A shed solar kit with a battery can now be bought as one box: ECO-WORTHY’s 200W starter kit bundles two panels, a 30A charge controller, a 12V 50Ah lithium battery and a 600W inverter, and the company rates it at about 800Wh a day with four hours of sun, according to its Amazon listing. The bigger 400W kit doubles the panels and adds two 100Ah batteries and a 2,000W inverter. Which size you need depends on what runs in the shed and for how long. This guide walks through sizing with worked examples, what comes in typical kits, how to lay out the install, and when a portable power station with panels is the simpler choice.
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Kit contents and ratings come from ECO-WORTHY’s Amazon listings, checked Oct. 17, 2026. The load and runtime numbers are our own calculations from typical device wattages, so check your device labels and swap in your own numbers.
Step 1: List What Runs in the Shed
Start with an energy budget in watt-hours (Wh): each device’s watts multiplied by the hours it runs per day. Here are three typical shed setups, built from common nameplate wattages.
| Load | Typical watts | Hours/day | Wh/day |
|---|---|---|---|
| Setup A: Lights and a fan (storage shed) | |||
| Two LED shop lights | 2 × 20W | 3 | 120 |
| Box fan (low) | 40W | 3 | 120 |
| Phone charging | 15W | 2 | 30 |
| Total | ~270Wh | ||
| Setup B: Hobby workshop | |||
| LED lights | 40W | 4 | 160 |
| Tool battery charger | 100W | 2 | 200 |
| Radio or speaker | 15W | 4 | 60 |
| Fan | 40W | 4 | 160 |
| Occasional drill press or saw (short bursts) | 600–1,200W | 0.25 | 150–300 |
| Total | ~730–880Wh | ||
| Setup C: Shed office | |||
| Laptop and monitor | 90W | 6 | 540 |
| Wi-Fi extender or router | 10W | 8 | 80 |
| LED lights | 20W | 6 | 120 |
| Small fan | 30W | 6 | 180 |
| Total | ~920Wh | ||
Heaters and window air conditioners are the loads that break shed solar budgets. A 1,500W space heater uses 1,500Wh every hour it runs, which is more than any small kit makes in a day. If you need heat, see our worked example of running a space heater on an EcoFlow DELTA 3 Max before you buy.
Step 2: Size the Battery
A lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO4) battery can use most of its capacity. A 12V 100Ah battery stores about 1,280Wh (12.8V × 100Ah). Size it to cover a day’s use plus some cloudy-day reserve, and account for inverter losses, which we round to 10% here.
| Setup | Daily use | With 10% inverter loss | 1.5 days of storage | Battery that fits (12.8V LiFePO4) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A: Lights + fan | 270Wh | ~300Wh | ~450Wh | 50Ah (640Wh) |
| B: Workshop | ~880Wh | ~970Wh | ~1,450Wh | 2 × 100Ah (2,560Wh) |
| C: Office | ~920Wh | ~1,010Wh | ~1,520Wh | 2 × 100Ah (2,560Wh) |
For more on battery math, our 100Ah battery runtime guide covers runtime by load.
Step 3: Size the Panels
Panels have to refill what you use. A simple rule is panel watts × peak sun hours × 0.75 to allow for heat, angle, wiring and controller losses. Peak sun hours vary by location and season, so plan for your winter number if you’ll use the shed year-round.
| Panel array | 4 sun hours × 0.75 | 3 sun hours × 0.75 (winter-ish) | Covers |
|---|---|---|---|
| 200W | ~600Wh/day | ~450Wh/day | Setup A easily |
| 400W | ~1,200Wh/day | ~900Wh/day | Setups B and C in good sun |
| 600W | ~1,800Wh/day | ~1,350Wh/day | B and C year-round, with margin |
ECO-WORTHY’s own ratings assume ideal sun: 800Wh a day from 200W and 1.6kWh a day from 400W, both at four hours. Our 0.75 factor gives a more conservative planning number. Our guide on what size solar panel charges a 12V 100Ah battery walks through the same math for one battery.
Step 4: Pick the Inverter
The inverter turns 12V battery power into 120V AC. Size it to your largest single load plus whatever else runs at the same time. Motors in saws, compressors and fans can briefly draw two to three times their running watts at startup.
- Lights, fan, chargers: 600W is plenty.
- Circular saw, miter saw, small compressor: 1,500–2,000W pure sine wave.
- Several tools at once: 2,000W or more, and a battery bank that can supply the current.
At 12V, a 2,000W load draws about 167A from the battery, which is why bigger inverters need heavy cables and a properly sized fuse. Our inverter sizing guide covers surge and cable math.
Shed Kits That Include a Battery
| Kit (ECO-WORTHY) | Panels | Controller | Battery | Inverter | Maker’s daily output (4 sun hrs) | Price (Amazon, Oct. 17, 2026) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 200W Complete Starter Kit | 200W | 30A | 12V 50Ah LiFePO4 | 600W pure sine | 800Wh | About $408 |
| 400W Complete Kit (1.6kWh) | 4 × 100W bifacial | 40A MPPT | 2 × 12V 100Ah lithium | 2,000W pure sine | 1.6kWh | $1,139.99 |
The ECO-WORTHY 200W Complete Starter Kit fits Setup A: lights, a fan and phone charging. Its battery has an XT60 port that the listing caps at 30A. Prices and included parts vary by the size option you pick on the listing, so confirm the version before you order.
The ECO-WORTHY 400W 1.6kWh Complete Kit lines up with Setups B and C. ECO-WORTHY lists four 100W bifacial panels, a 40A MPPT controller, a 2,000W pure sine inverter, two 12V 100Ah lithium batteries and a Bluetooth module. Two 100Ah batteries store about 2,560Wh at 12.8V nominal.
Install Layout
- Mount the panels. Use the shed roof if it faces south and isn’t shaded, or a ground frame beside it. A tilt close to your latitude works well year-round. Our DIY ground-mount guide covers frames.
- Run the PV wires. Bring the MC4 leads into the shed through a weatherproof entry gland, and add a PV disconnect or breaker before the controller.
- Mount the controller. Put it on the wall near the battery, keep it out of direct sun and leave airflow space.
- Place the battery. Set it off the floor on a shelf, and keep it away from fuel cans and the lawn mower. LiFePO4 shouldn’t be charged below freezing unless it has built-in heating, so a cold shed needs a plan for winter.
- Fuse everything. Put a fuse or breaker near the battery’s positive terminal, sized to the cable, plus one on the controller-to-battery run.
- Connect in order. Connect the battery to the controller first, then the panels, then the inverter. Disconnect in reverse.
- Distribute power. Plug in an outdoor-rated power strip, or use a 12V fuse block for DC lights and fans, which skips inverter losses.
If you’re tying anything into a building’s existing wiring, hire a licensed electrician. Our electrical safety guide for DIY solar covers the basics.
The Plug-and-Play Alternative: A Power Station
If you’d rather skip wiring, a portable power station with a folding or rigid panel works as a “solar generator” for a shed. It has the battery, inverter and charge controller in one box. The tradeoff is cost per watt-hour and the fact that most stations are designed to be carried indoors when it’s cold.
| DIY kit (panels + controller + battery + inverter) | Power station + panels | |
|---|---|---|
| Setup | Mounting and wiring | Plug in the panel and go |
| Expandability | Add panels and batteries over time | Limited to the station’s input and expansion batteries |
| Cost per Wh | Usually lower | Usually higher |
| Portability | Fixed | Take it on trips or into the house in outages |
| Best for | Workshop or office used daily | Light or occasional use, renters |
Our guide to choosing a power station for outages covers capacity and outlet choices that apply to shed use too.
Worked Example: Lights, Fan and Charger in a Garden Shed
Setup A uses about 270Wh a day. The 200W kit’s 50Ah battery stores about 640Wh at 12.8V, enough for roughly two days of that use with no sun, before inverter losses. Its 200W of panels make around 450–600Wh on a typical day by our conservative factor, which refills a day’s use with room to spare. Running the lights and fan from DC instead of through the inverter would stretch it further.
FAQ
How many solar panels do I need for a shed?
For lights, a fan and charging, 200W is usually enough. A workshop or office typically needs 400–600W, based on the sizing tables above.
What size battery for a shed solar system?
Cover a day and a half of use. That’s about 50Ah of 12V LiFePO4 for light use, and two 100Ah batteries for a workshop or office.
Can a shed solar kit run power tools?
Yes, with a 1,500–2,000W pure sine inverter and a battery bank that can deliver the current. Short tool runs are fine; long saw sessions drain batteries quickly.
Can I leave a lithium battery in a cold shed?
Storage in the cold is generally fine within the maker’s range, but standard LiFePO4 shouldn’t be charged below freezing. Choose a self-heating battery or insulate the battery space.
Should I run shed lights on 12V DC or through the inverter?
DC lights and fans wired to a fused 12V block skip inverter losses and idle draw, so they stretch the battery further. Use the inverter for tools and devices that need 120V.
Is a power station better than a kit for a shed?
For occasional or light use, a station is simpler. For daily heavier use, a wired kit is usually cheaper per watt-hour and easier to expand.
Bottom Line
Size a shed system from your loads up: add up the watt-hours, store about a day and a half’s worth in LiFePO4, then add enough panel to refill it in your winter sun. For lights and a fan, a 200W kit with a 50Ah battery covers it. For a workshop or office, plan on 400W or more with about 2.5kWh of storage and a 2,000W inverter.