be sure to pick a low wattage self priming pump to do the job more efficiently
Going green and solar is all the rage. But when you are off grid, Solar and Wind power may be your only alternatives for getting the job done.
It is not easy but you can have running well water off grid using solar and wind Technologies. Does this Spark an idea?
Instructions
1. Determine your water velocity needs and obtain a well pump that can do the job for you. Try to find a pump that is already wired for 12 volts and is as low wattage as possible. This will go a long way to reduce the energy demand on your pumping system and reduce your overall costs.
When choosing your pump you should also keep in mind that the deeper the well the stronger a pump you will need. Velocity or Gallons Per Minute is greatly reduced by vertical distance the water must travel to get to you.
2. 1. Determine your energy needs to get the job done.
2. # of watts used in a day
3. Average hours of day length in the winter
4. number of overcast or cloudy days in a typical year.
These are all factors to take into consideration when planning your solar system.
3. Next take the average day length for winter and deduct 2 hours to account for dawn and dusk.
Multiply that number by 365
Deduct from the above the average number of days that are overcast. for example 5 hours a day average adjusted day length, times average number of overcast days. So lets say you average 75 overcast days a year, then your total would be 1750 hours of sunlight in a year that would be available to your solar panels. Yes, you would receive more daylight in the summer but since this is a variable you should go with the smallest amount of day length.
Now divide that number by 365 and you get 4.79 This is now your total average of sunlight hours that will be available to your solar panels in a 24 hour period.
4. Next calculate your total watt usage for the well pump.
For example the pump is 600 watts and you expect it to run for an average of 3 hours a day.
Your total watt usage would then average 1800 watts in a 24 hour period.
5. Take your total watt usage which in this case is 1800 watts and divide it by 4.79 and you get 379 watts.
This is the bare minimum wattage you will need in order to use solar power to run your well pump for the required 3 hours a day.
6. You will need to place a voltage regulator or Charge Controller between your solar panels and your battery bank so that you do not over charge your batteries.
7. Connect your solar panels to the voltage regulator or charge controller, then from that to the batteries and finally to the well pump.
Tags: your solar, solar panels, well pump, your solar panels, total watt, total watt usage