Solar Powered Darkroom

[Roger Hicks]

Dear Aristotelis,

I wish you the very best of luck in that extremely admirable ambition.

Cheers,

Roger

 

[Chan Tran]

It makes me thinking! 3 large bundles of fiber optic cable on the roof, aiming right at the sun. A dichroic filter and a shutter on each bundle. A mixing chamber....

 

[srs5694]

If I manage to earn enough to rebuilt my grandfather's house
and go live in it, I would have liked to build an environment
friendly self-supporting system as to create art and live with
as less possible damage to our planet.

It's possible, but currently a bit on the expensive side. There are also a lot of caveats. For instance, if retrofitting an existing house, the ideal situation is to have a big south-facing roof with an angle that's not too far from the ideal for solar paneling. (That ideal angle varies with your latitude.) If your house, like mine, has a roof that faces east and west rather than north and south, each side will only catch the sun for half the day, which either greatly reduces the time during which the panels can work or doubles the cost (since if you put panels on both sides).

There are other options, but they're also expensive and are not always practical. Small wind turbines work in windy climates, for instance. (I've got a friend who has one of these.) I've even heard of small hydroelectric generators, if your property is on a river or by the sea.

The good news is that the cost of all of these devices is dropping and efficiencies are increasing. With any luck their costs will drop enough for their popularity to go up before too long.

 

[JBrunner]

I have used solar panel/ battery systems on various boats that I have owned, but they have had meager loads and were 12v.

In the keep it simple train of thought you could get a small panel and a deep cycle battery to run an enlarger that had been converted to 12v. It is the perfect kind of set up because the enlarger load would intermittent.

Converting a condensor enlarger would be pretty strait forward.

A diffusion head like my Saunders is already 12v, you would just need to make sure clean amps were there. I don't have any idea what the consequenses of a low voltage situation (flat battery) would be for the Saunders, perhaps only a color shift and reduction in output. Or maybe it could damage the head, IDK. If somebody knows, maybe they could tell us.

It would be a relativeley cheap and simple way to begin that path, which I too find admirable.

 

[Roger Hicks]

For instance, if retrofitting an existing house, the ideal situation is to have a big south-facing roof with an angle that's not too far from the ideal for solar paneling.

And not living in a conservation area. I have a house with a big roof at pretty much the right angle facing dead south, in a sunny area (south of the Loire) -- in the heart of a centuries-old village.

Where's your grandfather's house? And how is Cretan planning law on this sort of thing? (I say 'Cretan' not 'Greek' because there's often a lot of local interpretation...)

Cheers

Roger

 

[Nick Zentena]

You don't need to convert the enlarger. Just get an inverter. Yes it adds cost but then you'll be able to use anything that doesn't exceed the power output of the inverter.

Expensive depends on the other options. If you don't already have a power line run to the house the cost of just running the line can be pretty expensive.

 

[JBrunner]

You don't need to convert the enlarger. Just get an inverter. Yes it adds cost but then you'll be able to use anything that doesn't exceed the power output of the inverter.

Expensive depends on the other options. If you don't already have a power line run to the house the cost of just running the line can be pretty expensive.

That is an option, no doubt. However, an inverter is expensive, and on a very small scale such as I have suggested, not particularly effecient.

 

[Nick Zentena]

Between panels, batteries and even cheaper stuff like wiring is a small inverter really going to bust the budget? One small enough for an enlarger shouldn't be that expensive. If you convert the enlarger to 12v wouldn't you need a 12v timer? Plus it would be usefull for any other need. Blackout backup.

 

[srs5694]

And not living in a conservation area. I have a house with a big roof at pretty much the right angle facing dead south, in a sunny area (south of the Loire) -- in the heart of a centuries-old village.

The last I looked into this (about five years ago), the companies that were making photovoltaic shingles were putting a lot of effort into coming out with products that resembled conventional shingles of various designs. At that time, none could be mistaken for more conventional shingles, but IIRC the goal was to have something that would be nearly indistinguishable once installed. Thus, it's conceivable that they'd be suitable even for historic buildings before too long, at least if the concern is maintaining the historic appearance of the building rather than a strict use of original materials.

 

[donbga]

My question was more theoritical than practical.
Even if it was doable, I barely have enough to afford
my daily crumb of bread.
But, I was wondering for the future.
If I manage to earn enough to rebuilt my grandfather's house
and go live in it, I would have liked to build an environment
friendly self-supporting system as to create art and live with
as less possible damage to our planet.
I have already asked about sea water in a previous thread so
I keep those questions in mind...

I would suggest you consult this link for a reality check concerning the cost vs. capacity of such systems.

http://www.backwoodssolar.com/

 

[Jim Jones]

Between panels, batteries and even cheaper stuff like wiring is a small inverter really going to bust the budget? One small enough for an enlarger shouldn't be that expensive. If you convert the enlarger to 12v wouldn't you need a 12v timer? Plus it would be usefull for any other need. Blackout backup.

A quartz clock clicks once a second, which is great for timing exposures and dodging and burning. It has its own small battery which lasts a very long time. Low voltage LED safelights can be improvised.