A Water System Using a DC Pump for Remote Solar Installations

Abstract

A solar water pump was installed in Panama for a small community. A data acquisition system is transmitting electrical, water flow, and environmental data in real time and can be viewed on a web browser. The pump does not require an inverter and instead operates as a constant-current device, meaning that the power is linearly proportional to the number of panels connected in series. This presentation provides the actual electrical performance of the system and compares that to the optimal flow of water for a various numbers of panels and environmental conditions. Up until now these electrical and flow characteristics have not been available, yet are critical for sizing panels to this and similar systems. The presenters will offer some guidelines for sizing these solar water systems in the future.