A solar pump is an efficient way of pumping water during day light hours. Solar pumping has been around for many years and has been predominantly used to replace windmills to supply tanks and drinking troughs on farms and stations around Australia.
Solar pumps are not limited to small water pumps. Solar pumping systems are already installed in Australia delivering 1,000,000 litres a day through centre pivots and other forms of irrigation. As the price of solar panels continue to drop and the price of electricity continues to rise, solar pumping applications will continue to expand to offer solutions for all pumping requirements.
The most basic solar pump comprises of a DC motor, a pump and a solar panel. These are predominantly pond pumps and can be found through stores like Jaycar. As the sun comes up it produces a high enough current to get the pond pump to start and then it will continue to run throughout the day while there is enough sun light.
When it comes to the watering of stock, a larger type of solar pump is generally used. These work on the same principle as the pond pump but have a controller in between the pump and the solar panels. These controllers need a Maximum Power Point Tracker (MPPT) to gain the most power from the panels, exactly the same as a grid connect inverter does. The advantage of this is a higher output from the system and built in safeties such as water sensors and ‘no flow’ protection. The DC motors used in these applications are usually very efficient such as the Lorentz range of pumps which have a 3 phase DC motor, meaning a high percentage of the solar input results in water output from the pump. These normally range in size from 3000L a day to 20,000L a day depending on restrictions in the installation, size of the solar array and size of the pump.
Where more water is needed to be moved, then solar can be used to supply or convert any existing 3 phase pump from 3kW through to 1MW and there are a number of products available on the market to do this. These products take a solar input (usually at least 1.5x the size of the motor rated kW) and convert the DC to a variable frequency to run the pump at whatever speed is need to maintain pressure or depending on the solar input available. These systems can be used to run existing irrigation pumps and as farmers look to reduce costs this will be a viable option moving forward. If you are watering your crops during day light hours then why not consider pumping from a free renewable energy source.
There are so many options for solar pumping! We are more than happy to complete a solar pumping report for you. If you would like to discuss this or any other questions you have please feel free to contact me on http://www.tuhorse.com.au/
Solar pumps are not limited to small water pumps. Solar pumping systems are already installed in Australia delivering 1,000,000 litres a day through centre pivots and other forms of irrigation. As the price of solar panels continue to drop and the price of electricity continues to rise, solar pumping applications will continue to expand to offer solutions for all pumping requirements.
The most basic solar pump comprises of a DC motor, a pump and a solar panel. These are predominantly pond pumps and can be found through stores like Jaycar. As the sun comes up it produces a high enough current to get the pond pump to start and then it will continue to run throughout the day while there is enough sun light.
When it comes to the watering of stock, a larger type of solar pump is generally used. These work on the same principle as the pond pump but have a controller in between the pump and the solar panels. These controllers need a Maximum Power Point Tracker (MPPT) to gain the most power from the panels, exactly the same as a grid connect inverter does. The advantage of this is a higher output from the system and built in safeties such as water sensors and ‘no flow’ protection. The DC motors used in these applications are usually very efficient such as the Lorentz range of pumps which have a 3 phase DC motor, meaning a high percentage of the solar input results in water output from the pump. These normally range in size from 3000L a day to 20,000L a day depending on restrictions in the installation, size of the solar array and size of the pump.
Where more water is needed to be moved, then solar can be used to supply or convert any existing 3 phase pump from 3kW through to 1MW and there are a number of products available on the market to do this. These products take a solar input (usually at least 1.5x the size of the motor rated kW) and convert the DC to a variable frequency to run the pump at whatever speed is need to maintain pressure or depending on the solar input available. These systems can be used to run existing irrigation pumps and as farmers look to reduce costs this will be a viable option moving forward. If you are watering your crops during day light hours then why not consider pumping from a free renewable energy source.
There are so many options for solar pumping! We are more than happy to complete a solar pumping report for you. If you would like to discuss this or any other questions you have please feel free to contact me on http://www.tuhorse.com.au/
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