Switching from combustion to solar pumps

“Pyflor” farm in Honduras has been using a 0.5 HP sunlight pump instead of a combustion pump to circulate water with fertilizer in an hydroponic irrigation system since 2017.​ This energy-saving system has enabled them to grow a lot of lettuce! The water is first lifted by the solar pump into several elevated water tanks, then passed by gravity through the numerous PVC pipes.

They then purchased 3 additional sunlight pumps for other uses and to replace other gasoline pumps on the farm. One sunlight pump bought in 2020 is used to lift water from a water source to several plastic water tanks, located above the greenhouses at 18m altitude difference and 190m apart. The water is then distributed to the greenhouses by gravity, feeding the drip and sprinkler systems.

Thanks to the ennos Android application, the farmer knows how much water is pumped each day and can estimate the average flow rate. The application also provides access to other information such as energy received, hours of operation and even geolocation.

With a 375-watt solar panel installed, the average flow rate of the second solar pump is close to 15,000 liters per day, although it can reach 25,000 liters per day on a very sunny day. And as this pump operates 365 days a year without using fuel, lubricant or filter, the annual saving for the farmer is 1948 US Dollars, and for the environment that’s around 3800 kg of CO2 not emitted.