Solar pump systems part 1

Energy is becoming more and more expensive and for may applications turning to alternative energy is becoming more affordable. This is true for solar pump systems as well.

In remote areas it is quite expensive to get power to a well. Developments in solar submersible pumps have come a long way and is very viable today. When considering a pump for a well you have to decide a number of things like: how much water do you need per day, how deep is your well, what do you want to do with the water?

The most common submersible pumps are centrifugal pumps. So what does this mean for the normal guy

Water is sucked into a rotating part which throws the water out to the outer edge. Most submersible pumps are muti-stage, meaning there can be several impellers. Each impeller will create some pressure and you vary the number of impellers to get the pressure you need.
Centrifugal pumps need to run at the correct speed to make the pressure that you need. If the sun is not bright enough, the speed is not achievable so there is no way the pump can deliver water.

In part 2 we will explore alternative types of pumps, which overcome the speed related problem of centrifugal pumps