Ultra-Budget Solar Panel Setup - What Can It Power?

I was honestly surprised by what you can build on such a tight budget!
🔋 PARTS USED IN THIS VIDEO
• 20W solar panel kit - amzn.to/48jZXFj
• 12V 18Ah battery - amzn.to/3SGheTs
• 150W inverter - amzn.to/48sUWKG
• Adapter cable - amzn.to/3woDlGw
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TIMESTAMPS
0:00 - Intro
0:22 - What can you get for $100?
1:44 - Unboxing!
5:10 - Setup!
5:53 - What can it power? (And for how long?)
6:45 - How fast does the solar panel charge the battery?
7:23 - What CAN'T it power?
8:10 - Worth it?
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I decided to find out what sort of DIY solar panel setup you can build on an extreme budget of about $100. For context, most 100 watt solar panels cost around $100 each! A small solar panel setup like this consists of 4 main parts: solar panel, charge controller, battery, and inverter.
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DISCLAIMERS
Some of the links in this video description and in the comments below are affiliate links. If you make a purchase after clicking on one, at no extra cost to you I may earn a commission. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
For general informational purposes only. Nothing in this video is intended to be professional solar or electrical advice. Please consult with a licensed professional in their field of expertise in your jurisdiction.

[@footprinthero]

PARTS (affiliate links) 20W solar panel kit - amzn.to/48jZXFj 12V 18Ah battery - amzn.to/3SGheTs 150W inverter - amzn.to/48sUWKG Adapter cable - amzn.to/3woDlGw In this video I tried to focus a bit more on storytelling (even though I don't really know the first thing about storytelling lol). Lemme know if you liked it 😄

[@maggew]

I already knew within 30s of clicking play this is a thumbs up. A simple solar related search on KZbin is littered with garbage. Glad I found your video. Thank you very much.

[@jasonbroom7147]

First of all, another EXCELLENT video. Your production quality is next-level! The way the segments are laid out and how clearly you articulate each of the ideas makes it an absolute joy to watch the entire video. With that said, your timeline in this video is typical for those who are new to the idea of solar; buy some stuff and then see what it will power. I know YOU know this, but you always want to spec your system the exact opposite way. You want to identify your loads, including peak draw and total watt-hours of draw over a given time period. That's how you make your decision on both the inverter and the battery capacity. Once you know your battery capacity (and voltage) you can make a good decision on how much solar to bring in, which helps define which charge controller to buy. Great stuff, as always. :)

[@footprinthero]

100% correct Jason. Best to determine your energy needs and then size everything based on that. Thanks for the comment!

[@NWAAdventures]

Can't wait to see the budget solar generator setup vid.

[@entertaindane7957]

Could you do another video upgrading the parts used in this video? I think that would be a good idea and a fun video!!

[@das5813]

Important. Thanks for letting me know. Always disconnect the solar array before disconnecting anything else when disassembling the kit

[@CasperMade]

I think its amazing what you're doing on your channel man, keep up the great work and please as always keep em coming !

[@footprinthero]

Thank you!

[@jessicaalvarez273]

I’m impressed!! Pretty good for the budget

[@footprinthero]

I thought so too!

[@demogirlsworld]

Thanks for articulating this basic set up so simply! I'm slowly collecting bits and pieces based off your videos in order for me to build my own system. Thanks for the tip re the lithium batteries. I have a 3 season greenhouse as it can get to -50 where I am in winter and even fall temps are in the low minus weather. SLA I think will be a better solution for me.

[@ernestsbrigis1004]

Totally worth it if you have a small garden away from the house far enough to be too expensive to get power and still close enough that you can walk by feet. With a bigger battery and maybe a little beefier inverter it should be enough to power a small water pump once a day, some night lights and maybe once a week you can charge some power tools.

[@NWAAdventures]

I think this might be a perfect setup to run a few LED lights in my truck bed camper. Thank you!

[@user-sn7pw1jz1m]

I'm glad I found your KZbin channel.. is very informative of every one of them I have ever watched since yesterday LOL I live in my vehicle it's an SUV and in winter and summer I want to be able to either use a small heater or a fan to keep me either warm or cold and I think the lithium battery would work perfectly I like this setup too though

[@panayioti74]

I think it worth the price, you can easily use with it a larger panel in order to charge the battery faster.

[@timlee5260]

This could work for a camping setup where you started with a full battery and used the kit to power the stuff you showed. The big advantage to this small setup is price and easy enough to carry in a duffle bag.

[@KyleDriskill]

You should have excluded the cost of the solar panel and just used the standard low entry 100w panel. Then you could have gotten a little better stuff to go with it. Maybe do this again one day and have a budget of $200 but you have a 200w solar panel that was given as a gift for free. What would be the best starting setup you could do then?

[@fishycomics]

The Solar controllers connections needs an improvement, simple fix is to add your own piggy back to it. I run a 12v solar fan, ith an additional battery, non-stop can run for 5 days no sun at a moderate level. thanks for the share, planning t o do another one for the Summer

[@wii166]

What a cool channel

[@michaelmello9510]

Nice 👍

[@brucevongphrachanh3780]

I have a 12.8 volt 50amh LifePo4 and its going to be connected to a 1500 inverter. The ebike charger is 54.7 volt ,will the ebike charger damage the LifePo4 battery?

[@gg-us9rk]

How much watt inverter can we connect with a 12V 200Ah Lead Acid battery for good life? I am using the battery-inverter combo as an alternative power source like an UPS

[@tromzinck]

Lead-acid is just NO-GO today. Put 50£ more and get a lithium battery

[@adamsisernik4556]

I bought an 11.7kw Basin green Lifepo4 51.2V battery. I will charge a BG battery with solar panels via a Victron MPPT 150/35. I will charge the Delta pro from BG battery (sketch). Output from BG battery is 50Ah (200Ah max). After a minute of charging with an output power of 15.5A, the output power from the BG battery started to drop to 3A and then back up to 5A, thus minimally charging the Delta Pro in waves (3A 5A 3A 5A, ...). Could it be a power output problem with too much amperage (DP max input xt60 is 15A)? How can I solve this?

[@hosay299]

What about uk price £

[@Powerwinoffical]

Hello ,alex , are you interested in testing our Powerwin 12.8v 100ah battery ?

[@KyleDriskill]

I would be. I'm just getting into solar and would love to review your product.

[@AverageJoe2023]

I would also be interested

[@3D_Printing]

Divide watts claimed by 1000, may be more real

[@Aeywos]

Bro why very late video? Love from Bangladesh 🇧🇩

[@footprinthero]

Late how?

[@Aeywos]

​@@footprintheroyou upload per month per week

[@footprinthero]

I'm currently doing 2 videos per month (because I'm still slow lol) but want to get faster and start doing 3-4 per month

[@Aeywos]

@@footprinthero please Uploads shorts

[@tinashezimunya2288]

With that budget I would buy used solar panels

[@footprinthero]

That's a great option