Solar borehole pumps in the Free State
Pump water from your borehole with the sun, and spend less on diesel and power. Here is a real site in Heilbron, in the Free State, with the numbers from the site.
The Heilbron site
On this site in Heilbron, one set of solar panels runs two borehole pumps.
Pump 1 pulls just over 8,000 litres of water an hour. The borehole is 35 metres deep, and the water sits at about 8 metres.
Pump 2 is a 7.5 kW pump. It runs fully on solar and gives 25,000 litres an hour.
Farmers often talk in "cubes". One cube is 1,000 litres. So 25 cubes an hour is 25,000 litres an hour.
Adam Palmer from TIA Energy shared these numbers from the site.
What that means in a day
With about 6 hours of good sun, the 7.5 kW pump can move around 150,000 litres in a day.
That is our rough estimate: 25,000 litres x 6 hours. Real output changes with the weather and the season.
That is a lot of water for animals, crops and the house. And the sun does the work.
Why solar and borehole pumps go well together
Your pumps work hardest in the day. That is when the sun is out too.
For many farms, pumping water means a diesel bill or a power bill that keeps going up. With solar, the panels make the power for the pump on site.
Before you buy a solar pump, check 3 things
- How deep is the water?
- How far must the water go?
- How much water do you need each day?
Get those right, and you pay less to move every litre. Not sure of your numbers? We can help you work them out.
Photos from the site
Solar pump questions
Can a solar pump run a borehole with no diesel?
Yes, while the sun is up. On the Heilbron site, a 7.5 kW pump runs fully on solar and gives 25,000 litres of water an hour.
How much water can a solar borehole pump give?
It depends on the pump, how deep the water is and the sun. In Heilbron, one pump gives just over 8,000 litres an hour from a 35 metre borehole. A 7.5 kW pump on the same solar panels gives 25,000 litres an hour.
Can one set of solar panels run two pumps?
Yes. On the Heilbron site, one solar panel array runs two borehole pumps.
Does a solar pump work at night?
Not on its own. A solar pump runs while the sun is up. Many farms pump into a tank in the day and use that water at night. If you need to pump at night, ask us about batteries.
Do you work in the Free State?
Yes. The Heilbron site on this page is in the Free State. Contact us to talk about your borehole.
What do you need from me to plan a pump?
Tell us how deep your borehole is, how far the water must go, and how much water you need each day. Photos of the borehole help too.
