Save The Planet - Solar Powered Swimming Pool Pump

[ianc66]

Saw the web site for Leonics http://www.leonics.com/html/en/pd_ecp/sola.../suncentric.php a complete specification is in a pdf file at the bottom of that page.

It is a solar powered (i.e DC) pump with a potential application as a swimming pool pump.

I have a salt water pool completed 15 Months ago. about 70 square meter and 105 cubic meter out of the sun for much of the day, the pool is clean but the mains electric pump runs for about 4-5 hours a day. My monthly electricity bills run from 2500 to 3500 Baht cool to hot season and as best as I can tell the pool accounts for 1000 to 1500 Baht of that. Location is near Hua Hin.

I am very keen to limit my carbon footprint and looked with interest at schemes for providing all my electricity needs from solar voltaic but have to say both economically and ecologically the solution does not stack up, large area of cells expensive controller and inverter and worst of all vast bank of batteries, also the legal basis here is discouraging.

But if I added a solar powered pump, I'm thinking of the 7446 version which requires a 404 watt panel, I could save about one half of my electricity fairly easily. What I am thinking is put the solar pump alongside the conventional pump in the pump house, the solar module on the pump house roof -- in sun for almost all the day. The pump is within three metres of the pool and actually about 50cm below the pool water level. Continue running the pool electrolytic cell from mains with the time set from say 8am to 5pm so 9 hours per day, the mains pump not running -- an isolator switch would have to installed. The coventional pump would be retained for backwash or prolonged low sunlight periods.

What worries me-

Is the amount of water exchange enough? The pump specification shows about 190 litres a minute or 11.4 cubic metres an hour 102 cubic metres in a nine hour day plus a bonus from occasional backwashes.

Does the sand filter require some minimum pressure to work effectively?

Advice comments ?

[Naam]

Advice comments ?

without going into details my advice is "forget about it, except if you love technical hassles combined with money to throw away."

[Naam]

the pool is clean but the mains electric pump runs for about 4-5 hours a day. My monthly electricity bills run from 2500 to 3500 Baht cool to hot season and as best as I can tell the pool accounts for 1000 to 1500 Baht of that.

assuming you have a 1½hp pump which runs 4.5 hrs/day your consumption is ~5 kwh x 30 x 3.5 = THB 525.-/mth.

[siamesekitty]

Thank you for trying to save electricity! Wish more people were like you!

Too bad the initial costs & hassles deter many others

[ClaudeFeller]

Advice comments ?

without going into details my advice is "forget about it, except if you love technical hassles combined with money to throw away."

Khun Naam,

you should go in details: What are your experiences with Solar Pumping?

[ianc66]

I have done some investigating over the last few days:-

First to clarify the power use, over the last year my power bills have run from 1928 to 3559 Baht and the average was 2500 month. The pump is 2hp and consumes 2KW on the basis that it runs 4.5 Hr/day that is 9KWh day, 270KWh for a cost of 945 Baht per Month, there will also be some extra consumption for backwashing and the electrolytic cell, which I will not be able to save.

So in round figures I am saving 38% of my power use and emissions of 1675Kg CO2*

*Calculated using the Thai Emissions factor for this year of .510KgCO2/KWh found here http://gec.jp/gec/en/Activities/cdm/FS200103SE.pdf

Second one item I forgot is that an integral swimming pool pump has a hair and lint trap ideally then the solar pump should have the same. Going to Poolrite who manufactured my pump house equipment they indicate they have solar pumps but provide no details so I am still looking.

Third as well as an isolator for the mains pump I will require isolator and fusing for the DC pump.

Edited January 9, 2008 by ianc66

[ianc66]

Sadly on further investigation costs are too high this http://www.partsonsale.com/43-PoolPumpBrochure.pdf is representative using a system equal to 100 Cubic meters is $8995 in the US. So spend 300,000 Baht to save no more than 1000 Baht each month, crude ROI of 4% but likely have to replace in 20 Years. The killer is the price of the solar panels.

What to do?

Try to have Hua Hin incorporate in the state of Arizona where you get a $1000 grant joke of course.

Review the situation in some years peraphs new technology will get the price down and I do not expect electricty to get cheaper.

Do other things both planned already. Some insulation above the ceilings of the three airconditioned rooms, and plant sizeable trees in the spare 700 sq metre at the back of the plot

[Geppis72]

SAVE THE PLANET

We are using Purapool system in our develop. / Home Resort, which help to avoid Chlorine,

(bit out of topic but still enviroment / pool related)

Please have a look the danger of chlorine for humans and planet on www.purapool.com

Bye

[ClaudeFeller]

Can you compare the costs to chlorine usage (by PM)?

[thaitot]

Here is a good carbon footprint for your pool.

Talapia! Or Catfish!

Feed Thailand at the same time.

Lower your footprint and be a good citizen.

Leave the pools for Big carbon footed people.

Sincerely.

Al Gore

[TommyGun]

Will there be a tax back claim after the sun stops expanding. Just curious.