Off-grid PV pump from Solar-Fabrik

Solar-Fabrik of Freiburg, Germany has developed an off-grid system with water pump and micro filters.

© Solar-Fabrik AG Ready for transport: Solar-Fabrik AG has developed a stand-alone PV pumping system that can also filter the pumped water.

The Waterpps (Water Pumping and Purification System) solar-operated pump can provide 200 l of drinking water and 1,000 l of industrial water per day with a pressure head of 20 m.

The electricity needed to pump water up from a maximum depth of 60 m is produced by two 52 W solar modules and stored in two 12 V batteries with capacities of 42 Ah each. The pump comes with a pre-filter to remove contamination from industrial water: for example, stones. An additional ceramic filter can transform the industrial water into drinking water; it filters bacteria with a pore size of at least 0.2 µm. Smaller bacteria are killed by the silver inlay of the filter, which is a method also used by campers to clean water.

	©  Solar-Fabrik AG   Ready for transport: Solar-Fabrik AG has developed a stand-alone PV pumping system that can also filter the pumped water.

All components can be folded in the mounting cage for transport. The system is 1,200 × 800 × 900 mm and weighs around 150 kg with all components. Initial pilot systems have already been installed by Solar-Fabrik. The Waterpps is scheduled to enter serial production by the end of 2002, and will be sold for €6,500 ($6,440). Solar-Fabrik developed the new product with its subsidiary, Freiburg-based Solar Application GmbH, and the German research institute Fraunhofer ISE.


Solar-Fabrik AG
Munzinger Strasse 10
79111 Freiburg, Germany
phone +49/761/4000-0, fax -199
info@solar-fabrik.de
www.solar-fabrik.de

Iris Krampitz
© PHOTON International, January 2003