Solar Water Pump

Thursday, 17 May, 2018

What is Solar Water Pump?

A solar-powered pump is a pump running on electricity generated by photovoltaic panels or the radiated thermal energy available from collected sunlight as opposed to grid electricity or diesel run water pumps.

One of the most popular renewable energy sources is solar energy. Many researches were conducted to develop some methods to increase the efficiency of Photo Voltaic systems (solar panels). One such method is to employ a solar panel tracking system .This project deals with a micro- controller based solar panel tracking system. Solar tracking enables more energy to be generated because the solar panel is always able to maintain a perpendicular profile to the sun’s rays. Development of solar panel tracking systems has been ongoing for several years now.

As the sun moves across the sky during the day, it is advantageous to have the solar panels track the location of the sun, such that the panels are always perpendicular to the solar energy radiated by the sun. This will tend to maximize the amount of power absorbed by PV systems. It has been estimated that the use of a tracking system, over a fixed system, can increase the power output by 30% - 60%. The increase is significant enough to make tracking a viable preposition despite of the enhancement in system cost. It is possible to align the tracking heliostat normal to sun using electronic control by a micro controller.

HOW A PUMP WORKS
A pump is defined as a system that is used to move liquid. It can be as simple as a spray bottle or as complex as a human heart. Pumps move liquid by using energy to increase the amount of pressure in the system, shown in simplified form in Fig



BLOCK DIAGRAM OF SOLAR WATER PUMP




Working Principle of Solar Water Pump
Stage1. Solar PV Panel converts solar energy into direct current by photovoltaic process
The basic unit of a solar panel is a solar cell, which usually consists of one or two layers of silicon-based semiconductor wafers. When struck by the photons in sunlight, the solar cell generates an electrical charge due to the "photovoltaic effect" – which is a pretty good name, since it produces voltage from photons. The flow of these electrons moves in a steady electrical current from one side of the cell to the other.
Stage2. A controller will help to get constant 12 to 15 V DC Supply for charging the battery. A charge controller, charge regulator or battery regulator limits the rate at which electric current is added to or drawn from electric batteries. It prevents overcharging and may prevent against over voltage which can reduce battery performance or lifespan, and may pose a safety risk.
Stage3. Solar tracker will help down to track the maximum Sun Light to gain maximum Output. A tracking system moves the array so that it directly faces the sun as much as possible. Installing a tracking system along with a solar PV array is a more expensive option that should result in greater generation of power, especially in the mornings and afternoons. Which will get power from battery for working.
Stage4. Inverter works as when dc solar cells will give dc then it goes to controller and going to store in battery. Then from battery dc will be converted to a single-phase alternating current supplied to drive the pump. In inverter a step up transformer is use.
Stage 5 The output from the inverter section is 240 V 80 watt

ADVANTAGES
1. Solar-powered water pumps can be placed in or next to the pond or other source of water and the water can be pumped where it is needed.
2. Solar water pumping is clean and efficient.
3. Solar electric water pumping cuts down on waste because its based on natural cycles. Panels give the most pumping power on the sunniest days when you need the most water.
4. Solar power is clean. You never have to worry about polluting the groundwater or air with a gas-powered pump.
5. Solar-powered water systems take very little maintenance because they only have a few moving parts. They have long life usually 20 to 40 years. And solar water systems never run out of fuel as long as the sun is shining.

DISADVANTAGES
1. We cannot generate energy during the night time with solar energy.
2. And, also during day time, the weather may be cloudy or rainy, with little or no sun radiation. Hence, this makes solar energy panels less reliable as a solution.
3. Only those areas that receive good amount of sunlight are suitable for producing solar energy.
4. Solar panels also require inverters and storage batteries to convert direct electricity to alternating electricity so as to generate electricity. While installing a solar panel is quite cheap, installing other equipments becomes expensive.
5. The land space required to install a solar plant with solar panel is quite large and that land space remains occupied for many years altogether and cannot be used for other purposes

APPLICATION
1. Drinking and cooking water supply
2. Live stoke watering.
3. Pond management.
4. Irrigation etc.

CONCLUSION
Using the spreadsheet allows you to test various design scenarios and demonstrate the design method and terminology for a direct-coupled solar water pumping system. Photovoltaic-powered water pumping systems are attractive for livestock and agricultural producers with remote water sources and limited access to AC power.

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Category: Energy & Resources

Tags: solar water pump solar water water pump renewable energy sources solar energy