Solar-Powered Cooling System for Dogs

Chris Savage

We've got these two little dogs at home here in NorCal and they just love being outdoors. This last week saw average temperatures through the day at ~100° F. I am building them a dog house and was trying to find a cooling system that was efficient enough run from solar panels during the day. I thought about the Peltier junction coolers I see on food coolers/warmers, but not sure if they would provide enough cool air inside the dog house and also my memories of these devices is that they draw a lot of current.

Looking for any advice or suggestions on an efficient cooling system that could be integrated into a custom dog house.

Right now if I am gone during they day they have to come inside, but the A/C isn't on in the house during the day and they still need to be able to go outside and do their business.

Hal Albach

You could do what Tammy and Jim Baker did during their "glory" years and just put an AC unit on the dog's house!

Perhaps a wet blanket over the dog house kept moist by a piece of drip irrigation hose. Then let the sun do all the work with evaporative cooling.

Chris Savage

Hal,

While I understand the concept of evaporation and cooling, I guess I never thought about it being quite that simple. It certainly warrants an experiment. Of course, with a "severe drought" here in CA I have to wonder whether the cost of running an air conditioner or water would be the worse cost in the long run.

I was hoping to find a solution that didn't require much current at 12V so I could use solar panels I already own that produce 12V.

Hal Albach

I remember reading about the concept used by soldiers who would keep the canvas cover on their canteens wet to cool the water inside. Also remember seeing a lot of Land Rovers with a wet canvas bag suspended in front of the radiator.

erco

Yikes, that is HOT! We've got overcast skies (typ June gloom) in LA and it's very cool most days here near the beach. Downright cold yesterday afternoon.

Dogs know all about shade, and they do like wind in their face. Maybe a simple sun shade and a $20 box fan would help. Not an enclosed dog house, just a roof & poles (like a beach canopy to keep air moving) and a fan. A 4x8 sheet of 1/4" plywood (yay!) and some 2x4's pounded in the ground to stand upright would do it. Put their food & water under there and they'll get it pretty quick. Running a fan on low all day is pretty economical. You might work some water misters in on a timer or thermostat.

Just make sure they don't chew on extension cords. One of my dogs nearly zapped herself before I caught her.

Chris Savage

erco, I thought about a misting system after going to a restaurant recently where they had misting jets spraying from wall-mounted fans to keep people cool. One of the two dogs is a rescue and she seems to be afraid of water. Every time I turn on the spigot to freshen their water bowl she runs and hides in a bush. I am told that maybe while at the shelter she got hosed down. I don't know. But this also made me rethink a kiddie pool for them to drop into.

The fan was already going to be an element in the design. You can get fairly large fans that run from 12V so that fits the solar powered requirement. I don't really have 120VAC power out there without running a lead and they probably would chew on it.

MikeDYur

Can you do something earthen? And take advantage of geothermal, would be fireproof to.

NWCCTV

I picked up something similar to this at a garage sale for ten bucks. It's a different brand and sells for over $300.00 new. Solar powered and the thing works great. https://jet.com/product/detail/2b7e3f221806421cb95900d7aa0bc6f1?jcmp=pla:ggl:gen_home_garden_a1:household_appliances_climate_control_appliances_fans_a1_other:na:PLA_348543900_24223372740_pla-156776355900:na:na:na:2&code=PLA15&ds_c=gen_home_garden_a1&ds_cid&ds_ag=household_appliances_climate_control_appliances_fans_a1_other&product_id=2b7e3f221806421cb95900d7aa0bc6f1&product_partition_id=156776355900&gclid=CN6c2v2rlM0CFVBefgodIt4DwQ&gclsrc=aw.ds

Chris Savage

Mike, possibly...they dig sometimes to get to cooler dirt to lay on.

Andy, that's essentially a 12V automotive cooling fan hooked to a solar panel. Similar to what I'm thinking, but I already have the solar panels.

WBA Consulting

My mom and stepdad and a black lab and a mixed mutt. The black lab loves to hand out behind the doghouse under the vines/plants that grow up the fence. The healthy, green, well watered vines are kind of a natural method of cooling the air and keep the sun out. The mutt is pretty happy with the $8 kiddie pool from walmart. It's left 3/4 full with water and he will just sit in it for about 2 minutes every hour to cool down then lay on the grass in the part sun/part shade area. So, kind of makes himself like an evaporative cooler. I know someone that simply hung a few pads from a swamp cooler around the fence around their doghouse and put a couple drip nozzles on each one with a timer. Water dripped into the pads from noon til 6 each day and the dogs always seemed happy. That type of setup would be easy to automate based upon temp/humidity/water outflow/etc.

kwinn

Use the fan to blow air through a few lengths of plastic pipe that run a few inches under ground.

Beau Schwabe

I use two of these for the Ducks, and will probably get another one or two for the Horse barn. They are 12V fans, but I am running them in series from a 24V 240 Watt panel.... they haul butt in full sun.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/2X-UNIVERSAL-SLIM-12-PULL-PUSH-RADIATOR-ENGINE-BAY-COOLING-FAN-MOUNTING-KIT-BLUE-/170735231068?hash=item27c09ce05c:g:fMoAAOSw0HVWDeXh&vxp=mtr

Chris Savage

WBA Consulting wrote: »

My mom and stepdad and a black lab and a mixed mutt. The black lab loves to hand out behind the doghouse under the vines/plants that grow up the fence. The healthy, green, well watered vines are kind of a natural method of cooling the air and keep the sun out. The mutt is pretty happy with the $8 kiddie pool from walmart. It's left 3/4 full with water and he will just sit in it for about 2 minutes every hour to cool down then lay on the grass in the part sun/part shade area. So, kind of makes himself like an evaporative cooler. I know someone that simply hung a few pads from a swamp cooler around the fence around their doghouse and put a couple drip nozzles on each one with a timer. Water dripped into the pads from noon til 6 each day and the dogs always seemed happy. That type of setup would be easy to automate based upon temp/humidity/water outflow/etc.

You can always count on a lab to jump into water. :cool: One of these dogs is a rescue who seems to be afraid of water to a degree. I'm not sure if either of them would make use of the pool, but I do have a plastic tub with lower sides that I could set out to see if they will use it. Best guess is they will just think it's an extra large drinking bowl.

koehler

Hah, had the same problem when in California with my Sheltie.

Now its even worse in the cooler, but more humid NY area.

Was going to do Solar panel to Peltiers, with the Peltiers soldered underneath a piece a 1/8" steel.
Pick up a decent 60-100w panel (I used Solar Blvd.), and you might be able to mount 3-4, not sure amp draw.

Since they are labs though, a sun shaded wading pool, and/or good sized fan is more power efficient/cheaper.
But a Peltier surface cooler would probably be more appreciated by the dogs as they can lay there for hours.

Chris Savage

koehler,

Interestingly I moved from NY to CA. Quite the opposite. Dry heat out here is nice. I remember how the humidity made an 85 degree day feel like 100+ in NY.

While the Peltier's were my first thought I am starting to think my solar panels are vastly under-powered for that task. I will look into it more.

It was WBA consulting that had the labs. Our pups are actually afraid of the water (well, one is). So a pool and/or misting is probably out of the question, however I am going to try the pool thing, though they'll probably just think it's an extra-large water bowl.

jones

I think I'd combine the solar powered fan and a piece of cooler pad to make a mini swamp cooler. A few garden drippers might be enough to keep the pad damp without wasting water. Also, before you try to cool anything, try not to heat it. A light colored roof and walls with some styrofoam insulation on the inside surface will provide shade but not radiate heat into the interior of the dog house. Reflect heat away and prevent radiation/conduction from warm surfaces into the inside.

The problem with Peltier devices is that they can only produce a temperature differential, so their ability to cool is critically dependent on removing heat from the hot side. Unless you can get that heat out of the hot side and away from the vicinity of the dogs, they'll end up being heaters instead. Maybe you could come up with a hybrid system where evaporative cooling is used on the hot side of the Peltiers. Naturally you can't put water on the elements directly, but you might bond the hot sides to a plate and put the evap cooling on the opposite surface. You will also have to insulate that plate somehow because it will lose heat from both sides, adding heat into the area you're trying to cool. Also, unless there's substantial evaporation (maybe aided by a fan?) all you'll end up with is hot water since you need the phase change to carry away the heat. Even with that, I'd test it on a small scale before putting a lot of effort in, because the efficiency of Peltier devices is pretty poor. They're really much better at getting hot than they are at removing heat, so the ability to get rid of heat from the hot side will determine whether they're worth anything in this instance. My guess is they are way more trouble than they're worth. Light colors on the exterior, insulation, and even just moving air will go a long way towards keeping them comfortable.

icepuck

Have you tried one of those stores that specialize RV/motor-home products? You can find just about anything that runs from 12 vdc power. Maybe that will spark some ideas.
-dan

Chris Savage

Thanks for the feedback guys. There's a lot to think about.

icepuck, I don't know of any stores like that around here. I will look into it because I'd also love to find some 12V lighting I could put in my shed so it could run off a solar panel with an SLA battery for backup at night.

zappman

http://www.instructables.com/id/5-Gallon-Bucket-Air-Conditioner/

Chris Savage

zappman, interesting, though the fact that you have to keep it populated with ice makes it somewhat impractical for my application. On the other hand, if I had an extra freezer in the garage I might have the room to store the "popsicles". :cool:

Heater.

I think you should give the dogs the book and let them work it out for themselves:

Chris Savage

I'm totally saving/sharing that picture. :cool:

Publison

That is the best, Heater.!

Heater.

That is Gromit from the famous "Wallace and Gromit" TV animation series. Stories of a nerd and his nerdy dog.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wallace_and_Gromit