Lights for Winter Gardening

[so lucky]

Has anyone toyed with the idea of using solar lighting to extend the light-hours for cool loving plants?
I tried to do some research on what is available for solar powered light types, but my brain got bogged down. So I am wondering if just any old kind of light will help extend the growing season--like any kind of light will help chickens keep laying in the winter. Since regular florescent lights will serve as grow lights, I am curious what those LED lights would do.
Specifically, if those little solar landscape lights with the panel on a wire separate from the light, placed inside a grow tunnel, would do any good for light (not warmth)
Has anyone tried this? Is the answer so clear I am not seeing it?

 

[digitS']

I want to jump right in here and say, I don't know and I have never thought of it. Someone with growing light savvy can stop reading and give a sensible answer. I just don't want you "bogged down," @so lucky!

There is something new that some clever people are working on: spray on solar cells. I was just reading about it this morning! Ease of application and, I guess it will be cheap but only 11% efficiency. Made me wonder how efficient conventional solar cells are.

A quick googling had 19% & 25% pop out at me. Surface area of the collector equals leaf surface area, that would be "filtered shade."

You know how strong sunlight might feel? I sometimes wonder if I couldn't do some growing! I've got a new green shirt ...

Steve

 

[catjac1975]

I have never had anything but cheap solar lights. They did not produce much light and were not very sturdy. I can see using solar power to produce energy for florescent lighting. But this is the opinion from someone without any expertise.

 

[canesisters]

You could try burning some of those pine cones - warmth & light....

 

[Nyboy]

I just purchased solar spotlights haven't put them up yet.They come a long way the double light was $89 from home depot.

 

[bobm]

Several years ago, I had conversations with some solar research types ... it seems that the solar panels have a limited life span of efficiently producing power ( something like 7 years) then starts to decline. Then the need to replace the panels comes and the cost at that point for your power that you used is more or the same as if one purchased power from the power company. In my case, I built my house as a passive solar house to the "N " th degree. ( The house is positioned with most of the windows facing S, roof overhangs of 30" for house shading, R 30 in walls and ceiling, ceiling fans in every room, dual pane windows with heavy blinds, double front entry doors, etc. ) The cost of installing the solar panels of the size and amount that I would need for my 3,039 sq. ft house would amount to $38,000. Now my house power bill for Nov. to Feb. for hydronic heat averages $ 53 / month and the cooling bill from Feb. to Nov. averages $ 162/ month. ( cooling bills for my neighbors of the same or smaller house averages at $ 650/ month ). Quick math says that my power bill was $12,824 for 7 years . Subtract that from the cost of the solar panels of $ 38,000 one finds that I would be in the hole for $ 25,178 considering if the power rates remained the same. Guess what my option to install the solar panels or not was ?