Solomon Islands Solar Water Pumping

A solar water pump theoretically consists of three key components: a pump control system that may be just an on-off switch or may be a more complex electronic unit, a motor and the pump; however, in practice they are considered as one unit and generally called the “water pump” or in this guideline the “solar water pump”.

solar water pump manufacture/supplier will have tables or computer software which specify the flow from the solar water pumping system for various heads and solar irradiation. The “solar water pump designer” shall be capable of: Using the manufacturers data sheets or software to select the most appropriate solar water pumping system.

In these systems the solar water pump is located within the borehole or well. These pumps are generally available for 100 mm (4 inch) and 150 mm (6 inch) boreholes. The solar array is typically located near the top of the borehole/well and the water is generally pumped to a storage tank. The pump controller is typically located at the solar array.

There are many possible applications for solar water pumping, especially when considering that the pump can be combined with energy storage or other types of generation to make it more versatile. However, this guideline is related to solar only systems.

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.

The type of solar water pumping system: borehole/well (submerged), floating or surface will depend on the water source. If the source is a borehole (proposed or existing) or deep well, then a submersible pump that fits the borehole or well should be selected. If the water source is a river, then a surface pump should usually be selected.