Futurepump SF2

Product Description

The Futurepump SF2 is a solar-powered surface water pump intended to be used for irrigation by smallholder farmers. It is intended to draw water from shallow water sources and designed to be both robust to mud, dirt, or grit in the water supply and portable, with foldable panels for easy, safe transport to and from the field. It is designed and manufactured by Futurepump and sold through a network of distributing partners and directly from their factory in Rajkot, India.

Target SDGs

SDG 1: No Poverty

SDG 2: Zero Hunger

Market Suggested Retail Price

$899.00

Target Users (Target Impact Group)

Small and Medium-sized Enterprises

Distributors / Implementing Organizations

Futurepump has distributors for the SF2 in 12 countries and it is also available for purchase directly from the Futurepump factory.

Competitive Landscape

Direct competitors include GF1 Submersible Solar Pump, Grundfos SQFlex pumps, SunCulture SP-300 Solar Pumping System, and Lorentz PS600 CS-F.

Manufacturing/Building Method

Futurepump manufactures and assembles the pumps at their bespoke manufacturing facility in Rajkot, India. They have internal quality controls in place at the factory to ensure high standards.

Intellectural Property Type

Patent

User Provision Model

The Futurepump SF2 can be purchased from Futurepump’s distributors or directly from their factory.

Distributions to Date Status

By 2020, 5000 pumps had been distributed.Interview with representative

Pump type

Solar surface pump (Reciprocating positive displacement piston)

Irrigation capacity (acre)

2 acres

Maximum flow rate (L/min)

60 L/min

Maximum lift/head (m)

15 m

Required pressure (MPa)

0.1 MPa

Maximum distance from water source (m)

500+ m

Power source

Motorized

Power requirement: Max power (W)

180 W

Power requirement: Max motor current (A)

5 A (DC)

Power requirement: Voltage range (V)

60 V

Design Specifications

At shallow heads, the Futurepump SF2 solar water pump can deliver up to 1 l/s, which is 3,600 l/hr (120W).

Inlet side vertical suction limit: 7 meters
Maximum total vertical lift: 15 meters
Horizontal discharge: 500m+

Electrical/ Mechanical

Maximum pump voltage: 60V DC
Maximum motor current: 5 amps DC
Piston diameter: 104mm
Inlet/outlets designed for 11/4 (32mm) pipe
Displacement volume per stroke: 150cm3
Normal flywheel RPM range: 100-250 rpm
90mm pulley gear for 0–8m pumping heads
50mm pulley gear for >8m pumping heads

Remote Monitoring Every Futurepump SF2 solar water pump includes remote performance monitoring at no extra cost.

Minute-by-minute monitoring of pump vital signs – technical data displayed on a web dashboard accessible to distributors
Monitoring of pump utilization, including liters of water pumped, potential area irrigated, fuel savings, kWh produced
Pump geo-location tracking

Weight and Dimensions

Pump weight: 19.5kg
Pump dimensions: 520mm x 530mm x 200mm
SF2 (80W) – Carton weight (incl 80W PV & suction pipe): 36.7kg; Carton dimensions: 580mm x 360mm x 740mm
SF2 (120W) – Two cartons: Pump – Carton weight 26 kg approx.; Carton dimensions: 550 x 250 x 550mm; Panels – Carton weight 22kg approx.; Carton dimensions: 710 x 500 x 180mm
Supplied with flexible inlet/suction pipe: Internal diameter of 31.8 mm, external diameter 38.8mm. 6000mm length

Information per the Futurepump SF2 Datasheet. The manufacture also provides greater information about How the Futurepump SF2 works.

Product Schematics

Technical Support

Technical support (servicing and parts) is provided for free by the distributor for pumps during the warranty period.

Replacement Components

The SF2 comes with spare parts and a toolkit including:

Toolkit: Three sizes of spanner, double-ended screwdriver. Complete disassembly and reassembly possible with these tools.
Spare parts:
- 3 x spare transmission belts
- 3 x spare piston seals
- 4 x adjustable hose clips
- 2 x 11/4 inch pipe couplers
- 2 x 11/4” ->11/2inchreducers
- 1 x inlet filter/strainer
- 1 x pack stuffing box graphite packing rope
- 1 x complete set of spare o-ring seals

Lifecycle

The product's lifecycle is 1 - 5 years. A warranty is provided of 5 years if the product is purchased from a distributor or 1 year if purchased directly from Futurepump's factory.

Manufacturer Specified Performance Parameters

The manufacturer specifies the following performance targets:

At shallow heads, the Futurepump SF2 solar water pump can deliver up to 1 l/s, which is 3,600 l/hr (120W).
Inlet side vertical suction limit: 7 meters
Maximum total vertical lift: 15 meters
Horizontal discharge: 500m+

Vetted Performance Status

VeraSol tested the Futurepump SF2 at the Schatz Energy Research Center in July 2019 and found that with 80 W from solar panels, a maximum head of 13.3 m is achieved. Other performance parameters were also tested and a product quality inspection was performed which found the SF2 to be of 'Good' quality (the highest on their scale). The Global LEAP Awards also tested the Futurepump SF2 in 2019, their results included that the SF2 can pump a total volume per day of 9.2 m³/day on a sunny, high irradiance day.

Safety

No known safety hazards are related to this product.

Complementary Technical Systems

The Futurepump SF2 Datasheet lists several accessories that complement the pump. The Futurepump SF2 solar water pump is compatible with:

Direct irrigation using a hosepipe
Sprinklers (available from Futurepump)
Drip
Overhead tanks

Academic Research and References

Duker, A., et al., 2020, Using nature-based water storage for smallholder irrigated agriculture in African drylands: Lessons from frugal innovation pilots in Mozambique and Zimbabwe. Environmental Science & Policy, Vol. 107, pp. 1-6.

Lute, C., et al., 2019, A Method for Evaluating Unregulated Solar Irrigation Pumping Systems: Results and Observations. 2019 IEEE Global Humanitarian Technology Conference (GHTC), Seattle, WA, USA, 2019, pp. 1-8.

McKay, A.B., 2018, The Water Buffalo: Design of a Portable Bicycle Powered Irrigation Pump for Small-scale African Farmers. Ph.D. dissertation, University of California, Davis, CA.

Van de Zande, G., Amrose, S., Winter, A.G., 2020, Evaluating the Potential for Low Energy Emitters to Facilitate Solar-Powered Drip Irrigation in Sub-Saharan Africa. Proceedings of the Design Society: DESIGN Conference, 1, pp. 2177-2186.

Hartung, H., Pluschke, L., 2018, The benefits and risks of solar-powered irrigation – a global overview. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit.

Compliance with regulations

The Futurepump SF2 solar water pump is manufactured in India by Futurepump in their factory which uses an ISO 9001:2015-certified quality management system.

Other Information

The Futurepump SF2 is the successor to the SF1, which was based upon the Sunflower pump designed by PRACTICA who provides technical support to Futurepump.
A video from Futurepump showing the SF2 in use.
Datasheet in pdf format.
Futurepump is looking for new partners to join their global network of distributors for their SE1 and SF2 solar-powered surface water pumps for irrigation.
Futurepump also offers field testing services for the testing of “new and exciting renewable energy products for developing emerging markets” at their field testing station in Kisumu, Western Kenya.
Draws water from shallow water sources