There are a few key areas that I think are important in determining whether to go with an electric fountain pump or a solar fountain pump:
1. Location of the fountain
If your pump is near an electrical outlet, there’s really no issue regarding using electric vs. solar. But, if you plan to put your pump somewhere far away from an electrical outlet, this can be a major consideration. In order to get an electrical pump cord to an electrical outlet, you may need to hire an electrician to install underground conduit. This can get expensive really quickly. In this situation, I’d definitely recommend looking into a solar fountain pump.
If you’re leaning towards solar, you should also consider the amount of light near your water feature, as the solar pump comes with a solar panel that will need to have exposure to the sun in order to work. So, you’ll need to site your fountain in a sunny location, or purchase a solar fountain pump with a long enough cord that you can place the solar panel in the sun.
A battery backup is also a great option to have, as that can take the solar energy from your panel and store it into the battery so your pump will run continuously instead of turning on and off when the sun goes behind the clouds.
2. Price
If you want to determine the cost to run an electric fountain pump, head over to this water feature electricity calculator to get a pretty good idea of how much it will cost. Then you’ll be able to determine if the extra upfront cost of a solar water pump will balance out the electricity costs associated with the fountain pump.
Even when considering the electric usage over time, are a lot less expensive than solar. The price advantage may learn to solar pumps, though, if you need to hire an electrician to install underground wiring for your fountain.