Over the years we've had a various solar LED light things in the garden and the most recent addition was a solar pump in the pond - but I'm fed up with them lasting maybe 1 year if your lucky

So I'm considering setting up the main bits with 1 decent size panel on the shed and 1 decent size battery (mains power isn't really an option for this)


problem is I've not got a clue were to start - amazon/ebay are absolutely full of cheap panels & charge controllers, but I don't want to end up with the same old problem of dead electronics this time next year

Any ideas on whats worth buying / where to get it ? (obviously I'm trying to keep the costs as low as possible without just getting more scrap)

id be looking at a decent solar controller, maybe a used victron and a single used roof PV panel that could go on shed/garage roof. Cheap leisure battery with the solar controller should give you a steady 12v without need for any thing else. spend a little more on the controller and you get a bluetooth version and be able to monitor usage. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nyMw7LVlGro

[Edited on 13/6/23 by loggyboy]

No different to a leisure battery setup in a campervan. First thing workout how much power you need per 24hr (probably not a lot). For a basic lead acid battery double that to get what size you need.

You will need a solar controller, ignore the cheap ones on eBay. Victron, Renogy, Ctek all do good mppt controllers. Mppt is much better in the UK than the older PWM technology. Mppt will charge longer on a cloudy day.

You solar panel should be about 1w per aH of battery, assuming you can mount it south facing at an angle. Make sure the open circuit voltage of the panel is lower than the maximum of the controller input.

Stick a cheap automotive fuse box on it just to be safe.

Whilst that might sound complicated it's not if you go through it one step at a time.

The reason many garden solar products fail is they have no or little battery management and bugger the battery after a few hundred charge cycles.