|
Solar panels solar panels, for fountains Solar panels for fountains are available, but you have to have the right pump. Let us start from the beginning. Solar panels to generate electricity have been around for quite some time. They directly convert light into electricity. First it was the solar cell, then these were combined to make solar panels. The first solar cells although small cost thousands of pounds each, but over the years the price has plummeted, but they are still not all that cheap. The other thing is that solar cells which make up solar panels are not really that efficient, which is why they can only produce little power. Solar panels can produce anything from 1 watt to ? watts, but the biggest one for fountains I know of is 35w.(Since this article was originally written you can now get bigger solar panels but they still cost a lot of money) Down to business. You want a solar powered fountain, you buy, solar panel and fountain pump, put the pump in your pond, connect the solar panel and................ nothing will ever happen, this is because solar panels only produce 12volts dc, fountain pumps require 230v ac, apart from being nearly twenty times too small the current is dc but the pump only works on ac. To have this work properly you need to have a solar operated pump, one which will work at 12v dc. OR you can buy an inverter which changes 12v dc to 230v ac but here in lies a problem. Remember I said solar panels produce around 1 watt, well if you mains pump requires say 30 watts your solar panel is only producing 1 watt, so even with an inverter it is still not going to work, unless you have at least 30, 1 watt solar panels. (watts are watts no matter what the voltage) Lets assume a 1 watt solar panel costs £20,(at the time of writing £20 is true) and you need 30 of them, that's 20 x 30 =£600 and that's just for solar panels, + pump + inverter Is it still such a good idea? Yes you can have the solar panel charge a battery and have the battery run the inverter, but your solar panel is still only producing 1 watt. Something else people try is to have a solar pump run from a car battery, and charge the battery with a solar panel, this may work for a short time, lets say the pump uses 2 watts, the solar panel is one watt, the battery will run the pump, but the solar panel can not supply more than one watt, so it will never charge the battery, also the solar panel can only produce one watt in bright sunshine, you can of course try a bigger solar panel, but that is more money, also you should have a voltage regulator and anti discharge device fitted, this is so that the battery can actually charge and not discharge if the solar panel is not working to its full capacity. The solution You can buy solar operated pumps and solar panels, there are two basic types, "island" and "separate" Island have a floating solar panel with the pump mounted under it and they float on the pond, no wires just a floating fountain. Trouble with these is where does the water go? Yes it lands on the solar panel, leaving calcium deposits and general grime which reduce the sunlight able to operate the solar panel, also because they are so small they do require a lot of light to work and also they produce a single very thin water jet typically 1.5mm in diameter. Where as a mains operated pump may only have jets of 1mm in diameter, it will have lots of them, and unlike a solar water feature it will work in the dark Separates have the advantage that being as you can mount them on shore the pump does not pump water onto them and by mounting the at an angle rain will run off them (yes they will still require an occasional clean, but not as much as island solar fountains.) Also being as they mounted on shore you can have bigger solar panels so you need less light and also have a bigger jet. So before you rush out and decide to have a solar operated pump, please consider what you now know and choose wisely. Oh and if you are wondering how come in hot countries how they have running water operated by solar panels its easy, the cost of commercial solar panels versus no life is tiny, but the cost in terms of actual money is hundreds of thousands. If you have a comment please don't shout at your computer, email me For solar panels please see the adverts below
|