Application guide · Agricultural water
Solar Water Pump Price: Sizing, Head and Borehole Design
A solar water pump price is quoted per cubic metre delivered, not per kilowatt of panel. The three numbers that set it are total head (static lift plus drawdown plus pipe friction), the daily volume the crop or the community needs, and the hours of usable sun in the worst month. A 1.5 kW pump lifting 40 m delivers 8–10 m³/h at midday; the same pump at 90 m delivers 4 m³/h, and no amount of extra panel changes the hydraulics.
Typical pump size
1.5–7.5 kW
Array per kW pump
1.4–1.6 kWp
Daily volume
20–250 m³
This page is the sizing method we use for boreholes, rivers and irrigation schemes in Nigeria, Ghana and South Africa. It covers the load table, three standard pump-and-array combinations, indicative EXW price bands, why most pumping systems should not have a battery, the voltage and certification differences between markets, and the installation details — dry-run protection, cable sizing, tilt — that decide whether the borehole still fills the tank in year four.
Why diesel pumping costs more than the sticker
A 3 kW diesel pump set burns about 1.1 litres an hour, so six hours of irrigation is 6.6 litres a day. Over a 200-day season that is 1,320 litres; at USD 1.10–1.40 a litre delivered to a farm, USD 1,450–1,850 a season, every season, before the oil changes, the impeller rebuilds and the trips to town for fuel.
The failure mode is not the fuel price, it is the logistics. When the pump is 40 km from the nearest filling station, a missed delivery costs a day of irrigation, and a day of irrigation at flowering can cost more than the whole season's fuel. Solar removes that dependency, which is why the payback calculation is usually about yield protection rather than kWh price.
The other mistake is putting a battery on a pumping system. Water is the cheapest battery there is: pump into an elevated tank during the day and let gravity deliver at night. A battery adds 40–60% to capital cost, loses 10–15% round-trip, and is the first component to fail in a hot pump house.
- ✓1,300+ litres of diesel a season at USD 1.10–1.40/litre delivered
- ✓Fuel runs that fail during flowering, when a lost day costs the crop
- ✓Battery banks added to pumping systems that do not need them
- ✓Pumps sized on rated power instead of head and flow at the actual duty point
- ✓No dry-run protection, so the pump destroys itself the first time the water table drops
Typical pump load values
Pumping load is hydraulic, not electrical: power follows flow × head. The table uses 55–65% wire-to-water efficiency for a DC submersible and 5.0 peak-sun hours for the array calculation.
| Item | Power | Hours | Daily energy |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0.75 kW surface pump, 15 m head | 0.75 kW | 5 h | 3.8 kWh |
| 1.5 kW submersible, 40 m head | 1.5 kW | 6 h | 9.0 kWh |
| 3 kW submersible, 60 m head | 3.0 kW | 6 h | 18.0 kWh |
| 5.5 kW submersible, 80 m head | 5.5 kW | 6 h | 33.0 kWh |
| 7.5 kW surface set, flood irrigation | 7.5 kW | 6 h | 45.0 kWh |
Array size = pump kW × 1.4–1.6 for a DC pump with an MPPT VFD, or × 1.8 for an AC pump on a solar VFD. The multiplier covers the pump's part-load behaviour at 10:00 and 15:00, when irradiance is 60–70% of peak but the crop still needs water.
Recommended configurations
These three combinations cover a smallholder plot, a commercial horticulture block and a village water supply. All are direct-drive: no battery, storage in a tank sized for one night of demand.
| Tier | PV array | Battery | Power electronics | Serves |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| P1 — 1 ha vegetable plot | 2.2 kWp (10 × 230 W) | None — 10 m³ elevated tank | 1.5 kW DC pump + 2.2 kW MPPT VFD | 9 kWh/day, 40 m head, 45–55 m³/day |
| P2 — 5 ha drip block | 4.6 kWp (20 × 230 W) | None — 30 m³ tank | 3 kW DC pump + 4 kW MPPT VFD | 18 kWh/day, 60 m head, 80–100 m³/day |
| P3 — village supply / 20 ha | 11 kWp (48 × 230 W) | Optional 10.24 kWh for night demand | 7.5 kW pump + 11 kW VFD | 45 kWh/day, 80 m head, 200–250 m³/day |
Size the tank before you size the array. One night of village demand at 15 m³ means a 15 m³ tank, which costs far less than the battery that would replace it. For drip irrigation, the tank also lets you run the pump at full power into storage instead of throttling to match the emitters.
Indicative cost ranges (USD, EXW Ningbo)
Bands below are for the complete pumping kit: pump, MPPT VFD or controller, modules, mounting frame, level probes and 30 m of submersible cable. Drilling, casing, tank, pipework and installation are excluded.
| Item | Specification | Indicative range |
|---|---|---|
| P1 kit — 1.5 kW | 2.2 kWp PV · DC submersible · MPPT VFD | USD 1,450 – 1,950 |
| P2 kit — 3 kW | 4.6 kWp PV · DC submersible · MPPT VFD | USD 2,650 – 3,400 |
| P3 kit — 7.5 kW | 11 kWp PV · pump · 11 kW VFD | USD 6,200 – 7,900 |
| Galvanised array frame | Ground mount, adjustable 10–35°, 120 km/h | USD 120 – 480 |
| Level probe + dry-run relay | Stainless electrodes, IP68 | USD 45 – 90 |
- Indicative EXW ranges for hardware only; final price depends on head, flow, pump brand tier and port. A borehole log usually changes the pump selection.
- Solar kits above replace a 3 kW diesel set that spends USD 1,450–1,850 a season on fuel — payback is typically two to three seasons.
- Borehole drilling and casing are quoted locally and often exceed the solar hardware cost; budget USD 3,000–8,000 for a 60–100 m borehole in West Africa.
All prices on this page are indicative EXW ranges compiled from current container quotations. They are not a binding offer: freight, duties, installation and exchange rates move, and the final price is issued after we receive your load list and delivery port.
Local adaptation: voltage, climate and certification
Pumping systems are installed by local contractors, so the array and controller have to match the local supply and the local water conditions. These are the four markets we quote most.
| Market | Grid & code | Climate | Certification |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nigeria | 230 V / 50 Hz; most pumps run standalone, NEMSA for public water schemes | 40 °C ambient, sandy water, harmattan dust on the array | SONCAP for imported pumps, IEC 62253 for PV pumping |
| Ghana | 230 V / 50 Hz; Energy Commission approval for imported equipment | High humidity, iron-rich groundwater in the coastal belt | EC registration, IEC 62253 |
| South Africa | 230 V / 50 Hz; SANS 10142-1 for any grid-connected pump house | −5 °C winter mornings, boreholes 80–150 m deep | SANS 10142-1, SABS for pressure equipment |
| Philippines | 220 V / 60 Hz — 60 Hz motors, and 220 V not 230 V | Typhoon wind loads, 2,000 mm rain, volcanic sediment | DOE compliance, NTC not applicable to pumps |
Installation points that protect the pump
Set the pump depth above the drawdown
Install the pump at least 3 m below the lowest recorded water level, and fit a level probe. A pump that runs dry destroys its thrust bearing in under a minute.
Size cable for voltage drop, not ampacity
Keep total DC drop under 3%: at 120 m and 10 A, that means 6 mm² copper, not the 2.5 mm² that comes with the kit. Undersized cable is the most common reason a correctly sized pump underperforms.
Tilt the array for the dry season
Use latitude minus 5° to favour the dry months when irrigation demand peaks: 25–30° in South Africa, 10–15° in Nigeria and Ghana. A steeper tilt also sheds dust.
Use the tank as the battery
Size storage for one day of peak demand and let the pump run at full power into it. Throttling a pump to match drip emitters wastes 20–30% of the harvestable energy.
Fit a VFD with MPPT, not a fixed-voltage controller
An MPPT VFD keeps the array at its maximum power point as irradiance falls, which extends the pumping day by 1.5–2 hours at both ends. Fixed-voltage controllers lose most of the morning and evening.
Protect the borehole head
Concrete plinth, lockable cap, and a cable gland that keeps rainwater out. In sandy aquifers, a missing cap fills the screen within two seasons.
Hardware for this scenario
Modules and storage for pumping arrays. Send the borehole log — static level, drawdown, casing diameter — and the required daily volume, and we will return a pump curve with the array and VFD matched to it.
DLXN-M10-230W module
The standard building block for a 3 kW pumping array: 20 modules give 4.6 kWp, enough to run a 3 kW submersible for six hours in a 5.0 peak-sun-hour climate.
View specifications →
DLXN-M10-200W module
Used where the borehole is far from the field and string voltage matters more than module count — 18 V/200 W with a 150 V MPPT keeps cable losses under 3% at 120 m.
View specifications →
DLXN-F5200 51.2 V 200 Ah
Only needed when pumping must continue after sunset — drip fertigation timers, poultry water lines or a night shift. Direct-drive pumping should not carry a battery.
View specifications →
DLXN-M10-150W module
For 0.75–1.1 kW surface pumps on shallow wells and for topping up a 2.2 kWp array when roof area on the pump shed is the constraint.
View specifications →
Market pages and next steps
Frequently asked questions
How much does a solar water pump system cost?
A 1.5 kW borehole kit with 2.2 kWp of PV and an MPPT VFD is USD 1,450–1,950 EXW. A 3 kW kit is USD 2,650–3,400 and a 7.5 kW village-scale kit USD 6,200–7,900. Drilling, casing, tank and installation are local costs and often exceed the solar hardware: budget USD 3,000–8,000 for a 60–100 m borehole in West Africa.
Do I need a battery for a solar water pump?
No, in almost every case. Water is cheaper to store than electricity: pump into an elevated or ground tank during the day and use gravity or a small booster at night. A battery adds 40–60% to capital cost, loses 10–15% round-trip and is the first thing to fail in a hot pump house. The exception is night-only demand, such as poultry water lines or a night irrigation shift.
How many panels do I need for a 3 kW solar pump?
About 4.2–4.8 kWp, or 19–21 × 230 W modules. The rule is pump kW × 1.4–1.6 for a DC pump with an MPPT VFD, because the array must still deliver at 10:00 and 15:00 when irradiance is 60–70% of peak. For an AC pump on a solar VFD the multiplier rises to about 1.8.
How much water can a solar pump deliver per day?
At 60 m total head, a 3 kW pump moves roughly 20 m³/h at midday and about 110 m³ over a six-hour pumping window with a 4.6 kWp array. At 40 m head the same pump delivers 30–35 m³/h. Always calculate from the pump curve at the actual head, not from the datasheet maximum flow.
What happens on cloudy days?
Output falls roughly with irradiance, so a heavily overcast day may deliver 30–40% of the clear-sky volume. Two design responses: size the tank for two days of demand, or oversize the array by 20% and accept a longer pumping day. Adding a battery is the expensive third option and rarely justified for irrigation.
Send the borehole log
Give us static water level, drawdown, casing diameter, required daily volume and the crop or community served. We will return a pump curve, array layout and EXW price within two working days.
- Email:
- dlxn@dlxnsolar.com
- Delivery ports:
- Durban · Lagos · Tema · Manila
- Basis:
- EXW Ningbo / CIF
Request a Quote
Share your requirements — our team replies within one business day.