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About This Instructable
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Jonathanrjpereira
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Solar Power
Photovoltaic(Solar) systems do not use any Fuel. They last for 20+ years. They
are cost effective and are independent from a countries electricity grid. The Tags: Solar electronics green energy
cost of installation is almost the only cost. Solar Power is a Green Renewable electricity renewable
energy that will produce electricity as long as the Sun rises every morning.
Solar systems require low maintenance.
Related
Why go for a Solar Water Pump System?
S.P.R.E.E. (Solar
Photovoltaic
Renewable Electron
Encapsulator), a
Build a Qwik-Solar Step
by Step
by Conserver
Apartment Solar
System
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Solar Energy is a giant leap in the field of science which has enabled humans
to produce clean energy. In this step I am going to give you a brief introduction
into real economics, viability and applications of this Instructable.
Agriculture
Agriculture in developing nations isn't as efficient as it really should be. One of
the main problems of agriculture is water management. Even developing
nations which receive a good amount of water through rainfall fail to be efficient
in the field of agriculture.
The initial investment of solar energy is high. Buts lets put it in a developing
nation's agriculturists/farmers perspective. I have chosen my country India as
the perfect example of the best beneficiary from the use of solar energy.
EXAMPLE based on past experience:
The common farmer over here has to pay approximately Rs 50,000 to setup an
electrical connection to his/her farm depending on how far the nearest village
transformer/power distributor is from the farm. The farmer then has to buy a
pump to irrigate his land which could cost the farmer between Rs 5,000 -
35,000. The problem is in such areas Maintenance of Power lines is not carried
out and there is high variation in the supplied voltage. This causes the pumps
coil and windings to get damaged. This can lead to loss of efficiency or even
total damage to the pump. Farmers who have batteries and inverters for their
farms also suffer losses from the damage caused by voltage fluctuations to the
inverters,etc. Therefore the farmer has to also spend additional revenue in
buying replacement Pumps, inverters,etc.
Maintenance of the power lines has to be sometimes carried out by the farmer.
Irregular power failures and power shortages causes major losses of
agricultural output. Consider a 10 acre Cucumber crop plantation which should
ideally yield a harvest of approximately 1000kg/day. Lets say due to a power
outage, there is no power supplied to the farm for an entire day. This would
lead to the crop not being watered for a day and could result in significant
weight loss of the cucumbers. In country's such as India, farmers sell
vegetables based on weight and hence any weight loss would result in
significant losses. But all these problems can be solved by the implementation
of a Solar Water Pump System.
In India, there are mainly two crops: Kharif(Monsoon Crops) & Rabi(Winter
Crops). With the help of solar energy, I have been able to plant 4 different
crops. i.e. 2 additional crops excluding the Kharif and Rabi crops. I have been
able to irrigate a cucumber and watermelon crop in the middle of summer
which also has significantly increased my profits from agriculture, something I
wouldn't have been able to do without solar energy.
What about farmers belonging to developed nations?
Well apart from the above, farmers in developed nations can use solar energy
for their sprinkler systems in their greenhouses. You can check out the graphs
above to get an overview of the efficiency of solar water pump systems. They
can also use for artificial lighting to grow saplings. I have also seen a Solar
water pump systems being used in poultry(chicken) applications to cool the
sheds and provide drinking water to the poultry birds.
Household/Domestic Applications
The solar water pump system can be used to pump drinking water in societies
and buildings. The concept of 'Green Buildings' includes the use of solar water
pump systems for the purpose of drinking water and other sanitary uses of
water.
If you do not wish to use solar energy to pump water but instead to power your
house, check out some of my other Instructables:
DIY Solar+Wind House
Apartment Solar System
Apocalypse Preparedness
Imagine if their is an apocalypse & aliens attack all power stations! Protect
yourself from such events and install a Solar Water Pump System.
P.S: This application was included in view of the Apocalypse Preparedness
Contest :)
Layout Diagram.dwg 45 KB
In this step you will place 2 X 11ft I-beams at the remaining two corners.
1. The procedure for the placement and foundation is same as that of the first
two I-beams.
2. Ensure that the I-beams are perpendicular to the ground surface using a
Level Bottle.
In this step you will be using 2X 19.63ft C-channels and also 1X 24.46ft
C-channel.
1. Start by attaching either side of one 19.63ft C-channel to the top of the
Lower I-beams by bolting them together. Refer to the Layout diagram.
2. Do this for the other 19.63ft C-channel.
3. Next attach either side of the 24.46ft C-channel to the the top of the Lower
I-beams by bolting them together. Refer to the Layout Diagram.
4. Ensure that the C-channel are parallel to the ground surface with the help
of a Level Bottle.
Step 9: Adding the Inclined C-channel
In this step you will be using 5X 20.84ft C-channel. This step also involves
welding.
1. Start by placing one of the C-channel at each end as shown in the layout
diagram.
2. Next place one of the C-channel at the centre as shown in the layout
diagram.
3. Place one C-channel between the Centre and outermost C-channel on
either side.
Weld all the joints using a Welding Machine. Use all necessary welding and
safety equipment. Keep a fire extinguisher around incase of a fire.
Note: If you do not wish to weld, you can attach the inclined C-channel by
bolting it to the entire structure.
In this step you can either use C-channel or Aluminium Box Channel. In this
step you will be using 6x 20.18ft C-channel.
1. Start by placing the C-channel from one side of the structure horizontally
such that they are parallel to each other as shown in the layout diagram.
2. The spacing between two C-channel should be 3ft.
3. One placed and aligned properly as shown in the layout diagram, weld or
bolt them to the structure.
Before connecting the Solar array to the Solar Pump System Controller we
must connect a Circuit Breaker(CB) between them.
1. Place 6 Circuit Breakers(CB) in a PVC Box.
2. Connect the Positive wire from each string to one end of a separate
CB.(Input of CB)
3. Connect the Negative wire from each string to one end of a separate
CB.(Input of CB)
4. Connect the output of the 3 Positive CB's together.
5. Connect the output of the 3 Negative CB's together.
6. Now connect these to the inputs of a screw terminal.
7. Connect additional wires from the output of the screw terminals to the input
'Power IN' of the Solar Pump System Controller.
8. Connect wires from the 'L1,L2,L3' & 'Ground' terminals of the solar pump
system controller to the matching numbers on the pump leads. Note: Other
combinations may cause reverse rotation!
9. Some pumps come along with additional connections such as Low Water
Probe, Float Switch, Battery System,etc. Follow the manual instructions for
more details.
10. Connect the Water output of the pump to a long pipe and ensure that it is
secured properly. Lower the pump into the water source and switch it on.3
The Solar Pump System controller is the brain of the entire project. It basically
regulates the current supplied to the pump from the solar panels.
The Power IN,L1,L2,L3 and Ground connector terminals are in the controller.
Most Solar Pump System Controllers come along with LED indicators. Given
below are the descriptions of the LED indicator functions of the controller that I
have used.
System(green)
When the LED is Green, the controller is switched on and the power source is
present. In low-power conitions, the light may show even if there is not enough
power to run the pump.
Pump ON(green)
Motor is turning. Sequence of flashing indicates pump speed. Pump speed
(RPM) can be read of the flashing sequence of the Pump ON LED as follows:
LED ON > 900
1 flash > 1,200
2 flashes > 1,600
3 flashes > 2,000
4 flashes > 2,400
5 flashes > 2,800
If the Pump Overloads, the LED will change to red.
Source Low(red)
If the water source has dropped below the level of the low water probe. After
the water level recovers, the pump will restart, but this light will slowly flash
until the sun goes down, power is interrupted, or the power switch is reset.
This indicates that the water source ran low at least once since the previous
off/on cycle.
Tank Full(red)
Pump is turned off by action of the remote float switch.
Aquaponics man! let's help the farmers maximize their time, space,
and reduce waste!
How about an example price? What did you pay where you
are? Any suggestions on where to purchase the panels?
nice idea really, I don't if I could afford this myself, good idea for third
world countries, for them getting clean water, like Africa, or india. also
good for remote areas. thank you for your sharing your project online,
steve bull
Where did you get the pump? What are the specs?
Cool!!
Thanks a lot.
seamster 5 days ago Reply
Thanks a lot.