I am at the final stages of completing a solar panel install. I have 14 - 12' x 4' solar panels on a ground mount a little below the level of the pool. I used 2.5" PVC between the pump pad and the solar panels, about 100' away. There are two sections of 7 panels each and the 2.5" PVC splits into 2" PVC to feed each panel section. I have a variable speed 2 HP Zodiac pump. At 2,150 RPM the filter pressure was 8# without the solar loop. I manually opened the valve to put the solar loop in service and the filter pressure went up to 9.5#. Same pump RPM, looking at the pump curves, I'm guessing the flow went from 85 GPM down to 75 GPM. What I did not expect is the power consumption went from 527 Watts to 493 Watts. I could observe the change in Watts from the Jandy iAqua app which displays the current power consumption. While surprised, I am guessing the power consumption went down because the flow rate dropped. The higher pump discharge pressure did not cause the energy consumption to increase. The lower mass flow caused the power to decrease. To get the same pool turnover on the daily clean cycle, I would have to increase the pump RPM to get the same 85 GPM flow rate with the panels. This would cause the power consumption to increase back to 527 Watts. Does the lower energy consumption with the new panels in service make sense? I wonder what I might be missing.
New Solar Loop Reduces Pump Energy Consumption
- Thread starter WardL
- Start date
CJadamec
TFP Expert
Yep the less water you move the less energy you need to move it. As pump pressure goes up power consumption for a specific rpm goes down to a point. The power consumed by the pump is not a steady state number even if rpm doesn't change.
Don't worry about turn over it's a meaningless number made up by marketing to sell you bigger pumps.
Don't worry about turn over it's a meaningless number made up by marketing to sell you bigger pumps.
OK, thanks for the confirmation. I want to adjust the RPM to get the flow rate the solar panels recommend. Is there any harm in keeping the solar panels in service even though it is not a sunny day? I haven't hooked up my solar control system yet. When that is working, the solar will go in service when the sun is warm enough to heat the pool automagically. Thanks again.
- Nov 12, 2017
- 12,663
- Pool Size
- 12300
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-40
Well... it's interesting to consider what your pump is doing and its energy consumption, but there's no way that pushing water through an additional 200' of pipe and 14 solar panels has somehow decreased your total energy consumption, as the title of your thread implies. Your pump might be reporting a lower number, but you're not factoring something else, for sure. Otherwise, you'd be well on your way to inventing the ever-elusive self-perpetuating machine! 
No matter, once you dial in your flow rate for the panels, and you add the controller, and it runs the way it runs to satisfy your desired pool temp, your energy usage is going to be what it's going to be. And however that works out, you'll get more than enough circulation, so CJadamec is right, you can stop thinking in terms of pool turnover. Your energy bill will be determined by how warm you want your water to be, and your pool will be filtered just fine.
It will not harm any equipment to keep the water running through the panels (other than the infinitesimal amount of increased wear and tear here or there). But the solar panels' heat exchange characteristics work in reverse, too. They can cool pool water, as well. Many people use them for that very purpose (like in desert climes) by running their solar systems at night. So by running your system on a cloudy day, you could conceivably be cooling your pool water. The controller handles all that. If your pool can get too hot in Camarillo, you might be able to make use of this to your advantage come mid-summer, but you have to have a controller capable of managing that for you. Something to check on if you haven't purchased/installed your controller yet (I'm not familiar with Jandy, so I can't tell if you have the controller already, or if what you have is capable of using a solar system to cool).
I optimized my panels' flow by using a FlowVis flow meter. There are other ways to calculate flow through a pool system, but I felt the results would be a guesstimate at best, and I spent less on the FlowVis than I would have in time figuring out the flow another way, and figuring out how to figure out the flow in another way! The extra $100 was well spent, because I've since used the Vis in other valuable ways, and continue to, so I'm glad I purchased one.
Enjoy your warmer pool!!
No matter, once you dial in your flow rate for the panels, and you add the controller, and it runs the way it runs to satisfy your desired pool temp, your energy usage is going to be what it's going to be. And however that works out, you'll get more than enough circulation, so CJadamec is right, you can stop thinking in terms of pool turnover. Your energy bill will be determined by how warm you want your water to be, and your pool will be filtered just fine.
It will not harm any equipment to keep the water running through the panels (other than the infinitesimal amount of increased wear and tear here or there). But the solar panels' heat exchange characteristics work in reverse, too. They can cool pool water, as well. Many people use them for that very purpose (like in desert climes) by running their solar systems at night. So by running your system on a cloudy day, you could conceivably be cooling your pool water. The controller handles all that. If your pool can get too hot in Camarillo, you might be able to make use of this to your advantage come mid-summer, but you have to have a controller capable of managing that for you. Something to check on if you haven't purchased/installed your controller yet (I'm not familiar with Jandy, so I can't tell if you have the controller already, or if what you have is capable of using a solar system to cool).
I optimized my panels' flow by using a FlowVis flow meter. There are other ways to calculate flow through a pool system, but I felt the results would be a guesstimate at best, and I spent less on the FlowVis than I would have in time figuring out the flow another way, and figuring out how to figure out the flow in another way! The extra $100 was well spent, because I've since used the Vis in other valuable ways, and continue to, so I'm glad I purchased one.
Enjoy your warmer pool!!
CJadamec
TFP Expert
A pumps energy consumption is relative to the amount of water it is moving. So if you increase the output pressure and decrease the flow then the energy consumed by that pump will go down for a given RPM.
It seems counter intuitive but a single speed pump running at its max output pressure moving very little water will use far less energy than the same pump running with 0 pressure and max flow.
SO if by operating the solar panels decreases overall flow thru the pump system the pump system will actually consume less energy. Typically this is a relatively insignificant amount of difference. Now that we all have these pumps with handy dandy watt meters on them we can actually see the difference.
As Dirk mentioned running the panels when there is no sun will actually cool down your pool significantly depending on ambient air temperature. They are giant radiators.
It seems counter intuitive but a single speed pump running at its max output pressure moving very little water will use far less energy than the same pump running with 0 pressure and max flow.
SO if by operating the solar panels decreases overall flow thru the pump system the pump system will actually consume less energy. Typically this is a relatively insignificant amount of difference. Now that we all have these pumps with handy dandy watt meters on them we can actually see the difference.
As Dirk mentioned running the panels when there is no sun will actually cool down your pool significantly depending on ambient air temperature. They are giant radiators.