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Posted By: IA_fog Solar power question - 07/03/22
Ok scenario
I have a 14 acre lake behind my house, 75-80 ft of lift need3d
I have traditionally run a 2” gas engine to run sprinkler system( have a fimco one like a football field) i would love to go to an electric water pump and smaller sprinkler/sprinklers run more often. No electricity close to water
Could i put up a few solar panels, an inverter and run this pump? What else would i need?
Attached is the type of pump i want to run
Thanks
After this question have an oh crap question

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Posted By: kenacp Re: Solar power question - 07/04/22
You would also need a charge controller and a battery bank. If you could find a 12vt dc pump, then you could forgo the inverter.
Posted By: rainshot Re: Solar power question - 07/04/22
Those panels are big and they’ll need to be mounted permanently.
You’ll need batteries too…and an electrical engineer to design the system…
ETA: Solar is probably not a viable option
Posted By: Oheremicus Re: Solar power question - 07/04/22
I'd say it depends on what sort of pump you need, and how much power it will draw when it runs. Solar panels can be had that generate up to 130 watts. But that's at !:00 PM on a clear day. So, you would need a knowledgeable person to design your system. The company that designed and built mine had such people design the system that runs most of the systems in my house.
I also have a battery storage system that allows me to store some of the power the panels generate for night use or in the event of a power outage. As a result, I pay only for the connection fee to the grid. That's because my system generates more power than I use for the year.
The bottom line is, one, how much would it cost and two, what are your needs. E
Posted By: IA_fog Re: Solar power question - 07/04/22
Originally Posted by kenacp
You would also need a charge controller and a battery bank. If you could find a 12vt dc pump, then you could forgo the inverter.

Like what charge controller and how many batteries
Posted By: kenacp Re: Solar power question - 07/04/22
You have to know what the pump will draw first. Then how long will it run per day. How many days back up with little sun.
Posted By: denton Re: Solar power question - 07/04/22
Just some quick back of a napkin numbers....

The pump draws 1200 Watts. For simplicity, assume the inverter is 100% efficient. That's 100 amps input at 12 volts. So if you had a 300 amp hour battery setup, it would run the sprinklers for 3 hours. That battery will cost around $1000. For solar panels, I generally figure about $1.50 per watt. A 250 watt panel sounds roughly right. So, yes, it can be done. These numbers will sort of get you in the right ballpark. Plan on some heavy copper conductors.

Your average hours of sunlight per day is available online. Here in Utah, we average 5.5 hours per day. From the average hours per day, you can figure the Amp-Hours you need in a panel. You will also need to consider the consequences of days without sun. If the sun isn't shining, maybe it's raining, and you don't need the sprinklers for a while.

You might do better with a much smaller pump to store water in an elevated tank when the sun shines. I think your best choice is something like a 50 AH LiFePO4 battery that charges off the charging unit of a solar panel. The battery is mainly there to keep the voltage constant, to run the inverter. Instead of elevating the tank, you could go to a bladder and compressed air system close to the house and the 120 mains.


Maybe all that will be a help.....
Posted By: Dutch Re: Solar power question - 07/04/22
I'm confused. You have 80 feet of head (35 PSI pressure). Why do you need a pump to run a sprinkler system?
Posted By: IA_fog Re: Solar power question - 07/04/22
Originally Posted by Dutch
I'm confused. You have 80 feet of head (35 PSI pressure). Why do you need a pump to run a sprinkler system?


I edited it should say lift the water is 80 ft below the yard
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