Is there grid power on site?
Solar Water Pumps South Africa suit water pumping better than almost any other solar application, because a tank stores the energy for you. Pump when the sun is up, draw from the tank whenever you like, and no battery is needed. Compare solar pumping quotes.
Get solar pumping quotes for your point or borehole.
Get the Best QuoteWhy Solar Fits Water Pumping
- The tank is the battery. Store water instead of electricity.
- Sun and demand line up. The hot dry months are the sunny ones.
- No grid needed. Which is the whole point on a farm or a smallholding.
- Load shedding proof. It pumps when the grid is down.
- Low running cost. Effectively nothing after the installation.
- Simple systems. Panels, a controller and a pump, with little to fail.
What a System Needs
- Panels. Sized to the daily litres, not just the pump's rating.
- A controller. Which matches the panel output to the pump through the day.
- The pump. A solar or variable speed pump rather than a fixed mains one.
- Storage. Enough for a cloudy day or two.
- Dry run protection. A probe or float, as on any pump.
- Mounting. A frame, oriented and tilted, clear of shade.
Sizing It Honestly
- Start from daily litres. And the height the water has to be lifted.
- Use winter sun hours. Not the summer best case.
- Allow for cloud. Storage covers the days the panels do not.
- Mind the shade. One shaded panel drags a string down.
- Check the point's yield. Solar does not make a slow point faster.
- Compare against grid. On a plot with power, the sums are not always obvious.
Solar Water Pumps Prices
Ballpark solar pumping figures so you can check a quotation.
| Item | Ballpark price |
|---|---|
| Small solar surface pump kit, fitted | R18,000 - R42,000 |
| Solar submersible, borehole, fitted | R32,000 - R95,000 |
| Solar controller, supplied and fitted | R4,500 - R18,000 |
| Panels, per kilowatt installed | R9,500 - R22,000 |
| Mounting frame, ground mounted | R3,500 - R14,000 |
| Dry run probe and protection | R1,600 - R5,500 |
| Storage tank, 5,000 litres, stood | R7,500 - R16,000 |
| Hybrid solar and grid changeover | R4,500 - R16,000 |
Prices JUST UPDATED. Ballpark figures, rounded, excluding VAT. They reflect typical South African wellpoint, pump and water treatment rates. They are not our prices or quotations, and no provider is bound by them. Confirm what each quotation includes, such as travel, the depth allowed for, the dry hole fee, pipework and minimum callout fees.
Have the panels sized to the water you need, not the pump's rating.
Get the Best QuoteWhat Affects the Price
- Daily volume and lift. Together they set the panel array size.
- Pump type. A solar submersible costs well above a surface unit.
- Array size. Panels are a large share of the total.
- Mounting. Ground frame, roof or pole, and the groundwork with it.
- Storage included. A tank is usually part of a solar design.
- Hybrid capability. Grid changeover adds parts and wiring.
What to Include in Your Request
- Daily litres needed. And when in the day you draw them.
- The lift. Depth to water plus the height to the tank.
- The point or borehole. Depth and yield.
- Whether there is grid power. Off grid entirely, or a hybrid.
- Space for panels. And whether anything shades it.
- Existing storage. Tanks already on site.
Before Buying a Solar Pump
- Size on winter sun. A system sized on summer output disappoints in June.
- Build in storage. It is what makes solar pumping practical.
- Check the yield first. Solar cannot pump water the point does not have.
- Keep the panels clear. Shade and dust both cost output.
- Ask about the controller. It is the part that usually fails first.
- Compare against the grid honestly. Where there is power, run the numbers.
Solar Water Pumps FAQs
Can a solar pump run a wellpoint?
Yes, and the pairing works well where there is no grid power or where load shedding is a nuisance. The usual arrangement is a solar pump filling a tank through the day, with the tank feeding the garden or the house. The point's yield still sets the ceiling.
Do I need batteries?
Generally no, and that is the appeal. Water in a tank is the storage, so the system pumps while the sun shines and you draw from the tank whenever you want. Batteries only come in where pumping has to happen at a fixed time regardless of the weather.
How many panels will I need?
It comes from the daily litres and how high the water has to be lifted, calculated on winter sun hours rather than summer. A modest garden system might need half a kilowatt of panels; a borehole lifting from forty metres for a smallholding needs several times that.
What does a solar pumping system cost?
A small surface pump kit for a shallow point typically runs R18,000 to R42,000 installed. A solar submersible on a borehole is more like R32,000 to R95,000 depending on depth and volume. Storage is usually extra and usually worth it.
What fails on a solar pump system?
The controller, more often than the panels or the pump. Panels are long lived and solar pumps are generally simple. Ask what the controller is, whether it is locally supported and what a replacement costs, because that is the part you are most likely to buy twice.
Solar pumping is quoted by providers listed on Wellpoint Installers SA who also install the point and the storage.
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