A solar electric fence can be an important tool to protect your animals and livestock while being completely off-the-grid and renewable energy. Solar electric fences are a great form of clean, reliable energy.
What You Should Know About a Solar Powered Electric Fence
An electric fence is important to control domestic animals and livestock. When you install an electric fence, it will create a low-damaged shock to the animals or livestock touching it. In this way, your livestock will remain inside the fence.
At the same time, it is important to keep wild animals such as foxes and wild dogs outside of your property premises so that you can protect your livestock.
In many situations, there is no availability of AC outlets. Thus, it becomes difficult or impossible to install a charger for the electric fence nearby.
In addition, if you think you can carry AC cables for connecting the fence with the charger, then be informed that it can be very troublesome – especially in terms of reliability and costs.
For this, it is vital to install the solar electric fence chargers. These chargers play an important role in providing energy to your electric fence. Your electric fence won’t run out of power because it comes directly from the sun. Similarly, these charges also do not require AC wiring across pastures.
In this article, we will talk about the usability and benefits of electric fence chargers. We recommend you to read this post carefully/thoroughly in order to get the most out of it. Read on!
See Related: How to Get Free Electricity on Weekends
Why do you need a Solar Powered Electric Fence Charger
You will be amazed to know the substantial benefits of a solar-powered fence. First and foremost, solar-powered electric fence chargers are not expensive at all. So, they are highly economical.
In some areas or regions where there is no availability of AC power, a solar-powered electric fence charger can really be beneficial. If you opt to install such a charger, you will save yourself from the installation of an AC power unit – which indeed will cost you a lot of money.
You can also install the AC power unit and connect it with the fence yourself – a DIY project. However, this could be very dangerous and costly. So, the costs associated with the installation of the AC power unit and wiring to project your terrain or wildlife may not be easy.
In addition, AC cables, in this case, are not reliable because they can be damaged by animals, harsh weather conditions, etc. Consequently, your fence won’t be charged accurately and you could end up in more problems.
Under blackout, short-circuit, or power outage, your electric fence charger won’t get power – again resulting in threats such as trespassing or escaping of intruders or animals. When you install a solar-powered electric fence charger, your worries will be gone because unlike AC chargers, a solar-powered charger rarely gets damaged by lightning strikes.
What if you have an AC outlet closely located to your farm? Well, you can avoid a solar-powered electric fence charger and opt to go the traditional way, but then again, we must say that in the long-term, it won’t be beneficial because you still will spend a lot of money to pay your energy bills.
On the other hand, with a solar-powered electric fence charger, not only you save money on power bills but also contribute to the environment significantly. It is because a solar-powered electric fence charger is eco-friendly and play an ample role in environmental sustainability.
Now, you have come to know the benefits of a solar-powered electric fence charger. In our opinion, it should be your “set in stone” approach to avoid AC outlets and purchase/use a solar-powered charger in its place for your electric fence. There are a wide variety of solar-powered electric fence chargers available in the market.
There are a few factors to consider while choosing the best solar-powered electric fence charger. These factors include:
- the battery life,
- joule output,
- range,
- impedance,
- weatherproof,
- type of fencing, and
- the size of animals.
This article will help you choose the best solar-powered electric fence charger.
See Related: Best Solar Panels to Use
How to Safely Operate a Solar-Powered Electric Fence Charger
An electric fence charger generates a shock, right? Therefore, it is important to understand how to safely operate it. Read on!
Before you begin the process of installation of a solar-powered electric fence charger, you need to turn it off. The device’s battery will have some charge – so it is advised to avoid turning on the device before you connect it to the ground terminals – because it can cause an unexpected electric shock.
Once you finish installing the device, we recommend you to leave if for 3-4 days so that it receives direct sunlight to recharge the DC battery. Next, turn on the device and perform the corresponding tests. You need to test your solar-powered fence charger with an indicator light or performance meter.
There are three tests in total. The first one is about verifying the proper functioning of the meter. You need to check whether the meter runs smoothly and measure the increase in voltage to the threshold value.
Next, you need to check the state of the battery and its charging ability. This test will show you the amount of energy in the battery as well as the maximum capacity of storing the charge.
The third and final test is to check the voltage output of the device under normal conditions. Using the meter, the result of the test must indicate the open-circuit value of the charger.
You can also use a voltage tester to verify the output of the voltage across the fence. If the fence wire is at distance from the solar-powered fence charger, then the voltage will drop. I
n order to keep the fence system safely or in precise operation, you need to bear in mind the grounding system and its essential aspects.
When you have a sophisticated grounding system, the current flowing will quickly find the shortest path to the fence charger.
See Related: Best Batteries for Solar Panels
Conclusion
Environmental sustainability and eco-friendliness is the need of the day. Unlike other types of chargers, solar-powered electric fence charges can withstand harsh weather conditions such as snow, hail, or rain. Check out our guide on how solar panels work in weather conditions.
So, you absolutely don’t need to worry about the weather conditions when you a solar-powered electric fence charger installed at your farm or property.
Since solar-powered electric fence chargers receive direct sunlight via solar panels, it is important to position the charger in a place where it receives maximum sunlight – this means you need to avoid placing the device close to trees or other shady areas.
Lastly, solar-powered electric fence chargers require low maintenance, are cost-effective, reliable, as well can power long distances.
These solar chargers are a great way to generate behind the meter power in a practical solution.
What do you think of our guide? Will you buy a charger? Let us know in the comments below.
