I put the ReadySet battery pack on that shelf. I built a small shelf on the garage wall that was close to the breaker panel and had easy access to the attic. I have one switch that controls four cool white LED "task lights" around the perimeter of the ceiling and another switch that controls a single LED warm white "mood light" in the center of the ceiling. My solar powered DC lighting works on the same principle as my regular lighting. This is good for when I'm unwinding after a week's work, having a beer, surfing the web, etc. When this light is the only one burning there is a much softer, much dimmer light in the room. It has a 60 watt equivalent warm white CFL bulb. In the center of the ceiling is a single light operated by another switch. It's great for when I'm in there working and need to be able to see what I'm doing. When they are running the inside of the garage is bright. Each of these eight lights is a 100 watt equivalent cool white CFL bulb. All eight of them are operated by a single switch. I have one string of eight lights that run around the perimeter of my garage's ceiling. That being said I'll show you how my conventional 120VAC lighting works. Don't worry, I had all of my electrical work inspected and passed. I built my garage myself and did all of the wiring myself so I have it done exactly the way I like it. I found more of the same bulbs on eBay and then gathered up some electrical boxes, 18/2 Romex wire, tools and got going. As strange as the light bulb was it meant that I could install it in a conventional household light fixture as long as it was wired up for 12VDC and not 120VAC. The cord that was included had a bulb screw socket on one end and a "cigarette lighter" style plug on the other end to plug into the battery pack. Even though its a 12VDC bulb it has an E26 screw base similar to the ones found on your conventional household 120VAC bulbs. The light bulb that came with the kit was particularly interesting. For now I put the panel on the ground beside the shed whenever it's sunny. Now I will make up an aluminum mount and mount it on the roof of my garage with the power cable routed through the roof deck, attic and over to the battery pack. When I first got it I planned on using it for camping trips and emergencies so I made up this portable stand. In these photos you can see the solar panel on a little wooden frame that I built for it. On the front there is also a battery level indicator as well as a charge status indicator. On the front of the unit are two 12 volt "cigarette lighter" outlets and two 5 volt USB ports that you can use to draw power. It has a built in charge controller as well as an alarm that will notify you of an error. The battery pack can be charged from either the solar panel or the wall charger from a set of terminals in the back. The kit comes with a solar panel, an intelligent battery pack, a universal USB cell phone battery charger, a wall adapter charger and a 12 volt LED light bulb with power cord. Instructables was kind enough to send me this neat little solar kit as a prize for being runner up in last year's "Off the Grid Contest". If this installation was done as new construction instead of a retrofit I could have easily done without the conduit. All of the wiring is concealed behind the interior sheathing with the exception of the battery pack and a little bit of PVC conduit. The lights look just like conventional ones that would be installed in your home. One of the great things about this installation is that it is hard wired and fully integrated with the garage. Even so, the battery pack comes with a wall adapter charger that I have used from time to time to keep it charged up. The only thing that is capable of operating independent of grid power are a few lights in the ceiling of the garage. I say "Off Grid" in quotation marks because the garage itself is very much on the grid. I also use the battery pack to charge my iPod through the built in USB port. With a day's charge I can run the DC electric lights in my garage for several hours without having to use grid electricity. During sunny weather the 15 watt solar panel generates electricity and stores it in the battery pack. I'm using a Fenix International ReadySet Solar Kit to power my lights. In this Instructable I will show you how I set up my solar electric garage lighting.
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