Subject: Re: [Homestead] Solar System for well pump
Date: Tue, 4 Nov 2008 06:21:43 -0500
> One difficulty with solar power is that the solar cells on the roof or
> wherever make direct current. In order to have electricity of the
> sort used by many household systems, (and most well pumps) you have to
> both store the power and then make it into alternating current. This
> means batteries and somewhat sophisticated electronic conversion
> devices.
There are DC well pumps on the market designed for solar systems. A solar
cell does not put out a constant power, it varies with time of day, cloud
cover, etc. A submersible well pump designed for solar can handle the
voltage swings so there is no need for battery storage. There is still a
need for storage but the pressure tanks of sufficient size can provide that
rather than batteries.