SUMMARY

Solar Powered Pump for Irrigation System

SUMMARY SOLAR POWERED PUMP FOR IRRIGATION SYSTEM

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Water pumping is an energy intensive activity and consumes a large amount of electricity

depending on the farm’s irrigation area. Solar energy, which is abundantly available in

Jordan, can be used for pumping water via solar Photovoltaic technology. In this study, we

try to understand the performance of the solar PV water pumps in Al-Baqa’a. The "Alissar

Farm" we visited included pumps electrically supplied from local grid.

Proper study was made for the solar system in accordance with Jordan Electric Power

Company (JEPCO). Irrigation loads, working hours and power consumption were taken from

actual conditions. On other hand, the designing of On-grid and Off-grid solar systems were

accomplished by calculate the power pumps required and obtaining the actual electric

consumption using electrical bills for year 2013.

Jordan imports most of its energy needs. The energy issue has formed a difficult challenge

for Jordan. Its lack of conventional commercial energy resources places a burden on the

national economy due to the relatively high cost of imported oil and the high energy

investment needed for economic and social development of the country.

With every challenge comes an opportunity, and that is to become self-sufficient, and

reliant on your own natural resources. Jordan is in fact very rich in renewable resources but,

due to a lack of investment and foresight, these resources have not been exploited.

1. Solar Powered Pump

Solar powered water pumps can deliver drinking water as well as water for livestock or

irrigation purposes. Solar water pumps may especially be useful in small scale or community

based irrigation, as large scale irrigation requires large volumes of water that in turn require a

large solar photovoltaic (PV) array.

Usually the main load for agricultural company is the pump load, this is the reason of this

project to focus on solar powered pump and it can also be more environmentally friendly

and economical in its operation compared to pump powered by an internal combustion

engine (ICE) and in order to replace or decrease the electrical consumption from local grid

and generating power from PV solar system. A solar powered pump consists of two main

parts: namely the actual pump and the energy source being powered by the sun. It can

provide a reliable water supply.

SUMMARY SOLAR POWERED PUMP FOR IRRIGATION SYSTEM

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2. Background

Renewable energy resources - particularly solar - can technically provide Jordan needs of

energy in the future. The development and use of such forms of energy helps sustainable

development through economic growth and pollution control. The replacement of fossil fuel

by renewable and clean forms of energy would relieve the environment from serious types of

pollution. Investment in renewable forms of energy would at least partially relieve Jordan

from burdens of oil imports as well as the creation of new job opportunities.

Jordan lies in the so-called earth-sun belt area and has a high potential of solar energy,

where the annual averages of global solar energy is about 1800 kWh/m2

per year. (Yearly

average solar radiation on a fixed tilted surface is more than 6 kwh/m2 per day).

Due to the high consumption of electricity by agricultural sector where farms are often far

from grids which add more cost on electrical companies by connecting the whole sector on

grid electricity. So, here came the idea of this project.

This project is simply an irrigation system that will be electrically supplied by solar system

"photovoltaic cells". The main advantages referred to the electrical consumption of the

country with respect to reduce the energy bill, pollution and green house effect.

This project consists of five chapters, among which this introduction is the First.

Chapter Two covers the irrigation systems followed by chapter Three which covers the solar

power system, next chapter covers calculations overview of electrical load and head losses in

the pipes and calculations of photovoltaic system sizing, the last chapter covers the results,

discussion and conclusions.

3. Statement of the problem

Alissar Flowers Company has a farm at Al-Baqa'a which is located about 20 km north of

Jordan's capital Amman. It has begun growing flowers since 1979. Since then it has

improved it's irrigation systems, components and methods without any development in the

energy source which is supplied by the local grid "Jordan Electric Power Company

(JEPCO)".

There are three levels through which water passes to reach the desired irrigation process,

these levels include starting with water source, conveying to Filtration and Fertilizing level,

and finally irrigation level.

SUMMARY SOLAR POWERED PUMP FOR IRRIGATION SYSTEM

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The farm is divided into four small systems A, B, C and D. Each has a number of

greenhouses and time required for irrigation, controlled by control room and it has a network

of Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) and Polyethylene (PE) pipes.

After a thorough investigation about the farm capability to replace the energy source for

irrigation with solar energy system, to economize the energy bill of the farm, the idea was

presented to the owners of the company and won their admiration.

In order to reduce the energy consumption there are two subjects that must be checked,

first, the water circuits head losses and any leakages should be taken into considerations.

Second, collect the important data for photovoltaic system design and make sure about the

right way to solve the problem of energy consumption. The farm's electrical bill is nearly

about 300 JD every month which is a significant burden should be minimize by this project

because the largest load in the farm is the water pumping for irrigation system.

4. Objectives

1- Identify the irrigation system and its components.

2- Calculate the losses due to the friction in fittings and pipes.

3- Calculate the power needed for pump.

4- Design an appropriate solar system with the farm's electrical loads.

5- Show the differences between the ON and OFF- grid systems.

6- Calculate the cost for the project and feasibility study.

7- Study the capability of applying this project in Jordanian agriculture sector.

8- Understand the photovoltaic systems and select the perfect practicable system to solve

the problem of farm's energy consumption.

SUMMARY SOLAR POWERED PUMP FOR IRRIGATION SYSTEM

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4. Calculations and Results

Pump's Power Data and Calculation Results

Alissar Flowers irrigation systems data:

Table (1): Lengths, types and diameters of pipes

System

Main Pipe Drip Pipe

Type Length

(m)

Diameter

(m) Type

Length

(m)

Diameter

(m)

Reservoir PVC 10 0.09 - - -

A PE 205 0.063 PE 1000 0.016

B PE 85 0.063 PE 800 0.016

C PVC 138 0.09 PE 800 0.016

D PE 220 0.063 PE 400 0.016

Table(2): Mass flow rate of water

System Flow (m3/hour)

Reservoir 8

A 8

B 8

C 8

D 6

Table (3): Static pressure of water in pipes and elevation.

System P1 (bar) P2 (bar) Z1(m) Z2(m)

Reservoir 0 3.0 -1 2

A 0 1.2 1.5 0

B 0 1.2 1.5 0

C 0 1.2 1.5 0

D 0 1.2 -1 0

SUMMARY SOLAR POWERED PUMP FOR IRRIGATION SYSTEM

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Alissar Flowers irrigation system results:

Table (4): Head loss in all pipes

System HL in Main

Pipe (m)

HL in Drip

Lines

(m)

HL due to

Fitting

(m)

Total

Reservoir 0.015 ------ ------ 0.015

A 1.8 31.25 1.05 34.1

B 0.75 25 1.05 26.8

C 0.22 25 1.05 26.27

D 1.16 7.53 0.59 9.28

After calculating all pumps power needed the results are shown in the following table:

System Power needed

KW (HP)

Power applied

KW (HP)

Work hours

Total load (Pc)

KWh/day

Reservoir 1.046 (1.402) 1.492 (2) 13 19.396

A 1.392 (1.86) 1.492 (2) 13 19.396

B 1.165 (1.56) 1.492 (2) 7 10.444

C 1.149 (1.54) 1.492 (2) 5 7.46

D 0.525 (0.704) 0.746 (1) 1 0.746

Table (5): Total power needed for all pumps

Total 57.442

SUMMARY SOLAR POWERED PUMP FOR IRRIGATION SYSTEM

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Photovoltaic System Calculation Results

On-Grid System:

Table ( 6): Optimum orientation of solar Photovoltaic panels in the "On-grid" system

Optimum orientation

of Photovoltaic (PV)

Panels (Modules)

Situation of the PV Panels Fixed (No Tracking)

Peak Sun Hours (PSH) 5.5 h/day

Latitude Angle (Ø) 32°N

Length of the PV panels 1956mm=1.956m

Tilt Angle (β) from horizontal, South facing 26°

Azimuth Angle (γ) 0°

Altitude Angle (α) 25°

Linear distance - length of shadow (d) 3.597m

Required area (space) for the PV Panels

Table (7) : Sizing of Photovoltaic panels for "On-grid" system

Photovoltaic

Panels

Total Watt-peak rating needed for PV panels 10.444 KWp

Manufacturer Trina Solar Smart Energy

Together Company

Model TSM-PC14A,TSM-PA14A,

the Honey module

Number of PV panels 36 Panel

Peak Power Watts-PMAX for each panel (Wp) 300 W = 0.3 KW

Open circuit voltage (Voc) 45 Volt

Temperature coefficient of (Voc) -0.32% /°C

Short circuit current (Isc) 8.70 A

Maximum Efficiency (ɳ) 16.0%

SUMMARY SOLAR POWERED PUMP FOR IRRIGATION SYSTEM

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Table (8): Sizing of "On- grid" inverter

ON-Grid

Inverter

Single Phase Output (1Φ)

String Inverter

Outdoor

Manufacturer Power One Company

Type AURORA

Model PVI-4.2-TL-OUTD

Maximum Efficiency 96.8 %

Number of Independent MPPT 2

Maximum DC input power for each MPPT [ PMPPT, max] 3000 watt =3 KW

Maximum inverter power 6000W = 6 KW

Number of inverter 2

Total Maximum inverter power 12000 watt = 12 KW

Number of Strings for each inverter 2

Number of panels for each string 9 panels

Number of panels for each inverter 18 panels

Absolute Maximum DC input voltage of the inverter

(Vmax,abs)

600 volt

Maximum Input Short Circuit Current for each MPPT

(Isc, max)

20 A

Total string voltage 1575 volt

Minimum recorded temperature in Jordan -2°C

Increasing in voltage 136.08 volt

SUMMARY SOLAR POWERED PUMP FOR IRRIGATION SYSTEM

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Off-Grid System :

Table (9): Optimum orientation of the solar Photovoltaic panels in the "Off-grid" system

Optimum orientation

of PV panels

Situation of the PV Panels Fixed (No Tracking)

Peak Sun Hours (PSH) 5.5 h/day

Panel Generation Factor (PGF) 4.455 h/day

Latitude Angle (Ø) 32°N

Length of the PV panels 1956mm=1.956m

Tilt Angle (β) from horizontal, South facing 26°

Azimuth Angle (γ) 0°

Altitude Angle (α) 25°

Linear distance - length of shadow (d) 3.597m

Required area (space) for the PV Panels

Table (10): Sizing of Photovoltaic panels for "Off-grid" system

Photovoltaic

panels

Total Watt-peak rating needed for PV panels 15.473 KWp

Manufacturer Trina Solar Smart Energy

Together Company

Model TSM-PC14A,TSM-PA14A,

the Honey module

Number of PV panels 52 Panel

Peak Power Watts-PMAX for each panel (Wp) 300W =0.3 KW

Open circuit voltage (Voc) 45 Volt

Temperature coefficient of (Voc) -0.32% /°C

Short circuit current (Isc) 8.70 A

Maximum Efficiency (ɳ) 16.0%

SUMMARY SOLAR POWERED PUMP FOR IRRIGATION SYSTEM

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Table (11): Sizing of "Off- grid" inverter

OFF-Grid

Inverter

Single phase output (1Φ)

Indoor

Manufacturer ALIBABA GROUP COMPANY

Type Off-grid indoor solar inverter with

solar controller AC charger

Model GTS-C103096

Maximum Efficiency (ɳ) 90 %

Maximum Inverter Power (Rated

Power)

10000 W= 10 KW

Number of Inverter 1

Rated Voltage (VDC) 96 Volt

Solar charge

controller

Solar charge controller rating (size

of charge controller )

542.88 A

Table (12): Sizing of batteries

BATTERIES

Nominal battery voltage (V) 2 Volt

Round Trip Battery Efficiency (RTBE) 85 %

Depth Of Discharge (DOD) 80 %

Manufacturer RITAR POWER COMPANY

Type AGM BATTERIES, RL- SERIES

Model RL-23000 (3000Ah)

Autonomy days (AD) 3 Day (72 Hours)

Required Capacity of all batteries (Ah

Required)

140789.2 Ah

Capacity of each Battery at (10 hours) 3000 Ah

Capacity of each Battery at (72 hours) 21600 Ah

Number of Batteries 7 Batteries

Connection Manner Parallel

SUMMARY SOLAR POWERED PUMP FOR IRRIGATION SYSTEM

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5. Feasibility study

Electricity fees in Jordan for agricultural sector is equal to 0.06 JD/KWh according to

Jordan Electric Power Company (JEPCO).

By comparing between pump's electricity annual cost and the cost of the on-grid system;

the payback period for the system should be:

years ≈ 13 years .

By comparing between pump's electricity annual cost and the cost of the off-grid system;

the payback periods for the system should be:

years ≈ 17.2 years .

Thus, the total saving amount from electrical energy cost due to irrigation system "for

On-grid PV installation" is about 14,889 JD during 25 years.

6. Conclusion

Total electrical load of "Alissar Flowers" from the company's bills history during 2013 is

4810 KWh/month, but the power needed for pumps (irrigation system) is only 1723.26

KWh/month about 36% of the total load. The rest is the farm facility's load.

Depending on the bills history of Alissar Flowers, the average value of bills is about 300

JD/month during 2013, where as the irrigation system takes about 36% of total bill,

i.e.108 JD paid for irrigation load per month and it’s approximately 1296 JD from 3600

JD per year.

The efficiency of solar cells is inversely proportional with the temperature, when the

temperature increases the efficiency decreases and vice versa.

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If more PV panels are installed then the system will perform better, whereas fewer PV

panels are used, the system may not work at all during cloudy weathers.

The main difference between On and Off-grid systems are that the Off-grid system has a

charge controller, battery and Off-grid inverter, without a smart meter.

The more peak sun hours, the more power can be produced from a solar PV system.

If the surface of PV panels is moved to follow the sun, the energy will increase. This

technology is called Tracking of PV arrays. In summer a tracking system achieves around

50% radiation gained in sunny days, and in winter 300% or more, compared to a

horizontal surface (fixed). But the tracking system requires to continuous maintenance,

cooling system to avoid high temperature and high cost compared with fixed system.

After 25 years the efficiency of the system will drop to 80%, so more panels have to be

installed to cover the shortage in power.

7. Recommendations

The on grid system in irrigation sector is more feasible, because it has a low capital costs

and short payback period. Whereas the off grid system is more applicable, because the

farms are often far from electric local grids.

The capability of applying this project in Jordanian agriculture sector is not feasible,

because the Jordanian government supports the agriculture sector, where the electricity

fees in Jordan for agricultural sector is equal to 0.06 JD/KWh according to Jordan

Electric Power Company (JEPCO).