Pet Warmer

[MARINE1142]

I was looking for some help with this project. I have dog house I built, and was wondering a good way to heat the inside of it. I was thinking a heat lamp and an inverter to run off some batterys and maybe a solor cell set up to charge the batterys what do you guys think. Now the Dog house is in a remote part of the yard with no power.

 

[stevez]

What you might do is determine the amount of heat required - a bit on the tricky side. Hint -take a look at radiant heater manufacturers to see how much heat they might recommend for various applications - per unit area. Focused heat is likely to be the most effective in that application. A small heating pad might also be a good choice - take a look at what is already available - mfrs likely publish power requirements.

Now, armed with this information, you would then try to rationalize the size of your solar panel. That which is supplied to the heater must come from the solar panel. You'll need to quantify this giving due consideration for the season, cloud cover, etc. I would think that someone has already done this - you might find some kind of guide for solar panel size per kilo-watt-hour or something similar.

There is no point in going any further if you can't work out the energy balance. One would expect much less sunshine during the colder weather. Not sure where in California you are so can't attempt a guess.

 

[dknguyen]

Remember to stick a door or some kind of flaps on the doghouse. It may be obvious, but very possibly forgottne about. Makes all the difference and makes the heating much more effective (Ever had to wait at a bus shelter?)

 

[audioguru]

It would take an enormous solar cell to provide enough power to heat the dog house in winter for 24/7. Wild dogs don't have heaters, they just have some shelter.
Insulate the dog house and make a shield at its entrance to keep out cold wind then the heat from the dog will heat it.

 

[ZIGGY_DAN]

audioguru has pointed out the more safe and sensible solution, personaly i wouldn't fit a electric heater into presumably a wooden dog house.
i had a dog and its dog house was well insulated with glass fibre insulation and even carpet.

high current battery supply + malfunctioning heater or inverter = Fire

 

[evandude]

Yeah, I don't think a solar panel would cut it. If you cycled it and used some big batteries, you could probably get it to heat for a short while at night after charging all day, but certainly not all night, and then it wouldn't do much good. Even a small ceramic heater is usually well over 1000 watts.

Unless the doghouse is a ridiculously long distance from the house, you could probably run some conduit underground to it a lot cheaper than you could do it with solar power.

 

[stevez]

In that situation a lot of insulation and a little heat can make it better. A 100 watt lightbulb in a small doghouse would make a difference. At some point the cost of the batteries, solar cells and controls may exceed the cost to run the wire from a better source. There's probably some way to collect solar heat and store it - but at what cost.

I would very quickly dismiss the idea if the expectation was to power a 1000 watt heater. As the heater is reduced and more focused (if that's acceptable)it just might make sense. Got to do the math, so to speak, to see where the "makes sense" point lies. If you found an affordable (bet it won't be cheap) solar sytem that would power a 50 watt heater thru the cooler periods it just might be useful.

 

[MARINE1142]

The heating pad I dont think would work I put a nice blanket pad down for him and he tore it up in a few hours. I liquid nailed some carpet down hey tore that up so last year he got nothing because I was feed up with him. This year I see him out there and he looks cold so I figured I would give it another shot. The house is about 100' away I thought about an ext cord but he would chew that up.I was thinking something with a thermostat so with his heat and the heater to help it would only be on for a short while at a time.

 

[HarveyH42]

How cold does it get at night anyway? Guessing California, and there is huge temperature differences throughout the state. For here, I think almost got down into the 50s last night (sorry guys).

Also, what kind of dog is it? If it has a heavy coat, and the dog house blocks the wind and rain well, most likely don't have to worry, unless you expect freezing weather.

Personally, I wouldn't leave my pets outside. Even farm animals are brought into the barn...

 

[MARINE1142]

He is a Chocolate Lab
The house is set up so the wind hits the side and it is rain proof. I would let him in my garage but he would tear it up in there. It gets down close to freezeing about 32-35 in the night then it warms up in the day to about 48-50 sometimes to upper 70 just depends

 

[philba]

put a heating pad under a thin plywood floor. bury the cable if need be. If you bevel the plywood edges and screw them down, he probably won't chew on it. I know several people that successfully use heating pads for their outdoor dogs.

but then Labs orignated in a pretty cold climate.

 

[MARINE1142]

So just put the heating pad under a lets say 1/4 plywood can I put carpet on the 1/4 plywood or would it catch fire from the heating pad. Then screw it to the base of the house now does it just stay on all night or can I hook it up to lets say a thermostate to shut off when a certain temp in the house is reached?

 

[Hero999]

Is that as cold as it ever gets where you live?

That's pretty mild, protection from the wind is all he really needs.

 

[philba]

yes, you can control it via a simple thermostat. You'll probably need to run a relay for 110 VAC and use the thermostat at the relay coil voltage (what ever it is).

 

[MARINE1142]

So no one here thinks a fire can happend due to the heating pad sandwhiched between two pieces of plywood?

 

[philba]

well, obviously, I don't. think about it. those pads are made for people or pets. I can't imagine them reaching combustion temperatures.

 

[HiTech]

the heating pad between pluwood won't do much good. You can build a raised floor with a layer of insulation between the two sections of wood. Make sure any faced insulation has the paper faced outward or downward. Of course, you'll need to finish off the walls with something to prevent the dog from gnawing at the insulation. As mentioned, forget the electricity. Animals and wires and current don't mix well. With a door flap and a soft pad for him to lay on, he'll generate enough heat on his own. Heck, farmers simply throw down straw on a dirt floor in their hole ridden barns.

 

[HarveyH42]

The dog should be fine, unless you expect a hard freeze. Ever thought about a kennel for your garage? There are fold down versions temperary versions for easy storage, not that expensive. The dog will like the cage better than being left out in the cold.

 

[philba]

the heating pad between pluwood won't do much good.

I disagree. I have in-floor heating under several wood floors in my house. It works quite well. The pad will heat up the plywood but it won't be instantaneous. He should insulate beneath the pad for better efficiency, though. The pad won't heat up the dog house but that's not how they are used. The dog will lie on it for warmth and that is quite effective. A dog house provides a fair amount of protection and a lab has a decent coat so he will be very comfy with a warming pad.

 

[Marks256]

How about a hacked toaster oven?