Solar Water Pumps
- How to Irrigate Using a Solar Water Pump
- Selecting the Best Water Pump for Irrigation
- Choosing the Right Water Storage Installation
- Selecting the Right Area for Your Pump and Water Storage
- Solar Pump Care
How to Irrigate Using a Solar Water Pump
Installing an irrigation pump run by solar will save you time, will increase productivity, and is more economically sustainable than other types of irrigation. Regardless whether you are supplying water to a small garden in your backyard, many fields of farmland or you want to entirely live off the grid, a solar water pump is a quality investment that will yield dividends for years to come. Below let us show what you need to do to select the correct style of an irrigation pump powered by solar perfect for your needs and build a solar irrigation pump, and how to guard your solar pump from being damaged. After this, we will point out ways to get a tax credit using alternative energy water irrigation installment.
Selecting the Best Water Pump for Irrigation
There are two basic styles of water pumps, the kind that works on the surface and a system that is buried far beneath the earth in a well. The surface type of pumping water can be convenient if you have a stream, lake or river close to your site. Surface pumps have a series of water pipes to carry water away from the surface water source to either a storage tank or directly to the location where it will be consumed. However most installers need to install a buried well water method for their water pump installment. A solar water pump is submerged in a well which is below the ground surface up to 1000 feet down. The pump is connected to solar panels with the water sent to the surface and placed into a raised storage tank or a pressurized water holding facility.
Choosing the Right Water Storage Installation
Having selected the best method of solar water pump for you, the following step is to choose the system you will use for water storage. There are three main types of water storage. One type of water storage is to keep water inside a container that is lifted above ground level. A raised type of storage can use gravity to pressurize the pipes for water flow without needing extra power. This type of water storage functions the same as a water tower. In this fashion the tank provides water when the sun is down and when it is cloudy. This style of pump only operates as it is pulling water from the well.
The next style of water pump is ground level water tank using a pressure pump. Using a ground level water storage tank, utilize a pressure pump so the water has enough pressure to move through the system. The storage tank can still hold water to be used on cloudy days although the pump can only function when it is bright enough to operate the pump.
The next type of installation involves using pump to pressure tank. This type of system needs no water storage tank, however it only runs when there is light. When compared the other systems, this type has the smallest up-front costs. The disadvantage about this method is that it will drain solar batteries at evening and when it is cloudy. The battery may wear down quickly before the sun can recharge them, leaving you without water.
Selecting the Right Area for Your Pump and Water Storage
After you have decided upon the kind of solar water pump, and then the method for water storage, the next step is to select the proper area to have them placed. The pv solar modules should be situated in a location which has the best sunlight possible. If you will not utilize a solar tracker, place the solar modules in a position where they will get the most sunlight through peak hours of sunshine every day. Many home systems will utilize solar panels set in a fixed position. For large-scale systems like supplying well water for a farm, installing a sun tracker device on your solar module is an excellent option. A sun tracking device positions the solar panels to the sun, positioning towards it through the day, maximizing the solar power available. A sun-tracking device should produce an extra twenty to forty percent more power on sunny days beyond a fixed solar array.
Solar Pump Care
After investing all this money into your solar water pump, you should take precautions to prevent the pump from being harmed. There should be a water level sensor to alert as the water tank is close to being full to power off. Some pumps have this out of the box, verify this with the manufacturer. Verify that your solar water installation and solar panels are properly grounded. This will keep the panels system from being damaged caused by an electrical storm. Installing solar water pumps makes available tax credits. Usually you can deduct 30% of the cost of your system. This credit should be effective through 2016. In addition to this credit, you will save the cost of your solar water pump system many times over through the years.
Wow, very informative! I honestly had no idea that a solar water pump could be so powerful. All I ever think of when I read the name is how I use them on gardening projects, or self contained waterfalls and the like…
… I had no idea they were such powerful irrigation tools. Great content, off to read more about them now!