Running a shed layout off of DC Solar power without AC and a power inverter?

[rrinker]

 If you don't mind the trains running a little slow, the nominal 13.8 volts from a lead acid battery bank will provide enough voltage to run a DCC system. Just be sure tyo FUSE EVERYTHING. A battery bank like that can source enough current to literally weld things which would quickly destroy any railroad electronics. If the command station draws 5 amps - no more than a 6 amp fuse on the line feeding it. Otherwise a fault on the unit could destory it, or, putting the kind of current the battery can produce through something like #12 wire, you could burn your whole shed down as the #12 wire glows, the insulation melts of fit, and any flammable material in contact with it catches fire before the wire melts through and breaks the circuit.

 Scary - but completely safe if you use proper fuses on the circuits - right off the battery set you should have a fuse block protecting the various circuits. 

 Julien Ilet, a YouTube producer who does mostly electronics videos, powers his workshop via a bank of batteries and a solar panel. Everything he does ends up running through boost/buck converters, or he charges power banks and runs his experiments off them instead of live connected to the shed's power system.

                              --Randy

[gregc]

CTConrail

Ok so I am in the planning phase of my shed layout and I will be powering everything off of solar and a battery bank.

am I correct that the solar panels simply recharges the (car) batteries and the batteries supply a constant voltage for your layout, 12V

you should be able to use buck-booster converters to efficiently generate a variety of voltages (5V, -12V 14V) from the batteries.

i think the toughest will be to convert the battery voltage to 14V for DCC at relatively high current (5A)

[RR_Mel]

How about a little more info about the solar panels.  Will they be a commercial installation?  What voltage and current will they be?  What type of control panel will it have?  What type of batteries?  The cells will have a higher voltage than the batteries so there will be some type of regulator for charging the batteries.

 

 

Mel

 

 

My Model Railroad   

http://melvineperry.blogspot.com/

 

Bakersfield, California

 

I'm beginning to realize that aging is not for wimps.

 

[snjroy]

Cool project. I would hate to see this post dissapear without a response... DC should work with a rheostat hooked on a 12v battery ( or two). An RV battery is probably what you want because they are designed for continuous operation. DCC is AC 18V, so an inverter is a must...Maybe someone with more advanced knowledge will reply...

Simon

[CTConrail]

Ok so I am in the planning phase of my shed layout and I will be powering everything off of solar and a battery bank. My question is is there a way to eliminate the need for an AC power inverter and convert or modify my transformers somehow be them dc or dcc so they don't need to be hooked up to AC power? It seems like a waste and extra cost to go from dc to ac back to dc. Plus inverters will put a lot more drain on the batteries than if the transformers could run directly off of a dc battery bank. Anyone done this? Thanks guys.