SOLAR WATER PUMPING

For livestock producers and many other applications, "solar" and "water pumping" go along together as well as pigs in mud!  If you have a well you're not using, and need to expand your pasture's horizons, call us with your well specifications, as well as the number of cow-calf pairs you're watering.  We'll let you know what it will take to keep your thirsty cows happy.  If you have need of a residential water system, let us know what kind of pump you have in place now, how much water it pumps in terms of gallons-per-minute, and the amount of water you need on a daily or weekly basis.

BASIC WATER PUMPING SYSTEM - as simple as it gets!
(sized at the approximate depth of 100 ft.)  Components consist of:

• Fronius IG / Kyocera

• Shurflo Sub Pump, 9300 Series

• Optimizing Controller

• 2 - 60W Solar Modules

• 1 - Zomeworks Tracker

• Float Switch and Low Water Cut-off Electrodes

• 10/2 AWG Submersible Wire

• Float Switch and Electrode Wire

• Poly Tubing and Safety Rope

• Pump Fittings

Total cost before freight: $3332

Check the insolation map to determine the amount of water this system will supply in an average day, and in what zone:

Zone 1
Zone 2
Zone 3
Zone 4
Zone 5
Zone 6

  600 GPD*
565 GPD
510 GPD
465 GPD
400 GPD
330 GPD
 

 (*gallons per day--and these figures tend to be conservative) This Shurflo model will pump from a maximum depth of 230 ft. in a minimum of 4" casing. At that depth you'd need two 75W modules (with an additional cost of $160) instead of 60W modules. Remember, the above figures reflect averages; you will get more water in summer--perhaps 25% more (in times of higher livestock and garden demands) and less in winter. This system is meant to pump into a holding tank or cistern, and will not provide for a pressurized system by itself. For additional information on the Shurflo Series 9300 Sub Pump, click here!

TO POWER YOUR EXISTING 230VAC pump
all depends, as usual, on how many hours per day that load is sustained.
 

We will assume (for example) you're powering a 3/4 HP pump for one hour daily, for this system's load requirements. A pump that size draws 1325 watts per hour--or 1660 watt-hours adjusted for the load correction factor. Since the starting surge can be 3 to 5 times the load current, it'll take a sizable inverter to cover the surge...fortunately, Trace Engineering makes a remarkable transformer (their T-240) that'll handle most motor loads up to 1 1/2 HP, and that fact keeps us from having to "stack" two 110 AC inverters to receive our 230 VAC output. We will assume that the average daily insolation (amount of full sun) is 4 hours per day where this site is. Here's how the system breaks down:

• 4 - 130W Modules

• 1 - A Frame Roof or Ground Mount

• Outdoor Disconnect, Breakers and Surge Protector

• Module Interconnects

• C35 Charge Controller with Digital Volt Meter Option

• Trace T-240 Transformer

• Xantrex DR3624 inverter

• Midnight E-Panel Power Center

• Inverter Cables

• 8 - 345AH Batteries (for 4 days of back-up)

• Battery Interconnects

TOTAL COST BEFORE FREIGHT: $10,225
(wire runs, miscellaneous check valves, widgets not included)

If you needed two hours of pump run-time a day, you'd need twice the number of modules and batteries, three hours of run-time, 12 modules...etcetera.

The low flow DC submersibles are much less costly, but you get less water; the system to back-up your conventional 230VAC pump is more costly, but you get much more water in a shorter run time. For more info on the
 DC Submersible Pumps, click here.

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