AIM OF EXPERIMENT: - To study photovoltaic solar powered pump system.

INTRODUCTION:-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. 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.
CONSTRUCTION:A photovoltaic solar powered pump system has three parts:

Solar panels.

the controller

the pump

The solar panels make up most (up to 80%) of the systems cost. The size of the PV-system is directly
dependent on the size of the pump, the amount of water that is required (m/d) and the solar irradiance
available.
The purpose of the controller is twofold. Firstly, it matches the output power that the pump receives with
the input power available from the solar panels. Secondly, a controller usually provides a low voltage
protection, whereby the system is switched off, if the voltage is too low or too high for the operating
voltage range of the pump. This increases the lifetime of the pump thus reducing the need for
maintenance.
Voltage of the solar pump motors can be AC (alternating current) or DC (direct current). Direct current
motors are used for small to medium applications up to about 3 kW rating, and are suitable for
applications such as garden fountains, landscaping, drinking water for livestock, or small irrigation
projects. Since DC systems tend to have overall higher efficiency levels than AC pumps of a similar size,
the costs are reduced as smaller solar panels can be used.
Finally, if an alternating current solar pump is used, an inverter is necessary that changes the direct
current from the solar panels into alternating current for the pump. The supported power range of
inverters extends from 0.15 to 55 kW and can be used for larger irrigation systems. However, the panel
and inverters must be sized accordingly to accommodate the inrush characteristic of an AC motor.

Diagram:-

Figure: - 1

Figure:-2
WORKING:Water Pumping:Solar powered water pumps can deliver drinking water as well as water for livestock or irrigation
purposes. Solar water pumps may be especially useful in small scale or community based irrigation, as
large scale irrigation requires large volumes of water that in turn require a large solar PV array. [2] As the

water may only be required during some parts of the year, a large PV array would provide excess energy
that is not necessarily required, thus making the system inefficient.
Solar PV water pumping systems are used for irrigation and drinking water in India. The majority of the
pumps are fitted with a 2000 watt - 3,700 watt motor that receives energy from a 4,800 Wp PV array. The
5hp systems can deliver about 124,000 liters of water/day from a total of 50 meters setoff head and 70
meters dynamic head. By 30 August 2016, a total of 1,20,000 solar PV water pumping systems have been
installed in INDIA.
In general, there are two types of solar systems those that convert solar energy to D.C. power and those
that convert solar energy to heat. Both types have many applications in agricultural settings, making life
easier and helping to increase the operations productivity. First is solar generated electricity, called
photovoltaic (or PV). Photovoltaic are solar cells that convert sunlight to D.C. electricity. The solar cells
in a PV module are made from semiconductor materials. When light energy strikes the cell, electrons are
knocked loose from the materials atoms. Electrical conductors attached to the positive and negative sides
of the material allow the electrons to be captured in the form of a D.C. current. This electricity can then
be used to power a load, such as a water pump, or it can be stored in a battery. Its a simple fact that PV
modules produce electricity only when the sun is shining, so some form of energy storage is necessary to
operate systems at night. You can store the energy as water by pumping it into a tank while the sun is
shining and distributing it by gravity when its needed after dark. For electrical applications at night, you
will need a battery to store the energy generated during the day
CONCLUSION:The output of a solar pumping system is very dependent on good system design derived from accurate site
and demand data. It is therefore essential that accurate assumptions are made regarding water
demand/pattern of use and water availability including well yield and expected drawdown.
With a solar pump, energy is not available on demand, and the daily variation in solar power generation
necessitates the storage of a surplus of water pumped on sunny days for use on cloudy days, solar energy
needs to be reserved in the form of either electricity in batteries of lifted water in a storage tank. The
suitability of solar power for lifting water to irrigate plants is undeniable because of the complementary
between solar irradiance and water requirements of crops. The more intensively the sun is shining the
higher is the power to supply irrigation water while on the other hand on rainy days irrigation is neither
possible nor needed.
Water pumping has long been the most reliable and economic application of solar-electric (photovoltaic,
or PV) systems. Most PV systems rely on battery storage for powering lights and other appliances at night

or when the sun is not shining. Most PV pumping systems do not use batteries the PV modules power
the pump directly. Instead of storing energy in batteries, water is pumped into storage reservoirs for use
when the sun is not shining. Eliminating batteries from the system eliminates about 1/3 of the system cost
and most of the maintenance.
Without batteries, the PV pumping system is very simple. It consists of just three components: the solar
array, a pump controller and the pump. The only moving part is the pump. The solar modules are
warranted to produce for 20-25 years. The expected life of most controllers is 5-10 years. Pump life can
vary from 5 - 10+ years (and many are designed to be repaired in the field). Unless the pump or controller
fails, the only maintenance normally required is cleaning the solar modules every 2- 4 weeks! This task
obviously can be done cheaply by non-skilled local labor.