When a solar well pump is the right pump
A solar well pump is for a well that should not depend on utility power: a remote tank, a stock waterer, or a house that already loses power. It is still a pump matched to the well. Yield, pumping water level, and how much water you need in a day decide the pump. The panel count is not a number we copy off a neighbor.
Grundfos describes the SQFlex as a submersible pump system that runs on renewable supply, including solar and wind. The same product data sheet offers a helical-rotor liquid end for high head and small flow, and a centrifugal liquid end for the other duty. On DC power, the built-in electronics use maximum power point tracking so the pump's duty point follows the power the panels are actually making. Grundfos tells you to size the number of panels with its own sizing tool. The data sheet also says maintenance of that arrangement is periodic cleaning of the panels. The data sheet is Grundfosliterature-6820926. The product page is SQFlex.
When the goal is water after the sun is down, the pump fills storage during the day. Storage tanks and float switches are water storage tanks. A grid-power pump that failed is well pump repair, not automatically a solar conversion. Outage options that are not a solar pump, including generators, are in power outage well water.
What we need before a quote
- Depth of the pump setting, or the last well report if you have it.
- Gallons you need in a day, and whether that water can sit in a tank.
- Whether any utility power is at the well.
- Shade, slope, and a place to set panels where they can be cleaned.
Shops in Ramona and Anza. CSLB C-57 #1086994. Call (760) 440-8520 or text (760) 219-5877.
Questions we hear
How many solar panels does a well pump need?
Grundfos says to use its sizing tool for the SQFlex panel count. We do not publish a fixed panel number. The count follows the pump, the lift, and the sun at the site.
Will a solar pump run the house at night?
The panels make power in the sun. Water for later is water that was pumped into storage. A storage tank is a separate piece of equipment.
Is solar the fix for a dead submersible?
Not by itself. A dead pump on utility power is a pump repair until someone decides the well should leave the grid. Solar is a power source matched to a pump, after the well is known.