Irrigation – Sun Pumps

Drip lines, vineyards, market gardens. All on solar.

Solar-direct irrigation for orchards, row crops, and small farms. Pressure regulated for drip emitters, sized for your peak July afternoon, no electricity bill ever.

Quick estimate

Water demand by crop & system type.

Drip · vegetables

0.5 GPM/acre

rip · orchard

2 GPM/acre

Vineyard drip

1 GPM/acre

Sprinkler · pasture

5 GPM/acre

Pivot · row crop

8 GPM/acre

Peak-summer figures. Solar pumps deliver max flow midday. Exactly when crops transpire most. Pair with a pressure tank or storage cistern for night drip cycles.

Recommended systems

Three systems for three farm scales.

Every home/property/operation is unique. These are configurations we ship most often. Your system will be sized to your specific setup.

Market garden · 1–3 ac

SDS-Q-128

Orchard / vineyard · 5–20 ac

SCS-20-180-120-BL

Row crop · 20–80 ac

HS-35-190

Typical field layouts

Three configurations we install most often.

Direct-to-drip

Pump → pressure regulator → drip lines. Simplest setup. Runs only when sun shines, but that's when plants want water anyway.

Cistern + gravity

Pump → 1,000–5,000 gal storage tank → gravity drip. Day-to-night flexibility. Needs 8–10 ft elevation drop.

Battery-backed

Pump → battery + AC controller → pump or sprinklers any time. Higher cost, full grid-style control.

USDA NRCS · EQIP

Solar irrigation pumps qualify for cost-share.

Practice 533 + 442 (Irrigation System) reimburse 50–75% of solar conversion costs. Especially generous for organic, drought-stressed, and beginning farmer applicants.

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"Switched our 12-acre vineyard from diesel to solar in 2019. Saved $3,400 in fuel year one. Pump's still the same one we installed."

Lena Costa

Costa Vineyards · Paso Robles, CA · 12 ac