I am going to start a project to run my home lighting for free using normal commercially available products. The plan is to set up 2-3 energy savings lamps with a solar panel and inverter all for under $150 total. The goal is to drop energy consumption in the home. If I can power all the lights in the home from solar alone, the results would be a savings of between 20 to 30% on the electric bill.

Tests have shown that 30% of the average US household electric bill is from lighting alone.

I will be posting plans, sources and results as this project progresses.

I have about 25 years of experience in electricity, and electronics ranging from DIY home made table fan wind generators to solar to radiant energy chargers.

I will be using a variety of lamps ranging from LEDs to 12 volt fluorescent lamps to energy savings bulbs. The batteries used will be simple 12 volt alarm system batteries that are available around the world for relatively low prices. I will use standard off-the-shelf inverters and solar panels.

Now, let's consider that it is currently mid-winter and the worst time for solar. This will be the best time for extreme stress tests on the system.

Let's see what happens...

I discovered that my solar panel is too weak. I am waiting for a new one to come in. The plan is to use an 18Watt panel. I had no idea how large my old one was. I have had it laying around collecting dust.

I have been using some LED lights in the evening to light my living room for now. They come as an expandable series of puck lights that normally hook up to a wall power supply. There are three pucks with 5 LEDs each. I cut the wires and hooked them up directly to my battery since they were 12 volts anyway. The puck lights work great to light up the room while watching tv.

When all the parts get here, I will post the sources of everything so that anyone who wants to copy this setup can do so.