How do you design a solar water pumping system?

When designing a solar pumping system, the designer must match the individual components together. A solar water pumping system consists of three major components: the solar array, pump controller and electric water pump (motor and pump) as shown in Figure 1.

What are the components of a solar water pumping system?

A solar water pumping system consists of three major components: the solar array, pump controller and electric water pump (motor and pump) as shown in Figure 1. Note: Motor and pump are typically directly connected by one shaft and viewed as one unit, however occasionally belts or gears may be used to interconnect the two shafts.

What is a solar powered water system guide?

The free guide, published together with Water Mission and UNICEF, provides detailed guidance on all technical topics pertinent to the design and installation of solar powered water systems within a rural water supply context. This guide has been downloaded by people in over 131 countries. We have more guides and trainings coming out soon.

Do solar powered water systems need to be based on design demand?

As discussed in 2.2.6. Design Demand, the daily water demand on the solar powered water system alone will be critical to the design of the system. In other words, the water collected from other sources should not be counted in the design demand upon which the system design will be based.

What data should be included in a solar water pump design?

The specific data would be the size of the inlet and outlet that the water pipe would be connected to. Figure 14 a, b and c shows key dimensions of the three water pumps shown in Figure 13 and used in the solar water pumping systems used in Table 7. The designer should initially use pipe that is the same size as the inlets and outlets.

Can a solar water pump be powered by an inverter?

An inverter converts DC output from solar panels into AC. Thus, with the correct inverter, most AC pumps can be powered by a solar array. Inverters are typically used in a solar powered water system when the pump capacity needed exceeds the capacity of the pump and motor combinations (or PV pump aggregates) that can take DC input.