Everything About Garden Pond Pumps

  
 

Want To Go Green? Consider Solar
 
  • Pond Pumps Home

    •  Pump Types Explained:

  • External
  • Submersible
  • Waterfall
  • Fountain
  • Air
  • Solar
  • Privacy Policy




    		•

    Over the last few years, solar pond pumps have gained enormously in popularity. And it's pretty obvious why: The cost of running a pond pump (external or submersible) is substantial. If you can cut down (or cut out) the cost of electricity you will save a good deal of money.

    But let's start out with the biggest problem with solar pumps straight away: Most of them don't store energy. And you need a pretty big amount of electricity to run a decent pump with.. So it's obvious that you need a good deal of sunlight every day to make a solar pump work. Usually the solar panels on them are quite small, so that doesn't help a lot either.

    If you want to use a solar pump on any pond that is bigger than tiny, and has fish in it, then you need a decent, reliable backup system in the form of batteries. Preferably automatic (in case of a vacation: you don't want to ask your neighbor to "babysit" your pond now do you?).

    Apart from that, choosing a solar pond pump is basically the same as the other types we talked about. You can get them in both the submersible and external variation, and you will have to measure or estimate the amount of water you need to move with it per hour, etc.

    So if you want to get a solar pump, would we advise you to? Well it's a matter of opinion really. We care about the environment, so keeping energy usage down to a minimum is always an important factor in our recommendation. On the other hand, using the current generation of solar pond pumps can be a bit of hassle because of the backup system you still have to use.

    If you live in a very sunny area of the world: Go for it! A solar pump will save you money and it will reduce your carbon footprint.

    On the other hand, if you are not so fortunate and live in a part of the world thats colder or more overcast, then you might be better off with a "traditional" pump that works on mains power. Less hassle, and more reliable at the moment. But keep an eye out for new models, because solar energy equipment is still under development and is still getting better and better.