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Solar panel questions Here are some questions we have been asked 1) Can I have a solar fountain at night? Some solar pumps do have a battery back up, but the information says "runs up to 4 hours" that means it may only operate for 4 hours at most, it may also run for only ten minutes, because ten minutes is UPTO 4 hours. 2) Can I make my existing fountain solar? Not really as your existing fountain is mains, which is 230v ac, solar is 12v dc, which is twenty times smaller, or another way, a solar panel is not powerful enough to operate a mains fountain 3) Lots of solar panels: Can I connect lots of panels together? Yes you can, but how many is "lots"? let us say 20 to give 240 volts. A 5 watt solar panel costs around £50 so that means you want to spend 20 (panels) x 50 (pound each) = £1000 all to find out it still doesn't work. It will not work as yes you have 240v DC (you want AC) But you also still only have 5 watts. To get more watts you need to connect rows of 20 panels in parallel. Each row will only provide 5 watts, The amount of watts required will depend on the requirement of the existing pump, most are over 200 watts. Yes you can use an inverter, but that means you will need a solar panel that is at least 200 watts, that alone will cost around £1100 Most solar panels are rated at their maximum output, to achieve this they will need bright sunshine, but hey, this is England, we have lots of bright sunshine all the time, don't we? 4) Can you suggest a solar pump that will make a fountain 3 feet high and is not needle thin? No. We would if we knew of one but the truth is solar pumps are just not powerful enough yet.
If you have a solar panel question, regarding a fountain please ask. |
