South Carolina · modelled at Charleston

Solar water pumps in South Carolina

South Carolina averages 5.30 peak sun hours a day across the year, 9th of 51. The darkest month, Dec, gives 3.77 (8th of 51 for winter sun); the brightest, May, gives 6.41. A pump that has to fill a trough in Dec needs 1.7 times the panels of one that only runs in May.

By the editors of SolarPoweredWaterPumps.comLast reviewed October 2026

Peak sun hours by month

4.2

Jan

4.8

Feb

5.5

Mar

6.4

Apr

6.4

May

6.3

Jun

6.0

Jul

5.5

Aug

5.2

Sep

5.2

Oct

4.5

Nov

3.8

Dec

kWh per square metre per day on a south-facing panel at 20 degrees in Charleston (32.78, -79.93). Source: NREL NSRDB via PVGIS v5.2.

Worked sizing for South Carolina

The same two systems are worked for every state so you can compare. Both use 35% or 30% wire-to-water efficiency and a 0.75 array factor; change any input in the calculator.

System	Design sun	Flow	TDH	Pump input	Panels	Tank
20 beef cattle, year-round (80 ft lift, 10 ft rise, 300 ft of 1 in poly)	3.77 h	1.77 gpm	91 ft	87 W	120 W	1,200 gal
Same well, grazing season April to October only	5.15 h	1.29 gpm	91 ft	63 W	90 W	1,200 gal
1,000 sq ft garden in summer, from a pond (8 ft suction, 15 ft rise, 200 ft of 3/4 in poly)	5.92 h	0.25 gpm	23 ft	4 W	10 W	267 gal

Panel figures are the floor from the arithmetic. Real systems usually carry 1.5 to 3 times this so the pump sits in the middle of its curve and the tank refills after cloudy days.

Run your own numbers. The sizing calculator shows every step, for your state, lift and pipe.

Open the calculator

What this means in South Carolina

South Carolina has strong sun even in Dec, so a direct-drive system sized for winter has a comfortable surplus in summer. Heat is the bigger design issue: hot panels lose voltage, so leave margin above the pump's start voltage.

Related reading: winterizing, livestock watering and USDA cost share.

Sources