Questions · Pumps · Solar · Batteries · Water readiness
The Solar Plumber FAQ answers practical questions about the electrical side of water equipment: pumps, pools, wells, pressure tanks, batteries, solar timing, blackout readiness, rainwater, graywater, and utility rates.
The main idea
TheSolarPlumber.com is built around a simple idea: many water systems have electric loads hiding inside them. A pump starts. A pressure tank calls for refill. A pool schedule runs. A water heater recovers. A controller opens a valve. A battery is expected to carry the load when the grid fails.
The FAQ below keeps the scope clear. ABC Solar can discuss solar, battery, inverter, utility-rate, and electrical-load planning. Plumbing, wells, pools, graywater, rainwater, potable-water safety, animal water, gas appliances, and fire-safety systems require qualified professionals and local code compliance.
General questions
No. TheSolarPlumber.com is an educational solar, battery, pump, and water-resilience concept site by ABC Solar Incorporated. It focuses on the electrical-load side of water equipment, not plumbing design or plumbing contracting.
Solar can support water-related electric loads such as pumps, controls, selected water-heating loads, filtration equipment, pool equipment, and battery-backed critical loads. The design must be based on the actual equipment, runtime, voltage, surge, and use case.
The phrase can mean different things: solar-supported pumps, pool equipment, well pumps, rainwater pumping, livestock water, pressure systems, solar thermal water heating, or PV systems that offset electric water-related loads.
No. Solar hot water usually means solar thermal equipment that captures heat. Solar electric means PV panels that generate electricity. PV can support many loads, including electric water-heating equipment, but the design logic is different.
Compare solar hot water and solar electricPump questions
Sometimes. The answer depends on voltage, phase, running load, motor startup surge, inverter capacity, battery capacity, runtime, wiring, controls, and whether the pump is on a properly designed backup circuit.
Battery backup for pumpsMotors often need more power to start than they need to keep running. A pump may look manageable by running watts but still trip an inverter if startup surge is not supported.
No. A well pump or livestock water pump may be critical. A decorative fountain, waterfall, or irrigation pump may not deserve battery power during an outage. Loads should be ranked before backup is promised.
Some pumping applications can be scheduled during daylight or designed around solar production. Other pumps need batteries, grid power, or backup generation. The water mission determines the electrical design.
Solar pumpsPool questions
Yes, especially when pool pump runtime can be shifted toward solar production hours. Pool requirements, water quality, equipment needs, and pool professional guidance still come first.
Solar pool pumpsNot automatically. Pool pumps can be large recurring loads. During an outage, the battery may be needed for refrigeration, lighting, communications, medical equipment, water access, or other essential loads. Pool backup must be explicit.
The pad may include pumps, heaters, cleaners, automation, lights, valves, salt systems, spa equipment, and subpanels. A solar plan should inventory the entire equipment pad.
Pool equipment and solarSometimes. If the pool can be operated safely and effectively during solar production hours, scheduling may reduce exposure to expensive utility periods. Do not change filtration or safety behavior blindly.
Utility rates and water equipmentWell and pressure questions
Yes, but well pumps need careful review. Voltage, phase, depth, pressure, storage, startup surge, water demand, controls, and backup expectations all matter.
Well pumps and solarA pressure tank can reduce pump starts and provide limited pressurized water before the pump needs to run again. Fewer starts can improve backup behavior and reduce inverter stress.
Pressure tanks and solarIt depends on the need. Batteries store electricity. Tanks store water. For some water systems, pumping during sunlight and storing gallons may be smarter than using batteries to run pumps at night.
Yes. A failing or undersized pressure tank can cause short-cycling, which may create repeated motor starts and unexpected battery demand. The water system should be checked before backup is promised.
Rainwater, graywater, and off-grid questions
Solar can support approved rainwater pumps, controls, filtration equipment, or monitoring. Rainwater use still requires safe system design, labeling, overflow planning, and water-quality decisions.
Rainwater and solar pumpingNo. Solar only supplies electricity. It does not make graywater safe, potable, code-compliant, or suitable for every use. Graywater systems require plumbing, health, irrigation, labeling, and code review.
Graywater and solar powerDaily water demand, reliable source, storage capacity, pump load, controls, maintenance, battery reserve, and backup power. Off-grid water systems should be designed for bad days, not brochure days.
Off-grid water systemsYes, but animal water is not optional. Solar livestock water systems need conservative storage, daily inspection, reliable pumps, controls, backup procedures, and practical maintenance.
Livestock water and solarBlackout questions
It is the practice of knowing what water you need during an outage, how much water is stored, which pumps need power, which loads are critical, and how batteries or solar should be used.
Blackout water readinessSome should be automatic, some should be manual, and some should be locked out. The answer depends on the load, battery capacity, safety, customer expectations, and the consequences of failure.
Irrigation, decorative water features, waterfalls, some pool loads, and nonessential equipment may be excluded unless the system is specifically designed to support them.
Assuming the battery will run everything. A backup system needs a written load list, priorities, labels, operating rules, and clear limits before the outage.
Solar scope questions
ABC Solar can help review solar, battery, inverter, utility-rate, critical-load, and electrical-load planning for water-related equipment. The goal is to define the solar side clearly.
ABC Solar does not replace plumbers, well contractors, pool professionals, water-treatment specialists, irrigation designers, gas-appliance professionals, engineers, inspectors, or code officials.
Because water, electricity, pumps, batteries, pressure tanks, wells, pools, graywater, rainwater, gas appliances, and fire-related systems can all create real risk if handled casually.
Start with a load list: equipment photos, nameplates, breaker labels, utility bills, pump schedules, water storage information, and a clear statement of what must work during an outage.
Contact ABC SolarTheSolarPlumber.com is educational only. It is not plumbing advice, not pump-selection advice, not well-system advice, not pool-code advice, not water-treatment advice, not graywater design advice, not potable-water advice, not electrical engineering advice, not fire-safety design, and not a substitute for licensed professionals. Pumps, pressure tanks, wells, pools, rainwater systems, graywater systems, water heaters, batteries, PV systems, generators, backup-power systems, and electrical panels require proper design, permits, inspections, maintenance, and qualified professionals.
ABC Solar Incorporated
ABC Solar can help review the solar, battery, inverter, utility-rate, and electrical-load side of water equipment before the project gets tangled between trades.