COMPLETE GUIDE TO

SOLAR PUMP SUCCESS

 Investing in a solar pump for your farm might feel
daunting as there are many different options to consider.

But getting the right solar pump can both save and
make you money, all whilst reducing your environmental
impact.

Want to find out how solar can work for you...?

We’ll walk you through some of the sums and
tips and tricks for getting the most out of a
solar pump

...lets jump straight in

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IRRIGATION FOR SUCCESS

Do you find that the growing season hits you full Irrigation allows you to control when and how
on every year? No matter how well you plan and much water you apply to your crops. And a solar
prepare, there is no shying away from the fact pump means you can do this with free power
that peak growing season can feel like spinning from the sun and without huge physical effort.
hundreds of plates at once! You’ve got seedlings
to plant out, weeds to tame and crops that need At Futurepump we have an expert team who
an almost constant supply of water. have built and supplied over 17,000 solar pumps
to small-scale farms, homesteads and market
Many of the farmers we speak to are having gardens over the last decade.
to lug watering cans about to keep their plots
watered or have experienced the high fuel costs Along the way we’ve learnt from the many
and frequent breakdowns of petrol pumps. different situations where our customers use
pumps and have a huge library of tips and tricks
All hope for a helping hand from the clouds to for getting the best out of solar irrigation.
water their crops.
And we don’t see a reason why we would keep
any of that a secret…

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 1 GETTING YOUR HEAD
AROUND TOTAL HEAD
A commonly used, extremely important, but sometimes confusing
measurement...

Factors that make up total head

In water pump brochures and datasheets you will

often see the term ‘total head’ - usually shown as a
figure in metres.

Although it is written as meters, that does not Note:

equate to something you can measure with a ruler.
10 meters head = 1 bar pressure
Total head is the ‘work’ the pump must do to move a
Futurepump solar pumps have a total
liquid. It is the sum of vertical, pressure and velocity head of 15m = 1.5 bar pressure
head which are influenced by:
The more pressure you put
• Vertical lift your pump under, the harder it will
be working.
• Hosepipe length, diameter and type
That means you’ll either get less water
• Hosepipe restrictions (kinks, bends, and low radiation has a bigger impact.
connections) Depending on your need, it could be
wise to invest in larger solar panels or a
higher head pump.
• Irrigation type (i.e. adding sprinklers)

Is this still feeling a bit technical? Don’t worry! We’ll

explain more on the next few pages...

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Vertical lift

One of the easiest components of total head to

visualise is vertical head in meters (suction and
discharge depth). Lifting water up uses energy
from the pump as it must move the weight of
the water against gravity.

A surface pump has both suction and discharge

lift, whereas a submersible pump only has
discharge lift. This is because a surface pump sits
on the ground out of the water and must suck
water up, then push water out. A submersible
pump sits in the water and only has to push
water out of the discharge side.

Take a look at the site where you plan to irrigate

and measure your suction and discharge lifts -
you can note them here:

Suction lift: ________________________________ Hosepipe length, diameter and material

Discharge lift: ______________________________ As water travels down the length of hopsepipe,

it interacts with the pipe walls. This resultant
friction is determined by pipe width and
material. The longer your hosepipe, the further
the water has to travel within the pipe, and the
greater the friction the water experiences.

Friction = pressure on the pump

What hose(s) are you planning to use?

Note their specifications here:

Horizontal length of your pipe: ________________

Hosepipe diameter: ________________________

Hosepipe type: _____________________________

For more detailed information on how this translates into pump pressure,
please see our technical note at https://bit.ly/Total-Head-Technical-Note

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Hosepipe restrictions (kinks, bends,
connections)

In a similar way to hosepipe type and width

having an impact on friction and flow, restrictions
within a hosepipe makes it harder for water to
move through the pipe. Harder to move = more
energy required to push the water through.

Where possible, avoid letting your hosepipe kink

as you place it in the farm. If you do need to have
your pipe zig-zag around the farm, try to have a
wide bend in the pipe so it does not constrict
the flow.

If you are connecting sections of pipe together,

make sure you use the right size of connector
so the diameter of the pipe is not dramatically
reduced at these points.

Irrigation type

Adding sprinklers, drip or mist irrigation add

significant back pressure on the pump as water
is forced out of small holes and propelled over a
distance - all of which requires energy.

When purchasing irrigation accessories, there

will usually be information provided about the
pressure requirement. For example, drip usually
requires 0.2 bar of pressure.

The number of sprinklers appropriate to use

with a pump is also a key point to research -
with Futurepump pumps you should never use
a single sprinkler as the back pressure is too
much.

What irrigation type are you planning to use?

________________________________________

What pressure requirement does this irrigation

type have? ________________________________

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2 HOW MUCH WATER DO YOU
NEED?
Different crops have different water requirements and it’s
something helpful to estimate...

We know that looking at flowrates on a datasheet

can sometimes feel meaningless. However, it’s
important to consider the water requirements of
Here’s an example:
your farm when choosing a pump, as you could end An acre of land = 4046m2
up spending more than needed on an oversized
pump or struggle to give your crops enough water.
If all the plants need 5mm of water
(0.005m) then the cubic meters of
We’ll run through a really simple way to estimate water required is:
your farm’s water requirements and then how you
can apply this to your farm. 4046 x 0.005 = 20m3

To get from m3 to litres, multiply by

Back of an envelope calculation - as simple as it
1000.
gets
20 x 1000 = 20,000L of water per
On average, vegetable crops have a water
day
requirement of around 5mm per plant every few
days (approx 25mm per week).

To see if a pump will provide you with enough In our experience, it is rare to have your whole
water, first work out the area of your land, and then farm under crop at one time, or that all of your
multiply by the assumed water requirement to get crops will require water every day.
your cubic meters.

Your turn:
Tip! Your area of land _______________ m2
The flow rate of water will
be affected by the vertical pumping
head, the power input from the solar
_________ m2 x 0.005 = ___________ m3
panel, and the efficiency of the
pump system.

_________ m3 x 1000 = ____________ L

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Adjusting for your farm Adjust your calculation depending on the crops
you’re growing.
Different crops have different water requirements
- one acre of maize will require a lot less water If you have low water use plants, multiply by 0.3
than an acre of cucumbers… or medium by 0.5 to get an estimate.

How do you compare this to a pump’s flow The Futurepump SE1 can pump up to 10,800 L
rate? per day which is enough for a 1 acre farm with
intermittent irrigation.
Now that you roughly know how much water
you need, it is time to look at the flow rates of The Futurepump SF2 can pump up to 21,600 L
different pumps to find the best match. per day which is enough for a 2 acre farm with
intermittent irrigation.

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 3 SOLAR IRRIDATION FOR
IRRIGATION
Sunshine levels vary around the world, you can optimise your
set up for your location

Working out what the solar irradiation levels in

your location are can be difficult. The problem is,
because our eyes adjust, what might look like a
bright day in one place, may not be as bright as
another.

Luckily, there are some great online tools like the

‘Global Solar Atlas’ which you can use to estimate
the solar irradiation in your location.

Note! globalsolaratlas.info/map
Solar irradiance is the power received
from the sun for a given area...
e.g. Watts per m2

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Why it is important to get an idea Our video guides

Solar pump datasheets will have a lot of different Check out our YouTube channel for a video
variables covered in their flow rate assumptions. explaining how to correctly size your solar
One of these will be the watts per metre panel... scan the QR code below to go direct to
squared (W/m ) that the panel is ‘seeing’.
2
the video.

The amount hitting the panel will change with

weather conditions - 1000 W/m2 is pretty much
the maximum on a very sunny day, 800 W/m2 is
still quite sunny, 600 W/m2 is hazy sunshine and
around 400W/m2 is quite cloudy.

So if you research your location and find out

that the solar irradiation that you receive is on
the lower side, you might want to look into
oversizing your solar panel.

By oversizing your panel you are enlarging the https://www.youtube.com/c/FuturepumpLtd

solar collection area (m ), so you can collect
2

more W (energy).

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 4 TIPS AND TRICKS
How to introduce ‘low-flow’ solar pumps to your farm

If you are used to a high powered petrol or diesel How you can optimise flowrate:
pump and are swapping to a solar pump like
the Futurepump you will experience a reduced • Use your pump with compatible irrigation
flow rate - but this can work in your favour. methods such as low flow sprinklers or drip

If you optimise the use of your solar pump, the • Combine the pump with a raised tank - you
benefits of its ‘low flow’ can be huge - you can can use the pump to fill the tank through
use your water more efficiently and your plants the day and use gravity flow from the tank
can thrive. whenever you need

Let irrigation run while you do other jobs

Tip!
•

How to save water: • Don’t waste water - avoid things that can lead
Avoid overwatering, mulch around to extra evaporation before the water can be
plants, avoid ‘hit and miss’ watering to used by your crops.
make sure water gets to roots

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5 HOW TO GET THE MOST OUT
OF A SOLAR PUMP
There are some simple things you can do to make sure that
you get the most out of your investment

Why choose a solar pump • Avoid shading the solar panels - clean the
panels regularly to remove dirt and cut back
A solar water pump is a great choice for a small any plant growth that creeps over the panel
farm because it has low recurring costs and is
an environmentally friendly way to reduce the • Keep your panels clean
labour required to move water. They are also
easy to set up and maintain, meaning you can • Be careful about how much back pressure
use it year after year with little effort. you add to the pump - avoid using a single
sprinkler, constricting the hosepipes or trying
How to get the best out of your solar pump: to lift water too high

• Pick the right panel size • Make sure you find out how easy the pump
is to maintain and what type of warranty
• Make sure your panels are facing the most support is offered, and for how long. This can
direct sunlight - this will typically be south or mean the difference between a few seasons
southeast (in the Northern hemisphere) use or decades of irrigation.

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Find the right solar pump for you

Now that you know how you can use a solar pump
for success, use the table below to help you compare
pumps on the market. This will help you find the
most suitable solar water pump for your farm.

We’ve filled it out for our range of pumps to help

you get started!

Your farm:
Total lift required: __________________
Water source: ______________________
Farm size: __________________________
Irrigation type: _____________________
Water requirement: ________________
Solar requirement: _________________

Irrigation Compatible Flowrate at Solar

Total head Suction lift
area irrigation 1m provided

Sprinklers,
Up to
SE1 15m 7m drip, mist, 1,600 L/hour 60W
1 acre
hose
Sprinklers,
Up to 120W /
SF2 15m 7m drip, mist, 3,600 L/hour
2 acres 240W
hose
Sprinklers,
Up to 120W /
SF2H 25m / 45m 7m drip, mist, 1,500 L/hour
1 acre 240W
hose

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AND FINALLY...
On behalf of the Futurepump team I hope that this information is useful. Our company mission is
to help farmers earn more money through using our robust solar irrigation pumps.

Visit www.futurepump.com now to find out how a Futurepump solar pump can help grow your
farming profits. Here’s to your success!

Toby Hammond
Managing Director
Futurepump Ltd

www.futurepump.com