Solar-powered pumps run on electricity generated by

photovoltaic Photovoltaics (PV) is the conversion of light into electricity using semiconducting materials that exhibit the photovoltaic effect, a phenomenon studied in physics, photochemistry, and electrochemistry. The photovoltaic effect is commercially us ...

(PV) panels or the radiated thermal energy available from collected sunlight as opposed to grid electricity- or diesel-run water pumps. Generally, solar-powered

pump A pump is a device that moves fluids (liquids or gases), or sometimes slurries, by mechanical action, typically converted from electrical energy into hydraulic energy. Pumps can be classified into three major groups according to the method they u ...

s consist of a solar panel array, solar charge controller, DC water pump, fuse box/breakers, electrical wiring, and a water storage tank. The operation of solar-powered pumps is more economical mainly due to the lower operation and maintenance costs and has less environmental impact than pumps powered by an

internal combustion engine An internal combustion engine (ICE or IC engine) is a heat engine in which the combustion of a fuel occurs with an oxidizer (usually air) in a combustion chamber that is an integral part of the working fluid flow circuit. In an internal combus ...

. Solar pumps are useful where grid electricity is unavailable or impractical, and alternative sources (in particular wind) do not provide sufficient energy.

Components

A PV solar-powered pump system has three main parts - one or more

solar panel A solar cell panel, solar electric panel, photo-voltaic (PV) module, PV panel or solar panel is an assembly of photovoltaic solar cells mounted in a (usually rectangular) frame, and a neatly organised collection of PV panels is called a photo ...

s, a controller, and a pump. The solar panels make up most (up to 80%) of the system's cost

The size of the PV system is directly dependent on the size of the pump, the amount of water that is required, and the

solar irradiance Solar irradiance is the power per unit area (surface power density) received from the Sun in the form of electromagnetic radiation in the wavelength range of the measuring instrument. Solar irradiance is measured in watts per square metre (W/ ...

available. The purpose of the controller is twofold. Firstly, it matches the output power that the pump receives with the input power available from the solar panels. Secondly, a controller usually provides a low- or high-voltage protection, whereby the system is switched off, if the voltage is too low or too high for the operating voltage range of the pump. This increases the service life of the pump, thus reducing the need for maintenance. Other ancillary functions include automatically shutting down the system when the water source level is low or when the storage tank is full, regulating water output pressure, blending power input between the solar panels and an alternate power source such as the grid or an engine-powered generator, and remotely monitoring and managing the system through an online portal offered as a cloud service by the manufacturer. Voltage of the solar pump motors can be alternating current (AC) or direct current (DC). DC 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. Finally, if an AC solar pump is used, an inverter is necessary to change the DC power from the solar panels into AC for the pump. The supported power range of inverters extends from 0.15 to 55 kW, and can be used for larger irrigation systems. The panel and inverters must be sized accordingly, though, to accommodate the inrush characteristic of an AC motor. To aid in proper sizing, leading manufacturers provide proprietary sizing software tested by third-party certifying companies. The sizing software may include the projected monthly water output, which varies due to seasonal change in insolation.

Water pumping

Solar-powered water pumps can deliver drinking water, water for livestock, or irrigation water. Solar water pumps may be especially useful in small-scale or community-based irrigation, as large-scale irrigation requires large volumes of water that in turn require a large solar PV array. As the water may only be required during some parts of the year, a large PV array would provide excess energy that is not necessarily required, thus making the system inefficient, unless an alternative use can be found. Solar PV water pumping systems are used for irrigation and drinking water in

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. Most of the pumps are fitted with a 2.0 - 3.7 kW motor that receives energy from a 4.8 kW_p PV array. The 3.7 kW systems can deliver about 124,000 liters of water/day from a total of 50 meters setoff head and 70 meters dynamic head. By 30 August 2016, a total of 120,000 solar PV water pumping systems had been installed around the world.India's Solar Power GREENING INDIA'S FUTURE ENERGY DEMAND
Energy storage in the form of water storage is better than energy storage in the form of batteries for solar water pumps because no intermediary transformation of one form of energy to another is needed. The most common pump mechanics used are centrifugal pumps, multistage pumps, borehole pumps, and helical pumps. Important scientific concepts of fluid dynamics such as pressure vs. head, pump heads, pump curves, system curves, and net suction head are really important for the successful deployment and design of solar-powered pumps.

Oil and gas

To combat negative publicity related to the environmental impacts of fossil fuels, including fracking, the oil and gas industry is embracing solar-powered pumping systems. Many oil and gas wells require the accurate injection (metering) of various chemicals under pressure to sustain their operation and to improve extraction rates. Historically, these chemical injection pumps (CIPs) have been driven by gas reciprocating motors using the pressure of the well's gas, and exhausting the raw gas into the atmosphere. Solar-powered electrical pumps (solar CIPs) can reduce these greenhouse gas emissions. Solar arrays (PV cells) not only provide a sustainable power source for the CIPs, but can also provide an electricity source to run remote SCADA-type diagnostics with remote control and satellite/cell communications from very remote locations to a desktop or notebook monitoring computer.

Stirling engine

Instead of generating electricity to turn a motor, sunlight can be concentrated on the heat exchanger of a Stirling engine and used to drive a pump mechanically. This dispenses with the cost of solar panels and electric equipment. In some cases, the Stirling engine may be suitable for local fabrication, eliminating the difficulty of importing equipment. One form of Stirling engine is the fluidyne engine, which operates directly on the pumped fluid as a piston. Fluidyne solar pumps have been studied since 1987. At least one manufacturer has conducted tests with a Stirling solar-powered pump.http://www.bsrsolar.com/sv/produkte2_e.html retrieved 2013 April 9

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