solar power for electric gate

[treyp3]

I have a customer that wants an electric gate opener. Her house is 1,000 feet away. I'm wondering if solar would be the way to go, but I haven't done it before. I understand the electric end, but am not sure what I need to know about the rest of it. I am hoping you guys can tell me what questions need to be answered - like how much sunlight I need, insights to equipment, and anything I may not be aware of. Thanks guys.

 

[GoldDigger]

First and foremost question is whether there is a place near the gate that gets full sun for several hours around noon. You need that for the panel.
Second is that most manufacturers of gate openers will have solar kits. They will provide information on what size panels and batteries you need depending on how many times the gate gets opened per day.
You will also have to look at how many cloudy days in a row you will get in the winter.
Once you have the design information you can either buy the appropriate kit or build it up yourself from parts. The letter is not recommended unless you are willing to spend some time educating yourself.

PS: most if not all residential scale gate openers use low volt DC actuators, so from that side you will have batteries whether they get recharged by POCO or solar. So that changes to go with solar are minimal.

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