Is there grid power at the hole?
Solar Borehole Pumps South Africa pump while the sun is up and fill a tank rather than a pressure line, which is what makes them work. No batteries, no grid connection and nothing to trip when the power goes. Say what the hole gives and how much water you need a day, and compare quotes on the array, the controller and the pump.
- Know what an array and a pump should cost, so you never pay too much.
- Say what the hole gives and how much water you need a day, and quotes come back fast.
- From LEADERR APPROVED providers, vetted and backed by many verified 5-star reviews. Peace of mind that the array is sized for the hole and not for the brochure.
Say what the hole gives and how much water you need a day, and get solar pump quotes.
Get the Best QuoteSolar Borehole Pumps Prices
Ballpark figures so you can check a quotation.
| Item | Ballpark price |
|---|---|
| Small domestic solar pump system, installed | R35,000 - R65,000 |
| Mid range system, 1.5kW pump and array | R55,000 - R110,000 |
| Large or deep system, 2.2kW and above | R95,000 - R250,000 |
| Solar panels, per kilowatt installed | R9,500 - R18,000 |
| Solar pump controller or drive | R9,500 - R38,000 |
| DC submersible pump, supplied | R14,000 - R55,000 |
| Mounting frame and tracker | R6,500 - R28,000 |
| 5,000 litre tank and stand, installed | R9,500 - R22,000 |
| Hybrid changeover to mains | R6,500 - R25,000 |
Prices JUST UPDATED. Ballpark figures, rounded, excluding VAT. They reflect typical South African borehole drilling, pump and water treatment rates. They are not our prices or quotations, and no provider is bound by them. Drilling is quoted PER METRE and the depth is not known until the hole is down, so confirm what each quotation includes, such as mobilisation, casing, development and what you pay if no water is found.
How a Solar Borehole System Works
- Panels straight to the controller. No batteries on a well designed system. The tank is the storage.
- A DC or brushless pump. Or a standard AC pump run from a solar drive. Both are common.
- A controller. Tracks the available power and runs the pump as fast as the sun allows.
- A tank. Filled through the day and drawn on in the evening. This is the part people leave out.
- A float switch. Stops the pump when the tank is full, rather than cycling it.
- Dry run protection. Just as necessary as on a mains pump, and often built into the controller.
Sizing It Honestly
- Start with litres a day. Not litres an hour. Solar output varies through the day and the year.
- Count on winter. Size on the shortest days, or the system disappoints for three months a year.
- Stay below the hole's yield. A solar pump can overpump a weak hole exactly like a mains one.
- Work out the head. Pumping level to the tank inlet, plus friction. Head drives panel count hard.
- Then size the tank. A day of demand at least, two on a weak hole or a cloudy region.
- Allow for shading and dust. A panel under a tree in winter is not the panel on the datasheet.
Solar, Mains or Hybrid
- Solar only. Best where there is no grid, or where load shedding is the problem being solved.
- Hybrid. A drive that takes solar when it is there and mains when it is not. More kit, more certainty.
- Generator backup. Common on farms, and cheaper upfront than oversizing the array.
- Mains with a tank. If the grid is reliable, a tank and a float solve most of the same problems for less.
- Running cost. Solar has none. That is the whole case, and it is a real one on an irrigation pump.
Get a price for your own hole rather than a range.
Get the Best QuoteWhat Affects the Price
- The head. Depth plus lift to the tank. It drives panel count more than anything else.
- Litres a day needed. A garden and an irrigated hectare are different systems entirely.
- Winter sizing. Designing for June rather than December costs more panels and is the right call.
- Panel mounting. A fixed frame, a tracker or a roof, with theft deterrence on a remote site.
- How much storage. Tanks and stands are a significant share of a solar system.
- Whether mains backup is wanted. A hybrid drive and a changeover add cost and remove worry.
- Cable runs. A long run from the array to the hole on a farm is real copper.
What to Include in Your Request
- The hole details. Depth, static and pumping level, and the yield.
- Litres a day you need. And what for: house, garden, livestock or irrigation.
- The lift to the tank. Height and distance from the hole.
- Whether there is grid power. And whether you want it as backup.
- Where panels can go. Unshaded, and how secure the spot is.
- The address. Suburb and town, so travel and sun hours can be priced.
Before You Appoint an Installer
- Ask for the sizing in litres a day. In midwinter, not at midday peak. This is where systems disappoint.
- Ask what tank is included. A solar pump without storage is a half built system.
- Check the yield it was sized against. A measured figure, not the blow yield.
- Ask about dry run protection. Built into the controller is fine. Absent is not.
- Ask about panel theft. Mounting, fencing and marking, on any site that stands empty.
- Get the warranties separately. Panels, controller and pump have different terms and different lifespans.
Solar Borehole Pumps FAQs
How much does a solar borehole pump cost in South Africa?
Roughly R35,000 to R65,000 for a small domestic system installed, R55,000 to R110,000 for a mid range 1.5kW pump with its array, and R95,000 to R250,000 for larger or deeper installations. The head and the daily volume drive the price far more than the pump itself does.
Do solar borehole pumps need batteries?
A well designed system does not. The water tank is the storage: the pump fills it while the sun is up and the house or the troughs draw from it afterwards. Batteries add cost, add a component that wears out, and solve a problem a bigger tank solves more cheaply.
Will it pump enough in winter?
Only if it was sized for winter. Shorter days and a lower sun angle cut output substantially, and a system sized on summer figures will run short for several months. Ask any installer for the expected litres a day in midwinter, which is the number that matters.
Can I run my existing pump off solar?
Often, yes, through a solar drive that converts the panel output to run a standard AC submersible. It saves replacing a good pump and allows mains backup through the same drive. Whether it is worth it depends on the pump's age and how well it is matched to the hole.
Is solar cheaper than mains over time?
The running cost is nothing, so on a pump that works hard, such as irrigation or livestock watering, the payback can be quick. On a small domestic pump that runs for twenty minutes a day the electricity saved is modest, and the real case is usually independence from load shedding rather than the saving.
Can a solar pump damage the borehole?
Yes, the same way a mains pump can: if it is sized above what the hole can sustain it will draw the water level down to the inlet. Solar systems that track available power can be gentler, because they ramp rather than slamming on at full flow, but the sizing still has to sit below the measured yield and dry run protection is still required.
Solar pumping is one of the fastest growing requests on Borehole Drillers South Africa on farms and smallholdings especially.
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