Project Synopsis on Solar PV Inverter for

Water Pumping Application

By:
Aaditya Kulkarni
Digambar Kakade
Pradip Bhoite
Sharad Devadkar
Shrey Pujari

Department of Electrical Engineering

FCRIT, Vashi
2014-2015

Solar PV inverter for Water Pumping

Application
Submitted in the partial fulfillment of the requirements of the degree of

Bachelor of Engineering
By:
Aaditya D Kulkarni (401125)
Digambar Kakade

(401183)

Pradip Bhoite

(401104)

Sharad Devadkar

(401107)

Shrey Pujari

(401147)

Supervisor:

Prof. Sushil S. Thale

Department of Electrical Engineering

Fr. Conceicao Rodrigues Institute of Technology, Vashi
2014-2015

ii

CERTIFICATE
This is to certify that the project synopsis entitled Solar PV inverter for

water pumping application is a bonafide work of Aaditya D

Kulkarni (401125), Digambar Kakade (401183), Pradip Bhoite
(401104), Sharad Devadkar (401107) and Shrey Pujari (401147)
submitted to the University of Mumbai in partial fulfillment of the requirement
for the award of the degree of Bachelor of Engineering (B.E.),

semester VII in Electrical Engineering

(Prof. Sushil S. Thale)

Supervisor/Guide

(Name and sign)

Head of Department

(Name and sign)

Principal

iii

Project Synopsis Approval for B.E.

(Semester VII)

This project synopsis entitled Solar PV inverter for water pumping

applicationby Aaditya D Kulkarni, Digambar Kakade, Pradip Bhoite,
Sharad Devadkar and Shrey Pujari is approved for the degree of B.E.
(semester VII), Electrical of Engineering.

Examiners

1. _____________________________

2. _____________________________

iv

ABSTRACT

Solar energy, radiant light and heat from the sun, is harnessed using a range of ever evolving
technologies such as solar heating, solar photovoltaic, solar thermal electricity, solar
architecture and artificial photosynthesis.
Solar technologies are broadly characterized as either passive solar or active solar depending
on the way they capture, convert and distribute solar energy. Active solar techniques include
the use of photovoltaic panels and solar thermal collectors to harness the energy.
Solar Irrigation, a new emerging application in Solar Energy as well as Solar PV Industry, is
now being implemented by many companies from India. Indian government and NGOs have
come forward to support this technology by financially and morally.
What is solar irrigation? It is simply, the water pump -which is used by farmers to water their
corps land and help them significantly in irrigation work, will be powered by Solar PV array
with or without Inverters (and Battery bank if needed).
In detail, a solar-powered pump is a pump running on electricity generated by photovoltaic
panels or the thermal energy available from collected sunlight as opposed to grid electricity or
diesel run water pumps. The operation of solar powered pumps is more economical mainly
due to the lower operation and maintenance costs and has less environmental impact than
pumps powered by an internal combustion engine (ICE). Solar pumps are useful where grid
electricity is unavailable and alternative sources (in particular wind) do not provide sufficient
energy.
Now, what is profit from this project? Who will get benefited? These 2 questions are
correlated in this case. The developer/installer organization will get benefited by the outcome
of the project, whereas the farmers, who will use the water, will get this as a cheaper rate
comparing to diesel-run or grid-powered water pumping solutions. And the ultimate benefit is
to the Environment as this is a ZERO carbon emission project.

Table of Contents
Chapter 1 Introduction ............................................................................................................ 1
1.1. Water Pumping ................................................................................................................ 1
1.2. Application ....................................................................................................................... 3
1.3. Objective of the project .................................................................................................... 5
Chapter 2 Literature Survey ................................................................................................... 6
2.1. Solar Panel ....................................................................................................................... 6
2.2. Boost Converter ............................................................................................................... 7
2.3. Inverter ............................................................................................................................. 9
2.4. Pump Configuration ....................................................................................................... 11
Chapter 3 Selection ................................................................................................................ 15
3.1. Solar Panel ..................................................................................................................... 15
3.2. Boost Converter ............................................................................................................. 15
3.3. Inverter ........................................................................................................................... 19
3.4. Filters ............................................................................................................................. 21
3.4. Single Phase Induction Motor ........................................................................................ 22
Chapter 4 Conclusion ............................................................................................................ 23
Appendix-I............................................................................................................................... 25
Appendix-II ............................................................................................................................. 26
References................................................................................................................................ 27

vi

Chapter 1
Introduction
1.1.

Water Pumping
Water pumping has a long history; so many methods have been developed to pump water.

People have used a variety of power sources, namely human energy, animal power, hydro
power, wind, solar and fuels such a diesel for small generators. The most common pumps
used in remote communities are:

Hand pumps

Direct drive diesel driven borehole pumps

Electric submersible pumps with diesel generator

Solar submersible pumps

Comparison of various pumping techniques is given in table 1.1 as shown:

Table 1.1

Advantages
Hand pumps

Disadvantages

local manufacture is possible

loss of human productivity

easy to maintain

often an inefficient use of boreholes

low capital cost

low flow rates

no fuel costs
more powerful than humans

animals require feeding all year round

lower wages than human power

often diverted to other activities at

dung may be used for cooking fuel

Hydraulic

auto operation

require specific site conditions

pumps

no fuel costs

low output

(e.g. rams)

easy to maintain

Link

low cost

long-life

high reliability

water storage is required for low wind

Link

Animal driven
Pumps

Wind pumps

unattended operation

crucial irrigation periods

easy maintenance

long life

suited to local manufacture

no fuel requirements

not easy to install

unattended operation

high capital costs

no fuel costs

water storage is required for cloudy

low maintenance

easy installation

long life (20 year)

Diesel and

gasoline
pumps

Link

Solar PV

periods

high system design and project

planning needs

periods

repairs often require skilled technicians

quick and easy to install

fuel supplies erratic and expensive

low capital costs

high maintenance costs

widely used

short life expectancy

can be portable

noise and fume pollution

1.2. Application
Solar pumps are used principally for three applications:

Village water supply

Livestock watering

Irrigation
A solar pump for village water supply is shown schematically in Figure 1.1. The Village
will have a constant water demand although there is need to store water for periods of low
insolation (low solar radiation). In environments where rainy seasons occur some of this
demand can be met by rainwater harvesting during the rainy season.
Ideally in Sahelian Africa the storage would be 3-5 days of water demand. In practice
some installed tanks do not have sufficient capacity and are smaller than a days demand
leaving the tank empty at the end of the day. This is due to a mismatch between the sizing,
pump capacity and the demand profile during the day. The main applications for solar water
pumping are for livestock watering in the USA and Australia. In Africa the systems are used
for village water systems and livestock watering.

Fig 1.1: Village water supply[6]

While applications of solar water pumping for irrigation are on the increase especially in India
and China. A solar irrigation system (Figure 1.2) needs to take account of the fact that
demand for irrigation water will vary throughout the year. Peak demand during the irrigation
3

seasons is often more than twice the average demand. This means that solar pumps for
irrigation can be underutilized for most of the year although there can be a reduction in
strength of the sun during these times reducing supply side of the equation.Attention should
be paid to the system of water distribution and application to the crops. The system should
minimize water losses, without imposing significant additional head on the pumping system
and be of low cost.

Fig 1.2: Solar irrigation system[6]

The suitability of major irrigation systems for use with solar pumps is shown in Table 1.2.:
Table 1.2.[6]
Distribution

Typical application

Typical

Suitability for use

method

efficiency

head

With solar pumps

Open Channels

50-60%

0.5-1m

Yes

Sprinkler

70%

10-20m

No

Trickle/drip

85%

1-2m

Yes

Flood

40-50%

0.5m

No

1.3.

Objective of the project

Following are the major objectives of the project:

1. Study of the various pumping systems currently used for irrigation purposes.
2. Development of a Solar PV system for operating a 0.5 HP single phase Induction Motor.
3. Hardware implementation of the Solar water pumping system.
4. Development of an an easy installation water pumping system.

Chapter 2

Literature Survey
Photovoltaic pumps are made up of a number of components. There is a photovoltaic array
which converts solar energy directly into electricity as DC. The pump will have an electric
motor to drive it.. The characteristics of these components need to be matched to get the best
performance. The pump motor unit will have its own optimum speed and load depending on
the type and size of the pump.
The Block Diagram of the Solar PV Inverter for water pumping application is as shown in
Fig.2.1

Fig 2.1:Solar Water Pumping System[1]

6

2.1.

Solar Panel:

Photovoltaic cells are semiconductor devices and manufacturing of commercial PV cells is

done from silicon. A PV cell can be considered as a large diode that produces a voltage when
exposed to incident light. A single, typical solar cell can generate about 3 watts of energy in
full sunlight. Therefore solar panel are made up of a series of solar cells to obtain the required
power output. Also solar panels may be connected as arrays through electrical wires in order
to deliver power to the pumps. A solar cell may be represented as in Fig 2.2:

Fig 2.2: Equivalent representation of Solar Cell [1]

2.2.

Boost Converter:

The boost converter is a medium of power transmission to perform energy absorption and
injection from solar panel to grid-tied inverter. The process of energy absorption and injection
in boost converter is performed by a combination of four components which are inductor,
electronic switch, diode and output capacitor.
The diagram for boost converter is shown in fig 2.3

Fig 2.3: Boost Converter [1]

The governing equation for boost converter is:

and
A boost converter is a DC to DC Converter with an output voltage greater than the source
voltage. A boost converter is sometimes called a step-up converter since it steps up the
source voltage. Since power (
) must be maintained constant, the output current is
lower than the source current. The main principle that drives the boost converter is the
tendency of an inductor to resist changes in current by creating and destroying a magnetic
field. In a boost converter, the output voltage is always higher than the input voltage. From
Fig 2.3,
(a) When the switch is closed, current flows through the inductor in clockwise direction and
the inductor stores some energy by generating a magnetic field. Polarity of the left side of the
inductor is positive.
(b) When the switch is opened, current will be reduced as the impedance is higher. The
magnetic field previously created will be destroyed to maintain the current flow towards the
load. Thus the polarity will be reversed (means left side of inductor will be negative now). As
a result two sources will be in series causing a higher voltage to charge the capacitor through
the diode D.
There are two modes of operation of Boost Converter, namely Continuous Conduction
Mode(CCM) and Discontinuous Conduction Mode.
In CCM, energy stored in the inductor is transferred to the load together with the input voltage
due to which output voltage is greater than input voltage. Here the inductor current IL flows
continuously and never falls to zero. Under DCM, inductor current does not flow
8

continuously. There is an interval of time which the current is zero before the next turn on of
switch. The waveforms of CCM and DCM mode of operation is given in Figs 2.4 and 2.5

Fig 2.4: CCM[3]

Fig 2.5: DCM[3]

The advantages of Boost Converter are:

Only one switch

High efficiency

Unidirectional output current

Provides one polarity output voltage

Low cost

Simple circuit

In reality no boost converter will be lossless, but efficiency levels of around 85% is achieved

The applications of Boost Converters are:

Commonly used LED driver

Used for solar power system

Used for power factor correction

Used in HVE(hybrid electrical vehicles)

Boost converters can increase the voltage and reduce the number of cells.

Boost converters can also produce higher voltages to operate cold cathode fluorescent tubes
(CCFL) in devices such as LCD backlights and some flashlights.

2.3.

Inverter:
Voltage source inverters are widely used in power supplies, power quality controllers,

renewable energy, marine and military applications. If the input dc is a voltage source, the
9

inverter is called a Voltage Source Inverter (VSI). The simplest dc voltage source for a VSI
may be a battery bank or a solar photovoltaic cells stack. They are at the heart of applications
requiring an AC supply from a DC source. Therefore, it is important that they are designed to
be robust and efficient, especially in remote areas and renewable energy applications. The
circuit diagram of a single phase DC-AC inverter is shown in Fig 2.6

Fig 2.6: Single Phase H-Bridge Inverter[5]

The full bridge single phase inverter consists of the DC voltage source, four switching
elements S1, S2, S3 and S4 and load. The switching element used in the circuit is the
insulated gate bipolar transistors (IGBTs) The full bridge single phase inverter has two legs
with each leg consisting of two power devices (IGBTs) connect in series. The load is
connected between the midpoints of the two phase legs. Each power control device has a
diode connected in anti-parallel to it. The diodes provide an alternative path for the load
current if the power switches are turned OFF. If lower IGBT in the left leg is conducting and
carrying current towards the negative DC bus, this current would commutate into the diode
across the upper IGBT of the left leg, if the lower IGBT is turned OFF. Control of the circuit
is accomplished by varying the turn on time of the upper and lower IGBT of each inverter leg
with the provision of never turning ON both at the same time, to avoid a short circuit of DC
bus. The inverter waveforms depicting the voltages in the two legs of the H-Bridge Inverter
with the output voltage is given in Fig 2.7.

10

Fig 2.7:Voltages in two legs and Output Voltage[3]

2.4.

Pump Configuration:
Pump options and the system configuration are described below:

2.4.1 Submersible Pump:

Often with electronic load controllers. The pump will be submerged while the load
controller is above ground. The advantages of this configuration are that it is easy to install,
often with lay flat flexible pipework and the motor pump set is submerged away from
potential damage. Submersible pump is given in Fig 2.8

Fig 2.8:Submersible Pump[6]

11

2.4.2 Multistage centrifugal pumps:

The centrifugal pump will start at low torque and can be matched with the solar array without
electronic controllers. The pumps are not as an efficient as positive displacement pumps using
cheap electronic load controllers. Suitable for smaller heads. Older type set with AC motors
operate at heads of 10-25m.

2.4.3 Pump set Positive displacement helical pumps:

Helical pumps have the best efficiency and the smallest PV panel for the same specs of water
delivery volume pressure and head. They have low rotational speed. The pump is made up a
metal helical rotor which rotates in a rubber casing. Suitable for bigger heads. A Mono solar
pump will slow down when it is cloudy, but because it has no minimum speed (unlike a
centrifugal pump) it will keep delivering water.

2.4.4Submerged pump with surface mounted motor:

The main advantage is the easy access to the motor for maintenance. The low efficiency from
power losses in the shaft bearings and the high cost of installation has been disadvantages. In
general this configuration is largely being replaced by the submersible motor and pump set.
This can be represented in Fig 2.9

Fig 2.9:Submerged Pump with surface mounted motor[6]

12

2.4.5 Floating Motor Pump sets:

The versatility of the floating unit set, makes it ideal for irrigation pumping for canals and
open wells. The pump set is easily portable and there is a negligible chance of the pump
running dry. Most of these types use a single stage submersed centrifugal pump. The most
common type has a brushless dc motor. Often the solar array support incorporates a handle or
'wheel barrow' type trolley to enable transportation. This is shown in following Fig 2.10

Fig 2.10:Floating Motor Pump[6]

2.4.5 Surface Suction Pump set:

This type of pump set is also suitable for Low head applications. It is not recommended
except where an operator will always be in attendance for maintenance and security of
exposed systems. Although the use of primary chambers and non-return valves can prevent
loss of prime, in practice self-start and priming problems are experienced. It is impossible to
have suction heads of more than 8 meters.

13

Fig 2.11: Surface Suction Pump Set[6]

14

Chapter 3
Selection
3.1 Solar Panel:
A single, typical solar cell can generate approximately 2-3 watts of energy in full
sunlight [6]. The DC voltage output from a single solar cell is about 0.5-0.6V. For operating a
0.5 HP motor (about 375 W) the output from the Solar Panel should be about 500-600 Watt.
Thus a Solar Panel with about 200 Solar Cells is required to satisfactorily power the system.

3.2 Boost Converter:

The Boost Converter is given as shown in Fig 3.1[1]

Fig 3.1: Boost Converter[1]

In DCM If the ripple amplitude of the current is too high, the inductor may be
completely discharged before the end of a whole commutation cycle. This commonly occurs
under light loads. In this case, the current through the inductor falls to zero during part of the

15

period. Although slight, the difference has a strong effect on the output voltage equation

which is given as:

Compared to the expression of the output voltage for the continuous mode, this expression is
much more complicated. Furthermore, in discontinuous operation, the output voltage gain not
only depends on the duty cycle, but also on the inductor value, the input voltage, the
switching frequency, and the output current. Thus we operate Boost Converter in CCM.

The specification of the Boost Converter to be designed is shown in Table 3.1

Table 3.1
MODE

CCM

Input Voltage (Vin)

200 V

Output Voltage (Vout)

350 V

Switching Frequency (f)

20 kHz

Output power (w)

600 Wp

3.2.1. Design of Lmin and Cmin for Boost Converter:

The governing equation for boost converter is
Vo=
Vin
Where V0 is the output voltage across the load R
D is the duty cycle
Vin is the DC input voltage given to the boost converter
Therefore,

350=

200

D= 0.4285
Now,The output power is
Po = Vo Io
16

Io =
So

= 1.7142 A

Io = 2A

Design of Inductor:
1) Inductor value :
The first step towards the inductor design is to find out the value of L for the particular
application. The Faradays equation e=L is used to find the value of L for any circuit. This
equation is best suited for switched mode applications.
Lmin =
I is the current ripple in the inductor. Usually 10 to 25% of I0 is taken as I. Here I =10%
of I0 is taken.
i.e. I = 10 % Io
= 0.2 A
Substituting the appropriate values in above equation, we find that
Lmin = 21.42 mH
Therefore chosen: L = 10 mH
2) Area product:
The energy and area product calculations are as follows ,
The energy to be handled by the inductor core is given by
Where , E is the energy in joules
L is the inductance in Henrys
Im is the peak inductor current in amps.
Where

Im = Io +

Im = 2 + = 2.1 A
Substituting the values in the above equation, we have
E = 0.02205 joules
Ap = Aw Ac =
Where , crest factor Kc=

Take Bm=0.2 T for ferrite , J=3 A/

(only one winding).

(3

A/

), Kc=1 (for square wave) & Kw=0.6

Substituting the values in the area product equation, we have

Ap = 12.25
17

Now choose the core from Appendix-I which has a Ap higher than the value calculated above
EE 65/32/13 is a proper choice ( Ac=266
, Aw=537
, Ap=14.284
)
3) No. of turns: The equation for number of turns is given by
N=
= 394.7
(Taking the next higher interger if the calculation does not give an integer value)
N = 395 turns
4) Wire gauge: The gauge of the wire can be calculated from the equation given below,
taking
J=3 A/
a=

where I=I0 is the rms current through the inductor in amps.

J is the current density in A/

a =0.666
Now choose the wire gauge from Appendix-II , which has cross sectional area greater than the
value calculated above
SWG 19 is a proper choice ( a=0.81070
)
5) Cross check: The window area of the core should accommodate N turns of wire crosssection area a , Thus,
The inequality Aw Kw > aN has to be checked.
So Aw Kw =537 0.6
= 322.2
And

aN= 0.81070 395 = 320.22

so the inequality is satisfied, which means that the winding will fit into the available window
area.
6) Air Gap Length: The air gap length ,lg , is given by the equation ,
lg =
, where
= 4
H/m.
Substituting the variable values to the above equation, we have,
lg = 5.2153 mm
Design of Capacitor:
The C for this converter is given by
C=
Vo is the voltage ripple in the capacitor .Usually 0.1 to 1% of V0 is taken as Vo.
Here Vo= 0.1 % Vo
= 0.35 V
18

Substituting the appropriate values in above equation , we find that

C=
C=
= 122.42 uF
Therefore chosen
C=220 uF . as the next standard value.

Here we have selected MOSFET as the switching device due to its following advantages:

Input Impedance:

MOSFETs have higher input impedance than BJTs. The input impedance is a measure of the
resistance of the input terminal of the transistor to electrical current. When designing voltage
amplifiers it is desirable for the input resistance to be as high as possible. Therefore
MOSFETs are more widely used in the input stage of voltage amplifiers.

Size:

MOSFETs can be made much smaller than BJTs. Many more MOSFETs can be placed in a
smaller area than BJTs. For this reason MOSFETs form the bulk of the transistors used in
microchips and computer processors. MOSFETs are also easier to manufacture than BJTs
because they take fewer steps to make.

Thermal Runaway:

BJTs suffer from a property known as "thermal runaway." Thermal runaway happens because
the conductivity of a BJT increases with temperature. Because transistors tend to heat up in
proportion to current flowing through them this means that the conductivity and temperature
of BJTs can increase exponentially. This can damage the BJT and makes designing circuits
for BJTs more difficult. MOSFETs do not suffer from thermal runaway.

3.3 Inverter:
An H-Bridge configuration of the inverter is used here as the common use of the H-bridge
is for an inverter. The arrangement is sometimes known as a single-phase bridge inverter. The
H bridge with a DC supply will generate a square wave voltage waveform across the load. For
a purely inductive load, the current waveform would be a triangle wave, with its peak
depending on the inductance, switching frequency, and input voltage. In the H-bridge inverter
IGBTs are used as the switching device on both the legs. The IGBT is similar to the power
19

transistor, except that it is controlled by the voltage applied to its gate rather than the current
flowing into its base, as in power transistors. The current flowing in the gate of an IGBT is
extremely small because the impedance of the control gate is very high. This device is
equivalent to the combination of a metal-oxide semiconductor field effect transistor
(MOSFET) and a power transistor. Since the current required to control an IGBT is very
small, it can be switched much more quickly than a power transistor. The IGBTs are normally
used in high-power, high-frequency applications.

3.3.1 Sinusoidal Pulse Width Modulation:

Instead of maintaining the width of all pulses the same as in the case of multiple-pulse
modulation, the width of each pulse is varied in proportion to the amplitude of a sine wave
evaluated at the centre of the same pulse. The DF and LOH are reduced significantly. The
gating signals as shown are generated by comparing a sinusoidal reference signal with a
triangular carrier wave of frequency fc. This sinusoidal pulse-width modulation (SPWM) is
commonly used in industrial applications.
The frequencies of reference signal fr determines the inverter output frequency f0; and its
peak amplitude Ar controls the modulation index M, and then in turn the rms output voltage
V0. Comparing the bidirectional carrier signal vcr with two sinusoidal reference signals vr and
vr shown in figure 3.2 produces gating signals g1 and g4, respectively, as shown in figure
(b). The output voltage is v0 = Vs(g1 g4). However, g1 and g4 cannot be release at the same
time. The number of pulses per half- cycle depends on the carrier frequency. Within the
constraint that two transistors of the same arm (Q1 and Q4) cannot conduct at the same time.
The same gating signals can be generated by using unidirectional triangular carrier wave as
shown. It is easier to implement this method and is preferable. The algorithm for generating
the gating signal is similar to that for the uniform PWM, except the reference signal is a sine
wave vr = Vr sinwt , instead of a dc signal. The output voltage is v0 = VS (g1 g4). The rms
output voltage can be varied by varying the modulation index M. It can be observed that the
area of each pulse corresponds approximately to the area under the sine wave between the
adjacent midpoints of off periods on the gating signals.

20

Fig 3.2[3]

3.4 Filters:
Filters play a key role in the inverter driven loads. It is mainly used for two reasons. They are
as listed below.
1. To convert the inverter output (i.e., square wave) into pure sinusoidal wave
2. To eliminate the higher order harmonics.
3. Conversion of Square Wave In to Sine Wave.
4. Elimination of Higher Order Harmonics.
Harmonics are classified into two types. They are higher order harmonics and lower order
harmonics. To eliminate higher order harmonics, we use filter where the lower order
harmonics are eliminated using SPWM technique.
21

3.4.1 LC Filter:
In this project, we use LC-filter. LC-filter is a second order filter and it has better filtering
ability than L-filter. This simple configuration is easy to design and it works mostly without
problems. The capacitor value selected in our design scheme is 10uF/600V while inductor
value is 2mH. The basic block diagram of a filter is shown in Fig 3.3:

Fig 3.3: LC Filter[1]

3.5 Single Phase Induction Motor:

A single phase induction motor has the same operating characteristics as that of the 3 phase
induction motor, the difference being that a single phase motor has no inherent starting torque
as in 3 phase induction motor. Therefore during starting it must be converted to a type which
is not single phase during starting and then continues operation as single phase machine
during normal running. In our design we have decided to operate a single phase induction
motor using the Solar PV system because for 0.5 HP rating it is very cost effective as the
objective is to develop a cost effective system for irrigation. Also a capacitor start-capacitor
run motor is an ideal choice as they are used in applications that require high load torque
such as in pumps. If a 3 phase induction motor is considered then if it is to be operated using a
Solar PV system then the AC Drive circuit becomes more complicated.

22

Chapter 4
Conclusion
The vast agrarian population in India is facing new challenges such as changing rainfall
patterns, increase in competitive land use and the growing mismatch between energy demand
and supply. In many cases, access to supply grid is not available in various regions due to
which farmers use diesel powered irrigation pump to carry out various irrigation activities.
Though diesel powered pumps have have a low initial cost, in the long run operation and
maintenance cost are very high which renders it beyond the means of economically
marginalized farmers. In such circumstances environment-friendly, low-maintenance solar PV
pumping systems offer new possibilities for pumping irrigation water.
Solar Water Pumping System consisting of Solar PV array harnesses the suns energy to
provide clean energy that is used for running pumps for irrigation as well as drinking water
purposes. Both induction motor as well as DC motor pumps can be operated using this
energy. For operation of induction motor pump, an additional inverter circuit is required to
convert the DC supply from the Solar PV array to AC supply. However the use of induction
motor pumps is preferred because of their ruggedness and better efficiency compared to DC
motor pumps. Also in the eventuality of grid supply reaching the region, it is preferable to use
induction motor pumps as use of DC would then require an additional rectifier circuit.

The major constraint in the implementation of the Solar Water Pumping System is the cost
of PV array which accounts for about 80% of the total installation cost. However its
23

operational and maintenance cost is lower as compared to diesel powered irrigation pumps
along with a longer operational life. The Centre for Study of Science, Technology and Policy
(C-STEP) estimates 9 million diesel water pumping sets are in use in India. If 50% of these
diesel pumps were replaced with solar PV pump sets, diesel consumption could be reduced to
the tune of about 225 billion litres/year. Also with the government promoting the use of
renewable energy sources through subsidies and various finance schemes, the cost of
implementing the solar pumping system is considerably reduced.
In remote and far-flung areas where grid penetration is neither feasible nor cost effective,
solar energy applications are cost-effective. Thus a solar water pumping system to be used
with off-grid or decentralized applications can ensure that people with no access currently to
light and power, move directly to solar,leap-frogging the fossil fuel trajectory of growth.

24

Appendix-I
Physical, Electrical and Magnetic characteristics of ferrite cores[10]

25

Appendix II
Wire Size table[10]

26

References
[1] K.B. Rohit,Prof G.M. Karve and Prof.Khatri, Solar Water Pumping System International
Journal of Engg. Technology and Adv. Engg, Volume 3,Issue 7, July 2013.
[2] United Stated Dept. Agriculture, Design of small PV Solar water Pumping System,
Technical Note No.28,October 2010.
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