Solar Pump System
Before Solar Pump System, it was only in the 1970s that photovoltaic solar cells able to transform solar power into electric power were first successfully used.
All around the globe, water supplies have been a great concern in every region of the world. Groundwater is being pumped by diesel-fueled systems, which are both expensive and can be difficult to maintain.
This technology is especially suited to rural environments in Africa, particularly in communities where electricity is scarce, solar can be a part of the solution… This is because sunlight is plentiful (with over five hours a day of maximum sunlight), underground water resources are plentiful, the isolation of rural villages often makes it difficult to supply them with conventional energy supplies (petrol, electricity) and the need for water is low enough that it can be covered by solar pumping.
A solar pumping system is simple and includes the solar panel itself that makes up most (up to 80%) of the system’s cost, the pump, and a power conditioner. The new systems are flexible and can work in tandem with a back-up generator and the electrical grid.
Considerations for designing a solar pumping system include various parameters including water demand (volume), water storage, water depth (head), location of PV panels, and solar irradiance among others. Fortunately, modern software provides a free and user-friendly tool that enables engineers to easily design and size solar pump systems.
Solar water pumps are pumps that work with an electric motor whose power comes from photovoltaic cells located on solar panels that capture power from the sun’s light, requiring less labor and maintenance than conventional ways.
This ease of maintenance applies especially to surface solar pumps (ones that are not submerged in water) because they don’t need to be kept watertight, they are repairable where most maintenance can be done with basic tools in your place.
Solar Pump Installation & Maintenance
This aspect requires calling in specialists and consequently their presence nearby. Maintenance is fairly simple and not very costly. It is necessary to ensure that there is a pump or water point management committee, or one needs to be created, so as to ensure proper use, follow up and safety for the installation, especially to limit the significant theft or damage hazards.
These pumps are often directly connected to a tank supplying a miniature water network or standpipes. The pumps used are generally centrifugal force or suction-force pumps.
Motor types
There are different types of motors, DC or AC motors, and within each of these categories, there are still more choices.
Among DC motors
Electromagnetic winding series motors are best suited to variable pumping capacity applications depending on sunlight. Direct current motors are used for small to medium applications up to about 4 kW rating and are suitable for applications such as garden fountains, landscaping, drinking water for livestock, or small irrigation projects. Since DC systems tend to have overall higher efficiency levels than AC pumps of a similar size, the costs are reduced as smaller solar panels can be used.
AC motors
However, more and more often AC motors seem to be chosen for pumping using photovoltaic power (for these are low-cost motors with enhanced efficiency thanks to the solar rectifiers used, which despite their extra cost, are worth it) but if an alternating current solar pump is used, an inverter is necessary that changes the direct current from the solar panels into alternating current for the pump. The supported power range of inverters extends from 0.15 to 55 kW and can be used for larger irrigation systems.
Ways of using a centrifugal pump supplied by a photovoltaic cell :
Sunlight is not a stable or easily predictable power source, hence there are two kinds of solutions for making up for this problem :
- A “Pump with battery” system where a part of the power is stored in a battery.
- A “Pump with the sun” system, the one most often found, where a tank serving as the reserve is combined with the pump for batteries are expensive and rarely last longer than two to three years.