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Solar Water Pumping Design

Wanaka Sustainable Barn
Off-grid barn with office, kitchen for agricultural prep, and solar water pumping
Brief

  • Off Grid
  • Office
  • 300 tree olive grove – needs 6 m3/day in summer • Kitchen for processing
  • Space heating required

Response

  • Portal Frame barn – inexpensive, quick to erect
  • Insulated and heated with 8kw wood burner, 4kw wetback
  • PV system – 2.4 kWp, delivers 4 kWh/day in June, 16 kWh/day in January
  • Excess capacity in summer used to pump water, and heat potable water
  • House Electricity use – estimated 3 kWh/day in June, 2.5 kWh/day in January
  • Solar Water Pumping System – estimated 0.5 kWh/day in June, 4 kWh/day in January
  • PV and Pumping system very affordable
  • In depth simulations are in progress
  • House and solar system will be built in early 2013, and monitored and reported on

Findings

  • Commercial building design strategies like portal frames are cost competitive
  • Photovoltatic systems can be very cost effective when summertime energy can be used for a productive purpose. This system could pump up to 18 m3/day during the summer [from 80m bore]
  • No need to use solar thermal [solar hot water] systems that are likely to freeze

barn2 kwh L water SolarDiagram

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