Do you need power for a well?

There are a couple of ways to power a pump for a well: AC grid, running a gas generator, solar panels, or a windmill.

Having seen and heard lot of misinformation over the years about the total cost of installing and running a variety of different water pumping options, we thought we’d spend some time analyzing the options and comparing the upfront costs, the operating expenses, and labor/maintenance. Using 500 gallons per day.

	RPS Solar Pump	Grid AC Pump	Windmill Pump	Generator AC Pump
	RPS 200 with ‘Turnkey’ kit	220V AC Pump – 1hp	25′ Steel Rig, 8ft diameter	220V AC Pump – 1hp
UPFRONT COSTS
Cost of system	$1,968	$600	$8,500	$600
Other Parts (pipe, etc)	Included	$200	$100	$200
Grid Hookup / Pole	$0	$1,000	$0	$0
Installation	$0	$400	$1,000	$400
Electrician	$0	$200	$0	$50
Trenching	$0	$200	$0	$0
Total cost upfront	$1,968	$2,600	$9,600	$1,250

OPERATING COSTS
Cost of gas per hour	$0	$0	$0	$2.00
Monthly Service Fee to Power Co	$0	$10.00	$0	$0
Estimated cost per gallon to pump	$0	$0.002	$0	$0.004
Total operating cost after 1 year	$0	$485	$0	$730
Total operating cost after 5 years	$0	$2,425	$0	$3,650

LABOR
Weekly Labor in Hours	0	0	0	2
— Involved Weekly				Driving, starting and running generator
Yearly Labor / Maintenance in Hours	3	3	15	6
— Involved in Maintenance	Clean Solar Panels twice a year	Write Checks and curse at the Power Company	Grease Bearings, Replace Leathers as needed	Oil change, general generator maintenance
Total hours labor in 5 years	15	15	75	530
Cost of Labor at $10/hr	$150	$150	$750	$5,300

	RPS Solar Pump	Grid AC Pump	Windmill Pump	Generator AC Pump
TOTAL COST AFTER 5 YEARS	$2,118	$5,175	$10,350	$10,400
	$	$$ (2x)	$$$$$ (5x)	$$$$$$ (5x)

*An RPS Solar Pump pumping water from a well into a pressure tank. Although the pump requires power, the pressure tank operates solely off of pressure.*

Can I replace my windmill?

Yes indeed. This is more and more common every year as solar requires so little maintenance and windmills, well, we all know the work and climbing that windmills involve! Just be sure to check the casing diameter of the windmill well first. We need at least 3″ ID. If your tower is staying up, generally you can mount to one side of this. See video comparing solar to windmill water volume!

Can AC Grid / Generator / Batteries Power a Solar Well Pump?

RPS systems can be run off solar and batteries directly, and off generators or AC power with a converter. There is also a converter for running off your trucks battery if needed.

Check out all our systems on our shop page.