Technical Information Online

Solar Photovoltaic Waterpumping

Technical Briefs and Manuals: English

Introduction

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

The relative merits of the various pumping methods are laid out in Table 1 below.

Table 1: Comparison of pumping techniques

Applications

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. 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. While applications of solar water pumping for irrigation are on the increase especially in India and China.

A solar irrigation system (Figure 2) needs to take account of the fact that demand for irrigation water will vary throughout the year. Peak demand during the irrigation seasons is often more than twice the average demand. This means that solar pumps for irrigation can be under-utilised 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 minimise water losses, without imposing significant additional head on the pumping system and be of low cost.

The suitability of major irrigation systems for use with solar pumps is shown in Table 2.

Table 2: Suitability of major irrigation methods for use with solar pumps

The technology

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.

Motor

This can be DC or AC. If an AC motor is used then an inverter is also needed. AC motors are more widely available.

Inverters have become cheap and efficient and solar pumping systems use special electronically controlled variable-frequency inverters which will optimise matching between the panel and the pump. A typical AC system would also need batteries which require maintenance and add to the cost as the system is less efficient and would need a larger array.

The most efficient type of DC motor is a permanent magnet motor. CD motors may have carbon brushes which replacing when they wear out, If a brushed dc motor is used then the equipment will need to be pulled up from the well (approximately every 2 years) to replace brushes.

Brushless designs of CD motors exist where electrical circuits are used instead of commentators and brushes. These are becoming popular in solar pumping systems.

Brushless dc motors would require electronic commutation. 

Solar Panels

The basic principles of solar photovoltaic panels are explained in the Practical Action Technical Brief Solar Photovoltaic Energy

Some models use a GPS sensor to provide latitude, longitude and time data to enable the controller to calculate the position of the sun and position the solar array.

The Pump

Pump options and the system configuration are described below

Submersible Pumps

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 pumpset is submerged away from potential damage.

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 a 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.

Positive displacement helical pumps

Helical pumpshave 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.

Submerged 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 pumpset.

Floating motor pump sets

The versatility of the floating unit set, makes it ideal for irrigation pumping for canals and open wells. The pumpset 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.

Surface suction pumpsets

This type of pumpset 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 metres.

Less common types of solar powered pumps include solar PV powered reciprocating piston (nodding donkey) pumps and solar thermal pumps or thermosyphones pumps exits but are not commercially used.

Performance

Solar pumps are available to pump from anywhere in the range of up to 200m head and with outputs of up to 250m³/day.

Solar pumping technology continues to improve. In the early 1980s the typical solar energy to hydraulic (pumped water) energy efficiency was around 2% with the photovoltaic array being 6‑8% efficient and the motor pumpset typically 25% efficient. Today, an efficient solar pump might have an average daily solar energy to hydraulic efficiency of more than 9% but lower efficiencies of 2 -3% are still common.

It is important to get the most efficient pump available as the difference in cost between the poor pump and a very efficient pump is much less that the additional cost required for a larger PV panel. Accurate sizing of the array is important in keeping costs down.

A good sub-system (that is the motor, pump and any power conditioning) should have an electrical to hydraulic efficiency of around 70% using positive displacement pumps. With diaphragm pumps the efficiency will be around 45% and centrifugal pumps might have an efficiency of 20%. 

Procurement

Assessing requirements

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.

Domestic water use per capita tends to vary greatly depending on availability.  The long-term aim is to provide people with water in sufficient quantities to meet all requirements for drinking, washing and sanitation.  WHO guidelines aim for a per capita provision of 40 to 50 litres per day for domestic use only, thus a village of 500 people has a requirement of 20 cubic metres per day. Most villages have a need for combined domestic and livestock watering which will require much greater amounts of water.

Irrigation requirements depend upon crop water requirements, effective groundwater contributions and efficiency of the distribution and field application system.

Irrigation requirements can be determined by consultation with local experts and agronomists or by reference to FAO document: Crop evapotranspiration - Guidelines for computing crop water requirements - FAO Irrigation and drainage paper 56, Richard G. Allen, Luis S. Pereira, Dirk Raes, Martin Smith http://www2.webng.com/bahirdarab/Evapotranspiration.pdf

Also see

• Micro-Irrigation Practical Action Technical Brief
• Modern Irrigation Technologies for Smallholders in Developing Countries 
• Operation and Maintenance of Small Irrigation Schemes 
• Small-scale Irrigation 

Assessing water availability

Several water source parameters need to be taken into account and where possible measured. These are the depth of the water source below ground level, the height of the storage tank or water outlet point above ground level and seasonal variations in water level. The drawdown or drop in water level after pumping has commenced also needs to be considered for well and borehole supplies. This will depend on the ratio between pumping rate and the rate of refill of the water source, and should be measured and/or provided by those who drill the borehole  In addition, there is usually a seasonal variation in the water level , and a long term trend in the water table level dropping.

The pattern of water use should also be considered in relation to system design and storage requirements. Water supply systems should include sufficient covered water storage to provide for daily water requirements and short periods of cloudy weather. Generally, two to five days water demand is stored.

Sizing solar pumps

The hydraulic energy required (kWh/day)

=          volume required (m³/day) x head (m) x water density x gravity / (3.6 x 10⁶)

=          0.002725 x volume (m³/day) x head (m)

The solar array power required (kWp) =

            Hydraulic energy required (kWh/day)                

Av. daily solar irradiation (kWh/m²/day x F x E)

where F = array mismatch factor = 0.80 on average (a safety factor for real panel performance in hot sun and after 10-20 years)

and       E = daily subsystem efficiency = 0.25 - 0.40 typically

Economics

In general photovoltaic pumps are economic compared to diesel pumps up to approximately 3kWp for village water supply and to around 1kWp for irrigation.

Links and further reading

• Solar Water Pumping Guide (63 pages - 4Mb pdf file) Green Empowerment. This step-by-step guide was developed to step NGOs through the technical and community feasibility, initial design and budgeting aspects of solar water pumping projects. You can download the document below.
• Solar Energy for Rural Communities: The Case of Namibia Yaron, Gil; Forbes, Tani and Jansson, Sven, Practical Action Publishing
• Solar Water Pumping: A Handbook Jeff Kenna and Bill Gillett, Practical Action Publishing
• Water Lifting Devices: A Handbook Third Edition  Peter Fraenkel and Jeremy Thake, Practical Action Publishing
• Practical Guide to Solar Photovoltaic Systems for Technicians: Sizing, installation and maintenance  Louineau, Jean-Paul, Practical Action Publishing
• Electricity Services in Remote Rural Communities: The Small Enterprise Model Sanchez Teodoro, Practical Action Publishing
• A Cost and Reliability Comparison Between Solar and Diesel Powered Pumps Solar Electric Light Fund (SELF), 2008
• Theft prevention measures for PV systems Emcon Consulting Group, Namibia

Useful addresses

Suppliers

The most suitable suppler will depend on the part of the world in which the pump is to installed. Information on equipment suppliers can be found on the following websites.

• http://energy.sourceguides.com/
• http://www.ecobusinesslinks.com/solar_energy_solar_power_panels.htm

Below is a sample list of suppliers and does not imply endorsement by Practical Action.

The Old School
Eglwysfach
Machynlleth
SY20 8SX
United Kingdom
Tel & Fax: +44 (0)1654 781 241
E-mail:
Web: http://www.brightlightsolar.com
Professional renewable energy products and solutions suppliers. International experience on solar water pumping.

This document was last updated in 2010 based on information provided by Michel Maupoux, of Green Empowerment, who has installed solar water pumps in Nicaragua and the Philippines.

Practical Action is a development charity with a difference. We know the simplest ideas can have the most profound, life-changing effect on poor people across the world. For over 40 years, we have been working closely with some of the world’s poorest people - using simple technology to fight poverty and transform their lives for the better. We currently work in 15 countries in Africa, South Asia and Latin America.

This article was added to our catalogue on Tuesday 24 October, 2006.

sayed shah - 25/05/2007 
iam from bangladesh , have done my msc in renewableenergy underthe topics sustainable development through renewableenergies. On these regards i am worganising in rural artea with solar cookers and solar driers and other solar product mobile ngo schooling.

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