Solar pump solution for sustainable efficient water management
Control Techniques has launched a new solar pump solution designed to provide a cost-effective and scalable solution which delivers reduced operational costs, improved availability, and increased sustainability by using locally generated renewable energy.
Control Techniques’ Solar Pump Solution can harness the sun’s power to get water to where it needs to be, irrespective of power infrastructure, availability, and the associated costs. This will provide a reliable and eco-friendly alternative for pumping systems in remote and challenging environments, significantly reducing the carbon footprint associated with traditional electric pumps and converting previously unserviceable locations into areas where water can be transported.
The solution centres around software that enables the company’s drives to function with solar, grid-generated, or hybrid power supplies and also equips the drives with a range of pump-specific capabilities. This means the drives can be coupled with suitable pumps and solar panels to deliver a full solar pumping capability. Once set up, the drive can be configured to automatically connect to grid power for operation outside daylight hours or as a hybrid system, blending solar and grid sources without affecting performance.
Full system control is ensured by features such as DC bus control loop, Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) and low irradiation start/stop. Furthermore, the solar pump solution can control the most efficient motors available, meeting IE5 efficiency levels, such as the Nidec Leroy Somer Dyneo+ hybrid permanent-magnet motor.
The embedded features in the solar pump solution include controlled pressure ramp-up when filling pipes, pump dry-run prevention, no-flow protection and tank-full/well dry control, cleansing cycles to clear the pump impeller to avoid blockages and sleep mode to further minimise energy consumption.
