Solar Pumps
What is a solar pump?
A solar pump is powered by the sun. They provide an environmentally friendly alternative to electric or internal combustion powered pumps, and they're also great for locations that are far from power sources. Solar pumps are useful in a variety of applications such a drawing water from wells or lakes or they may also be used as circulator pumps for ponds, fountains, and swimming pools. They can also be useful in agricultural and various commercial and industrial applications where gas or electricity-powered pumps can't be used.
How do they work?
Like most devices powered by the sun, solar pumps use photovoltaic power cells to convert solar energy into electricity. This power is stored and put to use when the solar pump switches on. The pumps themselves may be positive displacement pumps such as diaphragm pumps or piston pumps, or they may be centrifugal pumps. Both categories of pumps have advantages and disadvantages. Positive displacement pumps can be used to create a greater amount of pressure, which is useful when the liquid needs to be pumped longer distances. Centrifugal pumps can usually handle greater volumes of liquid.
Here are a few solar pump manufacturers to consider.
Expert Advice
Dr. Lev Nelik recommends some valuable steps you can take to extend the life of your pump and ensure its operating under optimum conditions.
So now what do you do? As many of you know, this is a fairly common occurrence, particularly with pumps that have been around a long time. Here's some advice on what to do.
Author explains the reasons why it's important to determine the right pump type and size when evaluating a pump for a slurry application.
Industry Updates
Now you can easily calculate flow rates and pressure drops in your piping system out in the field with Xylem's new mobile app.
Grundfos recently celebrated the opening of a new "competency center" in Aurora, outside of Chicago. It's company's first U.S. production facility dedicated exclusively to the municipal waste water market.
As the pace of oil-and-gas production and recovery continue to grow in the U.S., the Griswold Pump Company's 811 Series ANSI centrifugal pumps are enabling oil-and-gas producers to maximize their production ability.
Pump Tweets
Here's a great read in The Atlantic highlighting the importance of water pumps -- and the man who repairs them -- to a small Kenyan village. In a farm town as small as Kikuyu, you're in serious trouble if the motor on your water pump breaks down, the writer reports. "Crops wither and die quickly in the sweltering heat. New motors are expensive, and out of the price range of subsistence farmers."
KSB introduces immersion variant of high-pressure pump. The new pump, called Movitec VCl, is a vertical, multistage centrifugal pump that can be used for handling coolants, condensate and lubricants for machine tools. The pump has a max flow rate of 27 m3/hr and the maximum discharge head is 250 m.
Chilean pump manufacturer Neptuno Pumps has been awarded a contract to supply a dozen vertical turbine pumps for a reclaim water system project at a copper mine in Chile.
Frost & Sullivan has honored NETZSCH Pumps & Systems with the 2011 Best Practice Award for increased customer benefit. NETZSCH's customer focus and product innovation were a few key factors in winning the award. NETZSCH is a leading manufacturer of progressive cavity pumps, screw pumps, lobe pumps, metering pumps and other equipment.