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Mark avatar image
Mark asked

15Kw 3 Phase VFD pump - how many Kva of Victron Inverters will it take to run this?

I would like to consider what the dimensions of a solar system might look like to run a 15Kw water pump that has a VFD motor controller on it.

I do get that it will be a big setup and require a good amount of investment.

The sorts of things I am thinking about are, would it take;

3 x 15Kva Quattro's - so 45Kva 3 phase

6 x 15Kva Quattro's - so 2 x 15Kva Quattro's paralleled per phase x 3 to give 90Kva of capacity

Things to consider are start up amps of the pump and the amount of "headroom in Kva spike" the Quattro's can give.

I do realise there is a LOT more involved in this then the simple overview above, but first things first....how much Victron Inverter is required to start this pump and then run it?

3 phase
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Vance Mitchell avatar image Vance Mitchell commented ·

If the pump is run through a VFD it should have a lower starting current.

You would need to measure the actual power required to be certain, but I think it will be less than you expect.

If I’m right, 3 x 10kva would be enough.

Then you need to consider how long you plan to run the pump and what charge sources you have available to help determine the battery required.

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Marc Heymans avatar image
Marc Heymans answered ·

Why not run the pump directly through a solar VFD and panels and then you can have either utility input or solar input

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Mark avatar image
Mark answered ·

Thanks for the input so far.

Grid available with single phase hooked up so far but can get 3 phase but its fairly weak unless I put in a transformer - 11Kv lines run past the property so its doable. The grid is fairly useless though - lots of cuts to supply because of load shedding and poor maintenance to the grid by the supply authority.

Would like to use the inverter system for domestic use as well as running the pump hence not wanting a dedicated solar pumping setup.

Everything is still on the drawing board but loosely it looks like 3 (or 6) 15000 VA inverters with 76.8 kW Lithium battery, 20 kW Fronius Symo AC inverter and 20 -25 kWp of solar panels.

Water pumping is mission critical.

Plan to use a submersible 15kW 3 phase pump that is controlled by a VFD.

If it turns out that we dont have enough PV to run the pump at 15kW we can use the VFD to run the pump slower and use less energy. The VFD also helps a LOT with startup inrush current.

Things to think about is an inverter system with redundancy. So 2 inverters in parallel then x 3 for 3 phase is attractive to us. It could be 6 x 15000 VA or 6 x 10000 VA Quattro's or 9 x 5000 VA Mutli II's

We are a Looooong way away in the bush in a remote area. So for us the 2 is 1, 1 is none rule trumps all others.

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