Solar Powered Electric Fences

Solar Panels or Wind Generators for Electric Fences

The remote location of many electric fences causes regular inconvenience to farmers & animal owners, who repeatedly have to go and collect, charge and return the battery.

However, most electric fences often use only a little power, which makes powering them from a solar pv panel or small wind generator, normally very viable.

Electric fence units are called "energisers" and output power is rated in Joules. If you have not already got the energiser unit, we can recommend the Gallagher Powerplus or Maximaster Ranges as they are designed to be powered from solar pv. We also have to question the high prices charged by some specialist electric fence companies for their solar panels.

Powering Electric Fence Energisers From Solar Panels

The first thing to do is to establish the power draw of your fence energiser unit. This figure can normally be obtained from the manufacturer of the energiser unit. Alternatively, the power draw can be tested with a multi-meter.

Below we have listed the Gallagher 12v Energiser range. Our recommended solar panel is based on central England, with the energiser running 24hrs per day, 7 days per week, all year round. For customers outside of England (Scotland, France etc) please contact us so that we can advise on the correct solar panel. Generally speaking, the further from the equator - the larger the solar panel required.

Our solar panel recommendations below assume that the solar panel will be facing due south, tilted at approx 60 degrees from the horizontal, with a totally unshaded view of the sun all year round (taking into account long shadows from trees & buildings caused by the sun being low in the sky in mid-winter).

Most systems will require a solar charge controller if there isn't a dedicated solar input connection on the energiser. We would recommend the Steca Solsum 6.6F, 8.8F or 10.10F range as extremely good value little units. If the conditions where the controller is sited are likely to be very harsh, we suggest considering one of the fully potted Morningstar solar controllers. A solar controller must be matched to the maximum current of the solar panel. For more information about solar charge controllers click here.

Custom Designed Solar & Wind Power Systems

If required, we can custom design a power system for your electric fence to your exact specifications. If you would like any assistance, please don't hesitate to contact our system design team.

Solar power is a low maintenance energy solution - occasional cleaning of the solar panel with a soft, damp cloth is all that's required. All of the solar panels we sell are suited to harsh outdoor environments, with sealed junction boxes / connectors and anodised aluminium frames. They also feature a 5 year standard warranty and 25 yr performance warranty.

At the EDC, we also supply wind generators, gel & agm batteries, quality exterior-rated cable, connectors, battery boxes and solar panel mounting brackets.

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