Metering pump power source

1. A chemical dosing system comprising:

a metering pump; and

a power supply system electrically connected to the metering pump, the power supply system comprising:

an energy generator comprising a wind turbine and a solar panel, wherein the energy generator is electrically connected to the metering pump and is a main power source for the metering pump; and

an energy storage system comprising a regulator and a battery, wherein the energy storage system is electrically connected to both the energy generator and the metering pump, wherein the energy storage system provides power to the metering pump when the metering pump requires power in excess of power provided by the energy generator, and wherein the energy storage system is sized to supplement an expected minimum power output for the energy generator during a 24 hour period so that power demanded by the metering pump is met during the 24 hour period.

2. The chemical dosing system of claim 1 , wherein the energy storage system is sized to supplement a predicted power generation performance for the energy generator so that power demanded by the metering pump is met during all operating periods of the metering pump.

3. The chemical dosing system of claim 1 , wherein the expected minimum power output for the energy generator is based upon historical wind and solar intensity data for a location of the chemical dosing system.

4. The chemical dosing system of claim 3 , wherein the energy storage system is sized for operation in a location where an amount of solar energy available for harvesting by the solar panel plus an amount of wind energy available for harvesting by the wind turbine is expected to be greater than zero at all times.

5. The chemical dosing system of claim 3 , wherein the energy storage system is sized for operation in a location where an amount of solar energy available for harvesting by the solar panel plus an amount of wind energy available for harvesting by the wind turbine is expected to be greater than zero, 40% of the time in any 24 hour period.

6. A chemical dosing system comprising:

a metering pump; and

a power supply system electrically connected to the metering pump, the power supply system comprising:

an energy generator comprising a wind turbine and a solar panel, wherein the energy generator is electrically connected to the metering pump and is a main power source for the metering pump; and

an energy storage system comprising a regulator and a battery, wherein the energy storage system is electrically connected to both the energy generator and the metering pump, wherein the energy storage system provides power to the metering pump when the metering pump requires power in excess of power provided by the energy generator, and wherein the metering pump comprises a motor that operates at less than a maximum capacity over 50% of the time.

7. The chemical dosing system of claim 1 , wherein the metering pump comprises a solenoid pump that operates at a maximum power draw for brief intervals spaced by intervals of reduced power draw.

8. The chemical dosing system of claim 1 , wherein the energy generator supplies power to the energy storage system when the energy generator generates power in excess of the power required by the metering pump.

9. The chemical dosing system of claim 1 , wherein the solar panel, the wind turbine, the energy storage system, and the metering pump are electrically connected to a power bus in parallel.

10. The chemical dosing system of claim 1 , and further comprising:

an inverter for converting DC (direct current) power provided by the energy generator and the energy storage system into AC (alternating current) power for use by the metering pump.

11. A method for operating a power supply system, the method comprising:

harvesting solar energy with a solar panel, converting the solar energy to a first electrical energy, and supplying the first electrical energy to a power bus;

harvesting wind energy with a wind turbine, converting the wind energy to a second electrical energy, and supplying the second electrical energy from the wind turbine to the power bus;

combining the first electrical energy and the second electrical energy into a primary electrical energy;

supplying the primary electrical energy from the power bus to a load;

supplying excess primary electrical energy to an energy storage system for storage only if the primary electrical energy exceeds an amount of energy required to operate the load; and

supplementing the primary electrical energy with secondary electrical energy from the energy storage system when the primary electrical energy is insufficient to meet the amount of energy required to operate the load, wherein the energy storage system is sized to supplement an expected minimum power output of primary electrical energy during a 24 hour period so that power demanded by the load is met during the 24 hour period.

12. The method of claim 11 , wherein the load comprises a metering pump.

13. The method of claim 11 , and further comprising the step of:

conditioning the primary electrical energy with the energy storage system.

14. A method for converting an existing metering pump to use green energy, the method comprising:

providing a green energy generator sized to act as a primary power source for the existing metering pump;

providing an energy storage system sized to act as a secondary power source that supplements power to the existing metering pump when power demanded by the existing metering pump exceeds power available from the green energy generator, wherein the energy storage system is sized to supplement an expected minimum power output for the green energy generator during a 24 hour period so that power demanded by the existing metering pump is met during the 24 hour period;

electrically connecting the green energy generator and the energy storage system to a power bus in parallel; and

electrically connecting the existing metering pump to the power bus.

15. The method of claim 14 , and further comprising the step of:

electrically connecting an inverter between the power bus and the existing metering pump.

16. A method for designing a power supply system for a pump, the method comprising:

determining an expected energy consumption of the pump for a particular operation at a location of operation;

selecting components for a green energy generator;

determining an expected energy generation performance of the green energy generator operating as a primary source of energy for the pump at the location of operation; and

selecting components for an energy storage system to provide supplemental energy to the pump during times when the green energy generator is unable to meet power demand of the pump, wherein the energy storage system is sized to supplement an expected minimum power output for the green energy generator during a 24 hour period so that power demanded by the pump is met during the 24 hour period.

17. The method of claim 16 , and further comprising the step of:

selecting components for the green energy generator, wherein at least one component is selected from the group consisting of a solar panel and a wind turbine.

18. The method of claim 16 , and further comprising the step of:

selecting a solar panel and a wind turbine as components for the green energy generator.

19. The method of claim 18 , and further comprising the step of:

referencing wind and solar intensity charts for the location of operation of the green energy generator.

20. The method of claim 16 , and further comprising the step of:

selecting a metering pump as the pump.

21. The method of claim 16 , and further comprising the step of:

selecting a power bus capable of connecting the green energy generator and the energy storage system to the pump in parallel.

22. A power supply system comprising:

a power bus for providing electrical power to a load;

an energy generator electrically connected to the power bus, the energy generator comprising:

a wind turbine; and

a solar panel; and

an energy storage system electrically connected to the power bus, the energy storage system comprising:

a storage device; and

a regulator configured to transfer energy from the power bus to the storage device when the power bus exceeds a maximum voltage and is further configured to transfer energy from the storage device to the power bus when the power bus drops below a minimum voltage, wherein the energy storage system is sized to supplement an expected minimum power output for the energy generator during a 24 hour period so that power demanded by the load is met during the 24 hour period.

23. The power supply system of claim 22 , wherein the energy storage system is sized to supplement a predicted power generation performance for the energy generator so that power demanded by the load is met during all operating periods of the load.

24. The chemical dosing system of claim 1 , wherein the metering pump comprises a motor that operates at less than a maximum capacity over 50% of the time.

25. The method of claim 16 , wherein the pump comprises a motor that operates at less than a maximum capacity over 50% of the time.