Solar Radiation Effect on Solar Powered Pump

Performance of an Automatic Sprinkler System

Yulius Mases Tresna Dewi Rusdianasari

2021 International Conference on Electrical and Information Technology (IEIT) | 978-1-6654-1786-0/21/$31.00 ©2021 IEEE | DOI: 10.1109/IEIT53149.2021.9587360

Applied Master of Renewable Energy Electrical Engineering Department Renewable Energy Department
Engineering Politeknik Negeri Sriwijaya Politeknik Negeri Sriwijaya
Politeknik Negeri Sriwijaya Palembang, Indonesia Palembang, Indonesia
Palembang, Indonesia [email protected] [email protected]
[email protected]

Abstract— The depletion of conventional energy leads to a energy sources [15]-[17]. Solar energy has a wide range of
quest for alternative renewable energy abundant in Indonesia. applications, one of which is for all equipment that operates
Solar-powered equipment is sufficient in South Sumatra, which continually in an open space [18]-[20]. Solar energy is ideal
is blessed with high irradiance all year long. This paper presents for outdoor installed equipment that receives continuous
the application of solar energy in generating electricity to power sunlight, for example, the application of agricultural
an automatic sprinkler system. Two 100 Wp solar panels are equipment as a source of electricity for irrigation pumps or
installed to harvest solar irradiance. The high solar irradiance automatic sprinklers [20]-[25].
leads to more increased water flow pumped by the solar power
pump, in which the highest irradiance received by the PV panels This paper investigates the effect of solar radiation on a
was 1636.7 W/m2. The minimum irradiance needed by the solar- solar-powered pump for automatic sprinkler installed in an
powered pump to operate is 500 W/m2. The experiment was academic education named AKIPBA (Akademi Komunitas
conducted for 30 days to show the PV panel performance, where Pertambangan Bukit Asam), located in the city of Tanjung
the highest power produced by 2 PV panels was 148W, and the Enim in Muara Enim regency. Tanjung Enim is 62-229
maximum water pumped was 0.0113 m3. The experiment shows meters above sea level, between 40-60 South Latitude and
that the solar irradiance in Tanjung Enim is sufficient to power 1040-1060 East Longitude with average irradiance received at
an automatic sprinkler system. 800-1100 W/m2 at midday (10.00 AM - 02.00 PM).
Keywords—PV panel performance, photovoltaic effect,
renewable energy, solar irradiance, solar-powered pump.
II. AUTOMATIC SPRINKLER DESIGN
I. INTRODUCTION
This paper analyzes the performance of a solar-powered
People are starting to realize that they can no longer meet pump installed to an automatic sprinkler applied to a student’s
their energy needs by relying on depleted conventional energy dormitory in Tanjung Enim. Fig. 1 shows the site plan where
sources. Indonesia, particularly South Sumatra, has long the sprinkler is installed. The distance between the well as the
believed that it possesses abundant energy resources, water source and the automatic sprinkler system is 34 m.
including oil and coal. South Sumatra is known as an energy
barn because it has an abundance of coal mines, sufficient oil, Fig. 2 shows the schematic diagram of the automatic
and enough gas supply. sprinkler system considered in this study. The pump is
powered by two PV panels with 100 Wp each. The power
On the other hand, as technology advances, more energy produced by PV panels is charged to the battery equipped with
is required. Hence it appears to be inversely related to demand an MPPT controller to ensure the battery is always in peak
and availability of energy (supply). This condition can be capacity and prevents overcharging.
solved by utilizing renewable energy or other energy that
never runs out. It turns out that the most significant energy A programmable Logic Controller (PLC) is used to ensure
comes from the sky in the form of solar energy, which is that the watering schedule is consistently met. The PLC is
always available in tropical locations like South Sumatra. controlled by a ladder diagram translated from the automatic
Electric power is the most required energy for technology and sprinkler system's input and output circuits. PLC installed in
economic growth, and as predicted, Indonesia's economy this sprinkler system is Smart Relay Zelio Logic by Schneider
grows each year, then the energy need is growing with input voltage 12 Vdc, analog input number 4, 4 relays
exponentially. In 2025, Indonesia's electricity demand is output, and built-in clock.
expected to be around 120 GW [1][2]. The solar-powered pump can stand a maximum flow of
The sun's promising energy has led scientists to research 1.5 m3/H with an input power of 180 W, which the two
this field and find the best way to harvest the energy [4]-[14]. 100Wp solar panels can facilitate. The battery is 12 V and 32
The Indonesian government fosters renewable energy Ah of capacity. A solar charge controller is implemented to
development by collaborating with state-owned companies to ensure no overcharge on devices with 40 A and 12/24V.
actively develop and deploy solar energy and other renewable

978-1-6654-1786-0/21/$31.00 © 2021 IEEE

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 The voltage and current produced by the PV panel
considered in this system are considered as I and V . The
characteristic of a solar cell before connected to the load is the
short circuit current and the open-circuit voltage. The short
circuit current (I ) is produced when the voltage in the solar
cell is 0 (V 0). The short circuit current (I ) of a PV cell is
given by

I I _ K T T , (1)

where K is the cell short circuit current temperature, G is the

solar irradiance (KW/m2), T is the temperature (oK), I is
initial current (A), STC is a standard operating condition given Fig 2. Schematic diagram of the automatic sprinkler system.
by Table I. Table I is the technical specification of PV panels
in this study.
TABLE I. TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS OF PV PANELS IN THIS STUDY
The open-circuit voltage is the voltage across the output
terminal when the current is 0 ( I 0 ). The open-circuit Technical Specifications
voltage is given by Maximum Power (Pm) 100 W
Voltage at Pmax (Vmp) 17.8 V
Current at Pmax (Imp) 5.62 A
nkT I Open Circuit Voltage (Voc) 21.8 V
V ln % 1' Short Circuit Current (Isc) 6.05 A
q I (2) STC 1000 W/m2, 25oC, AM 1.5

where n is diode ideality factor (1 for an ideal diode), k is the III. RESULT AND DISCUSSION
Boltzmann constant (1.380649 . 10/01 m2 kg s-1 K-1), where
I is output current (A), and I is reverse saturation current The experimental testbed to investigate the solar radiation
(A). effect on a solar-powered pump installed on an automatic
sprinkler system is given in Fig. 3. Fig 3 shows its position in
AKIPBA, where the site plan is given in Fig. 1.
The automatic sprinkler system and AKIPBA position in
google maps are shown in Fig. 4. AKIPBA's position in South
Sumatra, which is in the equator, makes the PV panels receive
abundant solar radiation, effectively power the pump, and
makes the system working well. The controller's wiring used
to automate the sprinkler system in Fig. 3 is shown in Fig. 5,
which consists of MPPT, PLC, and switches.
The sprinkler system shown in Fig 3 can be an automatic
or manual sprinkler. The manual system can be conducted by
bypassing the PLC and using the switch. The measurement
was conducted to take the voltage and current during loaded
(Vout and Iout) and no-load (Voc and Isc).
The rainfall in August-September 2020 was in the medium
category, according to the BMKG (Indonesian's Meteorology,
Fig 1. Site plan of an automatic sprinkler system. Climatology, and Geophysics Council). Indonesia is in the
transition from the dry to the rainy season. The BMKG data
shows that 69% of Indonesia's area experience days without
rain, and 31% had rainy days. From that 31%, 13.2% got a
short rainy period, 1.7% average rain, 2.8% long term rain
period, 2.7% very long term, and 2.9% is in the extremely long
term. Furthermore, the August-September 2020 weather data
shows that 65.07 % of Indonesia's territory experienced Upper
Normal rain, 22.79% had average rain, and 12.14% was in
Lower Normal rain. The extreme daily rainfall (>100
mm/day) is 6.68%, and in contrast, 69% of days without rain.
Hence, the rainfall in Tanjung Enim in August-September
2020 was moderate and medium. A daily data recap of
weather conditions during experiments is given in Fig 8,
which shows that the weather fluctuated significantly

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 throughout the 30 days of the experiment, as shown in Fig. 6.
Each day consists of 8 hours, and Fig. 8 shows how many
sunny, cloudy, overcast, and rainy hours are within a day.
The effect of irradiance on surface panel temperature is
shown in Fig. 7. The surface panel temperature increases as
the irradiance increases. However, the surface temperature
does not decrease instantly if the irradiance goes down.
Therefore, it can be concluded that the heat is staying on the
PV panel’s surface. Fig. 7 shows the data of the relationship
between irradiance and PV panel’s surface temperature on the
21st day of the experiment, where the weather is varied, as
shown in Fig. 6.
The maximum irradiance on the 21st day of the experiment
Fig 4. Automatic sprinkler system position in google map.
is 1268.2 W/m2 at 12.00 PM, with the highest temperature is
54.2oC 01.00 AM. The surface panel temperature started
decreasing from 01.30 PM as the irradiance decreases. Fig. 8
shows the relationship among irradiance, surface temperature,
and Pout of the PV panels on the 21st of the experiment, where
the highest power produced was 133.28 W at 10.30 AM. This
phenomenon shows that as the temperature increase, the
excited electrons move vigorously, and thus they crash to each
other, leading to recombination of electrons and holes. The
increment of temperature causes the decrement of bandgap
that leads to the increment energy of electrons as the cause of
their vigorous motion. This recombination is called radiative
recombination.
Fig. 9 shows the irradiance effect of water debit output on
the 21st day of the experiment. The highest water debit is
0.0341 m3 at 01.00 PM, where the irradiance was 1216.8
W/m2, although this highest recorded irradiance was 1268.2
W/m2 at 12.00 PM. This condition proves that the peak
production of a solar panel in South Sumatra is from 10.00
Fig 5. Electrical wiring of the automatic sprinkler system considered in
AM to 02.00 PM. this study.
Fig. 10 shows the Vout and Iout effect on water debit. As the
Vout and Iout increase, the water debit is also increasing. Fig 11
shows the effect of irradiance on water debit during 30 days
of the experiment, and Fig 12 shows the Pout and water debit
relationship for 30 days. The maximum power produced for
30 days is 148 W, and the maximum water debit is 0.0113 m3.
The highest irradiance received by PV panels was 1636.7
W/m2. The solar-powered pump starts to operate when the
irradiance received by the panel was 500 W/m2. Therefore, the
irradiance in Tanjung Enim is sufficient to power the pump,
and the application of an automatic sprinkler with solar energy
as the source is possible.

Fig 6. The weather condition during 30 days of experiments.

Fig 3. Automatic sprinkler system installed in AKIPBA.

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 Fig 11. Irradiance effect on water debit for 30 days experiment.

Fig 7. Irradiance and surface panel temperature on 21st day of experiment.

Fig 12. Pout and water debit.

IV. CONCLUSION
This paper investigates the solar irradiance effect on solar-
powered pump performance applied to an automatic sprinkler
system. This sprinkler system is used to water a park in
AKIPBA, an educational institution in Tanjung Enim, South
Sumatra. The experimental results show that as the irradiance
increase, the water debit increase due to the increment of
power output. The maximum power produced for 30 days is
148 W, and the maximum water debit is 0.0113 m3. The
Fig 8. Irradiance and surface panel temperature 21th day of experiment. highest irradiance received by PV panels was 1636.7 W/m2.
The solar-powered pump starts to operate when the irradiance
received by the panel was 500 W/m2. Therefore, the
irradiance in Tanjung Enim is sufficient to power the pump,
and the application of an automatic sprinkler with solar energy
as the source is possible.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT
The authors would like to thank AKIPBA (Akademi
Komunitas Industri Pertambangan Bukit Asam) for their
contribution to this project.

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