सदस्य चर्चा:Nilesh Phatak

solar water pump

india is country of 638,000 villages and more than seventy percent of India’s population is involved in agriculture and allied businesses. Small & subsistence farmers are entirely dependent on variable rainfall and groundwater to fulfill irrigation need of their crops. In India, it is estimated, government subsidizes electricity for irrigation between Rs 30000 and 40000 corers each year. There are an estimated 21 million irrigation pumps in India out of which over 9 million run on diesel and 12 million are on the electricity grid. Electricity consumption by irrigation pump sets alone accounts between 10-15% of India’s total electricity consumption. India’s irrigation pumps are also believed to be far less efficient than those uses in other parts of the world. A source of energy to pump water is also a big problem in developing countries like India. Developing a grid system is often too expensive because rural villages are frequently located too far away from existing grid lines. Even if fuel is available within the country, transporting that fuel to remote, rural villages can be difficult. There are no roads or supporting infrastructure in many remote villages. The use of renewable energy is attractive for water pumping applications in remote areas of India. Transportation of renewable energy systems, such as photovoltaic (PV) pumps, is much easier than the other types because they can be transported in pieces and reassembled on site. Therefore solar operated photovoltaic water pumping system provides better sustainable alternative option to fulfill irrigation requirement of agriculture. Solar photovoltaic (PV) water pumping has been recognized as suitable for gridisolated rural locations in poor countries where there are high levels of solar radiation. Solar photovoltaic water pumping systems can provide drinking water without the need for any kind of fuel or the extensive maintenance as required by diesel pumps. They allow people to devote more time to productive activities and thus improve life style, health and economic conditions. Additionally, they create new jobs in remote rural areas of the country. The drudgery of women and children who are otherwise engaged in bringing water from far of distances can be reduced significantly. Although the cost of solar photovoltaic water pumping systems is initially high, they demand virtually no maintenance, require no fuel and thus save on foreign exchange. They are easy to install and operate, highly reliable, durable and modular, which enables its future expansion. Operation of Solar Water Pumping System A solar photovoltaic array directly generates electricity from the sun’s light with no moving or wearing parts. Here solar radiations are converted in to direct current (DC electricity) and this generated electricity is used to pump water through groundwater source. The size of the pump is designed based on the total requirement of water for irrigation of crop and total head. The size of the solar array is designed considering availability of yearly solar radiations on location, and power required to operate water pump.

Components Involved in the System

1. Solar PV array: The Solar PV array is a set of photovoltaic modules connected in series and possibly strings of modules connected in parallel.

2. Controller: The Controller is an electronic device which matches the PV power to the motor and regulates the operation of the pump according to the input from the solar PV array.

3. Pump Set: Pump sets generally comprise of the motor, which drives the operation and the actual pump which moves the water under pressure.

Advantages

1. Reliable and long life.

2. Produces water when it’s needed most.

3. Low labor and maintenance cost.

4. 4. No fuel costs.