Solar Off-Grid Pool Pump - Does anybody know about these?

[wylie]

Edit before you read it - I just re-read the email and the install price is $1,400. I will ask the question "again" of what it will cost to buy and add that to this thread when I get a reply.

The fact that I am having such trouble getting a price from this crowd makes me very wary.

Original post - I received an email from Solar and Energy Solutions in response to an enquiry I made a while ago. They are talking about a solar off-grid pool pump. I have skimmed the details and it sounded worth pursuing.

It seems for $1,400 we can have this installed, and the pool will be run completely from panels on the roof of a pergola we have over the pool. I believe this also covers the cost of a new pump, but have not gone any further into it as yet.

Our power bills run between $600 and $900 but have hit $1,200 when we have had a run of stinking hot days. I know the pool is probably the biggest power draw for us because it runs every day and I'd love to think I can run it "free" for an outlay of $1,400. It seems too good to be true.

Before I look deeper into this, I wonder if anybody knows this company or knows anyone who has done this. I'm wondering if it is so cheap because it is a "stand alone" set up and not connected to the grid. Or am I being told a sweet lead-in price and will find out it is multiples of this quoted price when we get to the nitty-gritty.

We are heading off for a holiday in a couple of weeks, so I don't plan on looking further into this until we get back, but I cannot help but be skeptical.

You know... if it seems too good to be true, it probably is.

 

[wylie]

Just wanted to clarify that the $1,400 appears to be the "install" price. I have asked twice now for a ballpark figure and all I have received is the install price.

Still keen to hear if anybody knows about this off-grid set up?

 

[Aaron Sice]

Unless your pump is DC you'll need a convertor, as well. This will change amps as well so make sure the calcs are correct before purchasing.

But in short - plenty of peole have done it.

 

[Aaron_C]

Maybe you should wait for the Carbon Tax - it might be cheaper to install it then

 

[lizzie]

cripes! What do you run on your power? Our bills are between $3-400 max and that includes electric hot water, pool and me not taking any notice of the time of day for washing, dishwasher etc.

Granted we barely use the aircon as get sea breezes in summer and combustion wood burner in winter.

 

[Doovalacky]

I would say you would be better off investing in a grid interactive system.
An off grid system requires batteries to run any worthwhile amount. Otherwise your generating power but not necessary enough to run the pump so its just wasted.
Do you run the pump every single day, if not each day your not running it is more wasted power. I would also be very carefully checking replacement cost and lifespan of the pump.
Does it give a size for the solar array?

Grid interactive is at least going to offset your power usage from dawn to dusk whether or not you are running the pump. I would think you will get more benefit from it.

 

[Ed Barton]

I would say you would be better off investing in a grid interactive system.
An off grid system requires batteries to run any worthwhile amount. Otherwise your generating power but not necessary enough to run the pump so its just wasted.
Do you run the pump every single day, if not each day your not running it is more wasted power. I would also be very carefully checking replacement cost and lifespan of the pump.
Does it give a size for the solar array?

Grid interactive is at least going to offset your power usage from dawn to dusk whether or not you are running the pump. I would think you will get more benefit from it.

pool pumps are run each day for around 4 hours. a little less one day and a little more another doesn't matter. running them in the middle of the night doesn't make for very happy neighbours and i dare say a visit from the council, so they need to be run during the day or early evening at latest.

what's the replacement cost and lifespan of the pump got to do with where the power is coming from?

 

[AlmostBob]

what's the replacement cost and lifespan of the pump got to do with where the power is coming from?

Nothing, I gathered from the post that it referred to a DC pump connected directly to the panels and batteries in an off-grid system,
DC motors have a proportionally shorter life than AC motors with the same power rating

 

[Ed Barton]

Nothing, I gathered from the post that it referred to a DC pump connected directly to the panels and batteries in an off-grid system,
DC motors have a proportionally shorter life than AC motors with the same power rating

ok thanks. i think i'm with you, don't know much about power stuff..

so the old ac pool pump will need to be replaced with an dc one? then no inverter is necessary? do you need batteries if the pump is going to run directly off the solar during the day?

 

[wylie]

I don't know much about this, as I have too much to do prior to a holiday to look at it now, but I do recall there was something about a "brushless" motor which was super-duper and long lasting.

I will check it out more thoroughly when we return, but the fact that it has taken three requests and STILL no actual price is already turning me off this particular company.

 

[skater]

cripes! What do you run on your power? Our bills are between $3-400 max and that includes electric hot water, pool and me not taking any notice of the time of day for washing, dishwasher etc.

Granted we barely use the aircon as get sea breezes in summer and combustion wood burner in winter.

OMG! I'd love little bills like that. Even before we moved to the bigger house our bills used to run to $700+. Now that we're here and have a pool to run, they go to around $1000 in summer.

 

[AlmostBob]

I don't know much about this, as I have too much to do prior to a holiday to look at it now, but I do recall there was something about a "brushless" motor which was super-duper and long lasting.

brushless are usually ac motors
no contact parts
extremely long lasting
but not compatible with dc source need a big invertor
likely the best use of a short cycle high power motor like the one on the pool pump is a feed2grid system as doovalacky wrote ^up there^
solar direct will need at least a KW of panels to start the motor
and a minimum 700W to keep it running
lot of waste for 4hours a day when nothing is done with the energy the rest of the day
feeding the grid 12-18 hours a day(weather permitting) with power from a smallel panel setup, and getting it back at 1KW for 4 hours is probably better

 

[Sheryn]

Something I found out yesterday re electricity rates

Queensland electricity provider Origin electricity rate is just under 19c they only have one residential rate (as far as I know) and in NSW our electricity is about 32c in peak hours and 13c after 10 pm and before 7am.


Cheers
Sheryn

 

[nww]

http://www.poolpumpenergysaver.com/

 

[lizzie]

pool pumps are run each day for around 4 hours.

note: Not in Queensland ...

When we were renting out our ppor, I was advised by the pool maintenance guy that, if the chemical balance is right, in summer the pool only needs to run for 2 hours a day - in winter 1 hour every second day.

For the last 12 months I've run the pool like this, checking the chemical balance every day I am home, and have not had a problem. In fact the water is better than every before.

Perhaps where the weather is hotter all year round you need to run for longer, but I'd get some professional opinions on that.

As for a solar powered pool pump ... I'd go a gird feed system on the roof. That way you are covering all your electricity not just one item.

 

[Ed Barton]

note: Not in Queensland ...

When we were renting out our ppor, I was advised by the pool maintenance guy that, if the chemical balance is right, in summer the pool only needs to run for 2 hours a day - in winter 1 hour every second day.

For the last 12 months I've run the pool like this, checking the chemical balance every day I am home, and have not had a problem. In fact the water is better than every before.

Perhaps where the weather is hotter all year round you need to run for longer, but I'd get some professional opinions on that.

As for a solar powered pool pump ... I'd go a gird feed system on the roof. That way you are covering all your electricity not just one item.

you're right the time does vary greatly depending on a number of factors that you've mentioned and how much it get's used and what size the pump and filter is in relation to the size of the pool.