You've got a remote pasture half a mile from the nearest power line. The cattle are using a creek that goes dry in August. You need a reliable water source out there, and trenching power three thousand feet isn't realistic.
Solar well pumps solve this problem better than almost any other technology on a working ranch right now. Here's what actually works, what doesn't, and what it costs.
The basic components
A complete solar well system has six parts:
- The well. Either an existing well or a new drilled well — typically 50–400 ft deep on a ranch
- The pump. A submersible DC pump sized for your depth and flow needs
- The controller. Electronics that manage power from panels to pump and protect against low water
- The solar panels. Usually 2–6 panels at 300–400 watts each, mounted on a frame
- Storage. A holding tank that fills during sunny hours and feeds livestock during cloudy days
- Plumbing. HDPE pipe from pump to tank, fittings, valves
Sizing: depth and flow
Two numbers determine everything: how deep is your water, and how much do you need per day?
Depth (head):
- Shallow well (under 50 ft to water): small surface or shallow submersible pump, 1–2 panels
- Medium well (50–150 ft): standard solar submersible, 2–3 panels
- Deep well (150–400 ft): higher-pressure submersible, 4–6 panels, more robust controller
- Very deep (400+ ft): may need DC-to-AC conversion or hybrid system; consult a specialist
Daily volume needed:
- Cattle: 10–20 gallons per head per day. Plan to fill a 500–1000 gallon storage tank in 1–2 days of pumping
- Horses: 10–15 gallons per horse per day
- Sheep/goats: 2–3 gallons per animal per day
- Wildlife (deer plot): assume 200–500 gallons per week to fill seeps and small tanks
Typical real-ranch setups by budget
$3,000–$5,000 system (small operation, shallow well)
- Existing 60 ft well
- 1 HP DC submersible pump (Grundfos SQFlex, Lorentz PS2, or similar)
- 2 × 350W solar panels on simple frame
- Basic MPPT controller
- 500-gallon poly storage tank
- 200 ft of 1" HDPE pipe to a stock tank
Daily output: ~800–1,200 gallons in summer, 400–600 in winter. Feeds a 20–30 head herd reliably.
$6,000–$10,000 system (working operation, medium well)
- Existing or newly drilled 150 ft well
- 1.5 HP solar submersible
- 4 × 400W solar panels on tracking frame (optional)
- Advanced controller with float switch input
- 1,500-gallon storage tank
- Long-run HDPE to multiple watering points
Daily output: 2,000–3,500 gallons. Supports 50–100 head with redundancy.
$12,000+ system (deep well or high-volume)
- Drilled well 200–350 ft deep
- 2 HP+ pump rated for the depth
- 6+ panels, professional mount
- Controller with remote monitoring
- 5,000-gallon storage capacity
- Distribution to 3+ watering points
Common mistakes
- Undersizing the storage tank. Cloudy days happen. If your tank only holds 1 day of water, you'll have a crisis the first overcast week. Plan for 3 days minimum.
- Forgetting the low-water cutoff. A solar pump running dry burns out in hours. The controller should sense low water and shut off.
- Mounting panels permanently south at 30°. That's the textbook answer; on a working ranch, an adjustable tilt mount that you change twice a year (steeper in winter, flatter in summer) yields 10–15% more energy.
- Cheap pipe. If you spend $5,000 on a pump and $200 saving on undersized pipe, you'll regret it. Always go one size larger than the pump's discharge.
- No monitoring. Without a way to check whether the system is working, you'll find out about failures only when cattle stop drinking. (Plug for our Smart Ranch Tech category here — the RanchSense Water Monitor catches this kind of problem within hours.)
Monitoring: the missing piece
Once you've spent $8,000 on a solar well, the question is: how do you know it's working?
The traditional answer is to drive out there and check. That defeats most of the purpose of building it in the first place.
This is exactly where a satellite-connected water sensor pays for itself fastest. A RanchSense Water Monitor on your storage tank tells you in real time whether the pump filled the tank that day. If it doesn't fill, you know within hours, not weeks.
When to call us
If you're planning a solar well install, we're happy to help spec out the components and connect you with installers in central and west Texas. Email us with: well depth (if known), animal count, and how far the watering point is from existing power.