Designing a solar powered system can be done quite easily. For example, a pasture dugout of 2,400,000 litres (1.9 acre foot or 635,000 gallons) ) can be aerated with a minimum of 0.5-1.0 CFM (cubic feet per minute) at 3-6 feet of water depth. For proper system design, the compressor size and power requirements must be calculated for sufficient aeration. Once calculated, the number of solar panels and batteries can be determined.
The following formula is used to determine the number of solar panels required.
Volts x Amps x Hrs running x Battery Efficiency Factor = Watts/hr Required
Example: (based on summer use)
An average summer day will provide about 6.0-6.5 hours of charging time equalling our 12-volt compressor rated load of 3.8 amps (45.6 W) per hour. To determine the number of panels using the formula, the following is calculated.
12v x 3.8amps × 24hr x 1.1bf = 1,204 Watt/hrs
Based on this calculation, three solar panels are required. This assumes use of 64-watt panels, which produce (64 watts x 6 hrs) 384 Watt-hrs per day. Therefore, (1,204 / 384) = 3.1, round to three panels.
When installing a solar powered system, one should determine the number of batteries needed or calculate how much battery power is required during cloudy periods or if the panels are disconnected. This calculation will depend on how often the system is inspected. PFRA recommends a battery storage capacity of three to five days.
In this example, if four days of storage is required and a twelve -volt 220-amp hour battery is used, then calculate the number of batteries needed using the following formula:
Load x Duty Cycle x Run Time = Reserve Capacity
Load: volts multiplied by amps (Watts)
Duty cycle: running time percent
Run time: length of time required
To determine the number of batteries using the formula, the following is calculated:
45.6w x 1.0 x 96 hours = 4377.6 Watt/hrs
The number of 220 A/hr batteries required is 1.6 , rounded up to two.
This is achieved because a 220 A/hr battery holds (220 A/hr × 12v) 2640 Watt/hrs, which, when divided into reserve capacity equals 1.6 batteries to get four days of reserve capacity.
Canadian Water Environment
To summarize according to the Canadian Water Environment study, to continuously aerate 2 acre foot of dugout you need a minimum of two 12 volt batteries, three 64 watt solar panels, and 46 watts of air pumps to get 0.5 to 1.0 cubic foot of diffused air into the pond at a 3-6 foot depth, for up to 20 hrs/day at a cost of +$8500.00.
PEC Solar Aerator Costs Comparisons
OR you can buy 1 of our EKBSR-1 Solar Aerators that use three 60 watt solar panel arrays, and 30 watts of air pumps to get 0.5 to 4.0 cubic foot of diffused air into the pond at a 3-20 foot depth, for up to 20 hrs/day, at a cost of $4000.00.
OR you can buy 1 of our EKBS-20 Solar Aerators with our draft tube at $2500.00 and provide 0.5 to 1.0 cfm @ 3-6 foot of water depth, 24/7. Our draft tubes aerate at any pond depth.
OR you can buy 1 of our EKBS-15 Solar Aerators with our draft tube at $1500.00 and provide 0.25 to 0.40 cfm @ 3-6 foot of water depth, 24/7. Our draft tubes aerate at any pond depth.
fax: 866-422-0018
email: info@SolarAerator.com