With rural feeders facing 8-12 hours of load-shedding and diesel priced where it is, solar pumping is often the highest-return solar investment a Pakistani farm can make. The right pump depends on your water depth, daily requirement, and whether you’re starting fresh or converting an existing motor both families are proven across Pakistan.
Solar Pump Sizing by Horsepower
| Pump size | Indicative array | Typical bore depth | Common use |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 HP DC | 1-1.5 kW | up to ~100 ft | Home boring, garden, livestock |
| 2 HP DC | 2-2.5 kW | 100-200 ft | Small farm, drip irrigation |
| 5 HP AC/DC | 5-7 kW | 150-350 ft | Mid-size tube-well, orchard |
| 10 HP AC | 10-13 kW | 250-500 ft | Agricultural tube-well |
| 20 HP+ AC | 22 kW+ | deep bores | Large farm, flood irrigation |
Sizing comes down to total head (depth + lift + pipe friction) and daily flow. We size the array at roughly 1.2-1.5× the pump’s rated power so full flow holds through morning, late afternoon and hazy days. Our survey confirms the numbers before quoting.
Solar Water Pump Price in Pakistan
Price depends on pump type and horsepower plus a few factors first-time buyers miss. All hardware is USD-linked, so quotes track the rupee.
Sets the array size the biggest single driver.
A deeper water table needs more head, so a bigger pump and array.
Adds a VFD but saves a new pump if your motor is sound.
Fixed ground-mount is standard; manual-tilt frames add winter water.
Before You Buy: Pump Selection Checklist
Get these right and the system delivers water reliably for decades.
- Confirm bore depth water table plus lift plus pipe friction sets the head.
- Measure daily flow litres or cusecs you actually need, not a round number.
- Check the existing motor a sound three-phase motor converts with just a VFD.
- Oversize the array 1.2-1.5× keeps full flow through morning, evening and haze.
- Tier-1 panels, not B-grade a weak string cuts your water hours.
- Galvanised, wind-rated structure not painted angle iron in an open field.
Worked Example: Converting a 10 HP Diesel Tube-Well
A grower near Multan runs a 10 HP diesel tube-well six hours a day through the cotton season. Fuel, oil and an annual rebuild make diesel his largest input cost after fertiliser. We replace the engine with a 10 HP three-phase motor on a solar VFD fed by a ~13 kW array on a fixed structure beside the watercourse. The pump now runs every daylight hour at no fuel cost, flow rising and falling gently with the sun; he keeps the old genset only for rare night emergencies. The system pays for itself within the typical 2.5-4 year window faster in heavy-use seasons.
Solar vs Diesel vs Grid Pumping
Solar wins the daytime irrigation slice decisively on every metric that matters.
Free to run, precise during daylight irrigation hours.
- Zero fuel pumps every daylight hour
- Panels 25 years; pump 7-10
- Just panel cleaning and basic checks
Both carry rising running costs and unreliable timing.
- Diesel: fuel, oil and rebuilds by the hour
- Grid: rising tariffs + feeder load-shedding
- Water rarely arrives when the crop needs it
Seasonal Output Matches Irrigation Demand
A Pakistani array delivers its best from April to September conveniently matching peak kharif irrigation demand for rice, cotton and sugarcane, exactly when the crop drinks most.
December output drops with shorter, hazier days, but rabi wheat needs fewer waterings, so the reduced flow generally still covers it. A VFD-driven pump slows rather than stops under cloud, and DC pumps keep moving water at reduced flow.
Does a Solar Pump Need Batteries?
Not usually water itself is the storage. Pump into an overhead tank, pond or watercourse during daylight and draw from it any time, which is far cheaper than storing electricity in batteries.
For night pumping, keep grid or genset connected as a backup input on the VFD many tube-well customers do, though most find daytime pumping into storage covers them. Drip irrigation is an especially good match: its steady low-flow profile mirrors solar’s daylight output.
Solar Water Pump FAQs
It scales with horsepower, bore depth and whether you need a new pump or just a VFD for an existing motor. Pricing is USD-linked request a figure for your HP and depth.
Roughly a 5-7 kW array about nine to twelve large panels depending on bore depth and required flow. Our survey fixes the exact count before quoting.
Usually yes. A sound three-phase motor runs from a solar VFD with a soft start; single-phase and very old motors need a check first.
Not usually water itself is the storage. Pump into an overhead tank, pond or watercourse during daylight and draw from it any time.
A VFD-driven pump slows rather than stops, and DC pumps keep moving water at reduced flow. Sizing the array 1.2-1.5× the pump rating keeps useful output through haze.
Yes, if you keep grid or genset connected as a backup input on the VFD though most find daytime pumping into storage covers them.
Standard submersibles handle bores from 100 to 500+ feet; deeper water simply needs more horsepower and array. Falling Punjab water tables make a depth margin worth specifying.
Excellent drip’s steady low-flow profile matches solar’s daylight output, and a small DC pump with filtration can run an orchard or vegetable plot with minimal waste.
Typically 7-15 days from confirmed order to commissioning, including the ground-mount structure, wiring and pump or VFD setup.
Panel cleaning (more often in dusty farm settings), a periodic check of connections and the controller, and standard pump servicing no fuel, filters or engine rebuilds.
Get a solar water pump sized to your bore.
Sized from your bore depth and daily water need DC or AC, with a field-proven VFD and Tier-1 panels, pumping water in 7-15 days.