the country the quality is trash. To bad as it was once the leader.
For rechargeable battery fans, the RYOBI 18-Volt ONE+ Hybrid 18 in. Air Cannon Drum Fan puts out a pretty impressive amount of air. Not too expensive from Home Depot if you already have Ryobi batteries and chargers. Not going to give you 24-hrs on high in a run-in shed, but for people looking at battery powered fans, it’s worth looking at.
yes …sorry dyslexia induced
if you want to make sure to not fully discharge a battery use a 12 VDC dry contact relay to control the power consumption …just power the relay coil by the battery, once the battery charge drops to about 10 VDC the relay will drop out as there would not be enough voltage hold the coil
with voltage applied to the relay coil the relay will close, using the terminals marked “common” © and “normally open” (N.O.) route one leg of the power from the battery to the fan …when the relay coil’s power drops below its rating the relay will release dropping the relay out breaking the power to the fan.
that release point of the relay coil will be higher that the 50% max discharge of a lead acid battery’s max discharge point
these relays are commonly available, here is a link to just one at Grainger’s
https://www.grainger.com/product/SCH…il-Volts-1XZN5
if more than one device is used you can get dual and triple point relays or add relays
the reasons for using a deep cycle marine (designed for trolling motor use) or AGM battery is they are designed for repeated deep discharging of the battery whereas a standard automotive battery can not withstand the repeated deep discharges
