DEVELOPMENT OF A SOLAR PHOTOVOLTAIC (PV) SYSTEM FOR SMALL-SCALE WATER PUMPING
Abstract
The paper presented a small-scale solar photovoltaic (PV) water pumping system for domestic use, designed to replace traditional fuel-based pumps to combat climate change and rising fuel prices. The system uses a 20 W monocrystalline PV module, three 12 V brushless DC pumps, a 12 V, 7.5 Ah sealed lead-acid battery, a 12 V MPPT solar charge controller, and dual 20 L storage tanks. The design process included site-specific solar resource assessment, hydraulic sizing, electrical sizing, and energy balance calculations. The prototype was tested over several days with different levels of irradiance, resulting in a measured daily energy from the PV of 70-75 Wh, total power used by the pump of 14.4 W, combined pump flow of 660-840 L/h, and daily water supply of 92-120 L. The battery provided 6-6 hours of backup during low irradiance periods. The study presented an inexpensive, portable SPVWPS with a solar-to-water efficiency of 1.3-1.6 L/Wh and a system performance ratio suitable for small off-grid systems.
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