12v Lights or Inverter and 120v lights

[RangerEd]

Hello Everyone,

I tried searching for this topic in case this has been beaten to death but no luck so here goes....

I run a Boy Scout camp and have a remote shower house with a solar panel and a Morningstar Sunsaver controller. There are 6 individual shower stalls I would like to light and use a 15 minute timer so people must turn the lights on when they need to use the facility saving energy when it is not in use. Should I use 12v light bulbs or is it better to use an inverter with 120v led/cfl bulbs? My inverter has no means of switching it off remotely via a timer switch so I have the switch hooked to the 120v side meaning the inverter is on but without a load unless the remote switch is on - hope this makes sense!

Any thoughts are greatly appreciated!

Thanks Much

Ranger Ed

[Sunking]

You can go 12 volts if you can keep the wiring short. Problem with low voltage, 12 volts, is high losses on wiring because it requires 10 times the amount of current for a given wattage.

[Shockah]

I had the same request for an outdoor shower at a remote cottage.

The occupant walks out to the shower with her hands full and didn't want to bother with turning on a light.

She also wanted the light to remain on so she could find her way back to the cottage.

I used one of these PIR sensors...

J2LED PIR.jpg

It senses her walking up to shower, and turns the light on for her. It stays on for 2 minutes after there is no motion, giving her time to see her way.

I've used these for other outdoor applications also. I get them from ebay seller J2LED.

They are NOT weather-proof, so make sure you mount them under an eve or ceiling. You could place one above each shower stall.

Make sure you have your math correct with the panels/battery/wattage.
Those Morningstar Sunsaver Controllers are nice units.

[Shockah]

My original plan was to use a "wind-up" switch...

spring switch.jpg

... but she preferred the light turn on before she reached the shower stall.

These switches are for ACV applications, but can be used with low current DC too.

[inetdog]

Should I use 12v light bulbs or is it better to use an inverter with 120v led/cfl bulbs?

Whatever you do, do not use incandescent bulbs. You can can get both LED and fluorescent in either 120V AC or 12V DC input.