Solar power

[markymark]

Does anyone have any experience using solar chargers? I have a garage not attached to the house, and not close enough to get power to, but I want to put an electric up and over door on it, running from a large car batterty that used to be on a pick up truck ( quite a large battery, not just a standard car battery ). I guess i will need to put a charge controller on it to protect the battery. I have found these solar cells here http://www.flexsolarcells.co.uk (the rollable ones) but they are quite expensive for me to just take a chance on. Has anybody used these solar cells before? Can anyone recommend any alternatives, or insight into how good the system might work. I will probabably only open and close the door 4 times a day so i doubt the drain will be too much. Thanks for any help you may be able to offer.

[Biffo]

You will probably need a large spread of solar cells to control that? and basically you want it to be charging in the night when your not using it , so solar cells dont look like the ideal choice.
How about a wind generator ? there are various models made for powering boats on long journeys.
and there is always a bit of wind about.