# Solar panels for well pump



## Guap0_ (Dec 2, 2017)

My guess is that solar could be a supplement. I doubt that it could carry the entire load.


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## joed (Mar 13, 2005)

If you can run a whole house on solar there has to be a solution to run a well pump. It most likely involves a battery bank and inverter to run the pump and solar to keep the batteries charged.


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## SPS-1 (Oct 21, 2008)

30 amps equals about 3600 watts equals about half the size of a typical home installation. But, as you pointed out, unlikely your pump uses all that (one horsepower equals 746 Watts).


But if you want the pump to run anytime (day or night, rain or shine), you need a battery storage system too. That drives up the cost. More commonly, a house (or whatever) is hooked up to both the solar panels, and the grid. If its sunny you are running off the solar, and probably feeding back some electricity to the grid and getting paid for it. If its raining or night, you are running off the grid.


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## Oso954 (Jun 23, 2012)

> 30 amps equals about 3600 watts equals about half the size of a typical home installation. But, as you pointed out, unlikely your pump uses all that (one horsepower equals 746 Watts).


For a deepwell pump the 30 amps would be @ 240v which is 7200w. Most of that is for starting current. It takes a lot of grunt to start a pump that is working against a 300ft lift. 

The 746W is mechanical watts of the output shaft, not the electrical load or wattage needed to run the pump. 
Try looking up the electrical requirements for a real deep well pump. The last one I worked on was 2 hp drawing 12 running amps @ 240v.


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## SeniorSitizen (Sep 10, 2012)

Solar well pumps have been around for awhile. No details on this one at this time. It keeps water supplied for cattle on a nearby ranch.


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## Oso954 (Jun 23, 2012)

Richard, why are you asking about solar for the well pump ?

Solar well pumps don’t work well with a residence or other uses that have water demands at night. Solar only works during the day. So you end up storing water or storing electricity. Both have substantial capital costs associated with them.

Under a lot of utility solar agreements, you are far better off to just look at your total electric usage or bill. Figure out how much you want to reduce it by. Then size your solar system accordingly.


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