Yes. Solar energy can be used for pumping water for livestock, irrigation or home use. A remote location that needs water is a great application.

Solar water pumps are rarely used for sprinkler type irrigation because of the amount of water needed for crops. However, solar pumps are economically feasible for irrigation that uses very low heads or has very low lifting requirements, such as drip irrigation, which uses less water than other types.

Solar modules can either be mounted on a fixed structure or a tracking structure in a location without obstructions that would block the suns radiation from contacting the solar panel. Fixed mounts are less expensive and tolerate higher wind loading, but the module will have to be carefully oriented so it faces true south (not magnetic south). A tracking array follows the sun across the sky and will normally increase water volume by 25 percent or more compared to a fixed array. Adding additional panels instead of a tracker may be just as cost effective. A solar array can easily be mounted on a trailer to make it portable.

Yes, especially in the area of water pumping. There are different types of wind water pumps. Some are straight wind water pumps, such as the Aermotor windmill (old style windmill), while others are wind-electric pumps. In this case, the spinning of the wind turbine creates electricity that is used to power a water pump.

If installing a windmill water pump, the answer is no, these units are dedicated to water pumping. If installing a wind-electric water pumping system the answer is maybe. Typically, the size of small wind turbines used would not create enough electricity to power other parts of the farm or residence. However, if a larger wind turbine was installed it could possibly supply the entire farm and/or residence with electricity including an electric water pumping system.

Wind water pumps are used to pump water out of well or other water source such as a pond to fill a large stock tank for watering livestock or fill an elevated water holding tanks. The water from the holding tank can be fed by gravity to livestock watering tanks or other uses as needed.

Batteries are not recommended for energy storage from wind turbines. Batteries reduce the overall efficiency of the system and add to the maintenance and cost.

An anemometer, a tool used to measure wind speed, could be set up to measure the typical wind speed at a site or wind maps are available that can be used to estimate wind at your site. Keep in mind that most windmills function best at wind speeds of 15-20 mph or higher, but will pump water at wind speeds as low as 7-8 mph.

This will depend on the number and type of livestock that you have. Different animals have different water requirements. Take the average gallons needed per day for the animal, multiply by the number of animals on the farm, and then multiply that by the number of day’s storage you plan to keep. Below is a table of average water requirements for different species.

Water requirements in gallons per day for different species
Species	Gallons per day
Human	100 per person
Beef cattle	7 - 12 per head
Dairy, dry cows	10 - 16 per head
Dairy, milking cows	30 - 35 per head
Horses	8 - 12 per head
Swine	3 - 5 per head
Sheep and goats	1 - 4 per head
Chickens	8 - 10 per 100 birds
Turkeys	10 - 15 per 100 birds

This will depend on how cold it gets at your site, if your tank is insulated, and how you plan to keep your tank from freezing. Heating elements consume a lot of power to keep water from freezing which would require a large and expensive solar array to operate. There are bubbler systems on the market that simply circulate the warmer water from the bottom to the top of the tank and those are much more efficient than a heating element. In very cold climates it is best to install a cover on your tank that leaves only a small portion of the water exposed and then berm your tank all the way around to reduce wind exposure. There are other methods of taping into the warm earth temperatures below the tank, and only providing water to the livestock when they come to the tank to drink.

- Piston pumps – Positive displacement pump can pump in high head situations but at low flow rates. These pumps can be located above ground and used for low suction head (15-20 feet maximum) but high pressure (up to 100 psi) or located in the well with pumping depths to 600 feet. The piston pump uses a linear motion back and forth motion to displace water in a cylinder. As a piston is driven in one direction, water fills the chamber behind it. The water is forced into the system when the piston reverses directions and a check value closes the inlet to the pump chamber. Flow of water into and out of the chamber is controlled by check valves.

- Helical pumps – Used for pumping depths of 150 to 500 feet. Predominantly used for livestock watering. These pumps produce high head but low flow rates. Operates like an auger to force water up through the pump. Produces smooth even flow of water and can withstand abrasives such as sand in the water better than other pumps.

- Diaphragm pumps – Can pump up to 230 foot lift or flow rates up to 4.2 gpm. A diaphragm pump works similar to a piston pump except that a diaphragm flexes into and out of a chamber making it larger or smaller with check values to control the water flow. They have the advantage of being about to run dry and are self priming.

- Centrifugal pump – Has high flow rates but limited lift abilities, about 15 feet. They produce a smooth and even flow and the pump are reliable with a good service life. Their efficiency depends upon operating under design heads and speed. For well pumps they are often multiple stages with several centrifugal pumps close-coupled so the output of the first pump is the input of the next.

-Pump jack – Used for very deep wells (>500 meters) and is borrowed from the oil field industry. The well pump is similar to the type used in water pumping windmills. The pump jack provide a mechanical advantage which allows a smaller power source to be used but at a lower pumping rate.

A nice picture of a pump jack, complete with labels can be found at Wikimedia. Select this link to go to that web site.

• How deep is it to the ground water level?
• How much water is needed?
• Will I be providing water only during the summer while animals are on
  pasture (when animals are very thirsty) or during the winter?
• What is the total depth of the well?
• What is the inside casing diameter and what casing material was used?
• What is the water source? Is it a well, spring, pond, stream, etc.?
• How much water is available from the source in gallons per minute
  (what is the water flow rate)?
• How far does the water need to be pumped, what size pipe, and with
  what elevation gain?
• Are there any water quality problems that may damage the pump, such
  as silt or high mineral content?
• How much volume is available in my storage tanks and how are the
  tanks arranged?
• Will the water be used for: household, livestock, irrigation?
• What pump type do I want?