Irrigation and livestock
Pumping from wells, rivers or reservoirs to irrigation, a storage pond or troughs in pastures far from the grid, during sunlight hours.
// Solar pumping
Solar pumping with Danfoss VACON® drives in Panama
Beiton Tecnología S.A., Danfoss Drives partner in Panama, integrates solar-powered pumping systems with VACON® drives: irrigation, water for communities and farms, livestock and tank filling. We size the drive and the solar array together with the pump, build the panel, commission it and support it with DrivePro service.
- VACON® 100 X is ordered with the Solar Pump application (free license) and MPPT
- IP66 / Type 4X outdoor enclosure, on or near the motor
- Usually no batteries: the tank stores the water
- We assess whether your existing pump can be reused
// Video
Built for sun, rain and dust
The VACON® 100 X installs outdoors, right by the panels: IP66 enclosure and MPPT to pump water straight from the sun, with no grid and no diesel.
// Applications
Where solar pumping fits
Wherever water has to be moved during the day and the grid does not reach, is weak or is costly to extend, solar panels can power the pump through the drive.
Communities and elevated tanks
Water for communities and small water systems: the tank fills while the sun is up and distributes by gravity when needed, including at night.
Off-grid farms and existing pumps
Where pumping runs on diesel today or the grid drops often. With submersible or surface pumps with three-phase motors, we assess whether your existing pump can be reused.
// How it works
From panel to pump
Three parts: the panels produce direct current, the drive converts it to run the motor, and the pump delivers the water. Flow follows the sun.
1. Solar PV panels
The PV array produces direct current. Its size is calculated together with the pump: motor power, flow and required pumping hours.
2. Drive with MPPT
Maximum power point tracking (MPPT) adjusts the DC voltage reference to draw the maximum power available from the panels at every moment.
3. Pump and tank, no batteries
The pump runs at the speed the sun allows and the tank stores the water. With dual supply (power blending), the grid or a generator tops up what the panels cannot give; if storing energy makes sense, a BESS.
// Solar Pump application
What the Solar Pump application brings
VACON® 100 X is ordered with the Solar Pump application (free license). These are its functions according to the Danfoss manual.
MPPT with four algorithms
In parallel: feed-forward that follows irradiance, temperature correction, a regulator that keeps the panel out of its "current source" region and logic against local maxima.
Pump and well protected
Dry running and underload from motor torque (sensorless) or with a flow meter in L/min and m³; minimum and maximum levels via digital inputs; sleep mode.
Control and unattended operation
Two-zone PID and two setpoints; clock and timers, automatic reset after a fault, preheating against condensation and start-up wizards.
// Products
Lines we carry
VACON® 100 X with Solar Pump application
IP66 / Type 4X · 1.1–37 kWOutdoor drive with no cabinet, mounted on or near the motor. Solar Pump application with MPPT4 and a free license; panels up to 800 VDC. 3×208–240 V from 1.1 to 15 kW and 3×380–500 V from 1.1 to 37 kW.
See model details
VACON® 20 X with Solar Pump application
Compact · IP66The compact outdoor version, for small pumps. It supports the same Solar Pump application with MPPT4. Danfoss has it in the limited phase of its lifecycle, so we confirm availability before proposing it. (The VACON® 100 FLOW, by contrast, does not support solar pumping.)
See details
VACON® 100 INDUSTRIAL
The one in the Danfoss caseFor panel mounting and higher power. It supports the Solar Pump application; it is the drive Danfoss used in the Sumsol irrigation project in Spain (see below).
See details
Beiton panel and string box
System integrationPanel with the drive, DC protection and string box for the solar array, built and tested by Beiton.
Request a proposal // References
Danfoss references
Two Danfoss projects with solar-powered VACON® drives, as a reference for what the system does. They are the manufacturer's cases, not Beiton's.
Spain: 150 ha of irrigation on 300 kWp
Sumsol irrigates sugar beet and corn with six pumps (four submersible and two vertical-shaft) that fill a 49,000 m³ pond. 944 modules of 320 Wp power five VACON® 100 INDUSTRIAL drives; a grid-connected VACON® 100 FLOW runs the jockey pump at night.
Spain: +35% yield and €52,000 a year
With the MPPT4 algorithm, Danfoss reports 35% more yield. The project no longer draws 478 MWh a year from the grid, with an estimated payback of 8 years.
Kenya: 1,200 L/h of drinking water
In Kitui, a rural area with a weak grid, a reverse-osmosis desalination plant runs 100% on solar power: with no grid connection (off-grid) and no batteries.
Kenya: 5 VACON® 100 X, a pilot built to scale
Five drives with the Solar Pump application run five Danfoss APP high-pressure pumps, with DrivePro® Remote Monitoring. It laid the groundwork for 200 more units: water for about 400,000 people.
// Service
What Beiton brings
Beiton integrates the complete system around the Danfoss drive and stands behind it in Panama, as the only Danfoss DrivePro partner in the country.
Sizing
Drive and solar array calculated together with the pump: flow, total dynamic head, well depth and pumping hours.
Assessment of the existing pump
We review your existing pump and three-phase motor to see whether they can be reused. If a new surface pump is needed, the portfolio includes Gorman-Rupp.
Panel and protection
Drive panel, DC protection and string box for the solar array.
PV array
We coordinate the project's PV array as part of the system integration, so panels, drive and pump work as one.
Commissioning
Setup of the solar application (MPPT, levels, dry-run protection), testing and documented handover.
DrivePro service
Preventive maintenance, genuine Danfoss spare parts and local technical support.
// Frequently asked questions
What we get asked most
Quick answers to the questions technical teams in Panama ask us most often.
Q01 Do I need batteries to pump with solar power?
Usually not. Solar pumping stores water, not energy: the pump runs while the sun is up and fills an elevated tank, a pond or a reservoir that delivers water when needed. Batteries only make sense if pumping is needed at night without grid or generator; in that case we assess it together with a battery energy storage system (BESS).
Q02 Can I use my existing pump?
That is the first thing we check. If your pump, submersible or surface, has a three-phase motor in good condition, we assess whether it can be reused with a solar drive. For that we need the motor and pump nameplate data and the condition of the equipment. If reusing it does not make sense, we propose a replacement.
Q03 What happens on cloudy days or at night?
With little sun the drive lowers the pump speed and flow is lower; MPPT keeps drawing the maximum power available from the panels. At night there is no solar pumping: water comes from the tank. If the process needs pumping at night or on very cloudy days, the system can be backed up by the grid or a generator, or by battery storage (BESS).
Q04 What information do you need to size the system?
Six things: the flow you need, the total dynamic head, the well depth (and the water level if known), the pump motor power if you already have one, the daily pumping hours and the site location. Photos of the motor nameplate and the site speed up the proposal.
Q05 What maintenance does a solar pumping system need?
Little, but regular: cleaning the panels and checking the connections and protection of the panel, the drive and the pump. As the only Danfoss DrivePro partner in Panama, Beiton offers preventive maintenance, genuine spare parts and local technical support for the drive.
Related
Battery energy storage (BESS)
Energy for night pumping or backup
Wastewater and water automation
Treatment plants and water pumping
Variable frequency drives
The full Danfoss line in Panama
Pump skids
Pumping systems built in our shop
Gorman-Rupp pumps
Surface pumps in our portfolio
DrivePro service
Maintenance, spare parts and support
Tell us about your solar pumping project
Send us the flow, total dynamic head, well depth and location. If you already have a pump, add the motor nameplate data. With that we size the drive and the solar array.