IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/renene/v228y2024ics0960148124006621.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The effects of solar insolation and cloud opacity on the optimum array size for a direct-coupled solar pumping system

Author

Listed:
  • Watt, Franklin W.
  • Campbell, Paul A.

Abstract

The widespread adoption of solar photovoltaic pumping technology requires pertinent information on the sizing and design of these systems. This research investigated how the ratio of photovoltaic array peak power to motor power consumption, solar insolation and cloud opacity affects the water yield of a direct-coupled solar PV pumping system. The specific aim was to estimate the optimum photovoltaic power to motor power consumption (OPVM) ratio for a 3 W DC pump under Jamaican weather conditions. The PVM ratio is the ratio of peak array power to nominal motor power consumption. Four experimental direct coupled solar pumping systems were set up and the water yield for each measured daily for thirty days. Each system was identical in every respect except each having a different solar array peak power. The findings show that there is a strong correlation (Pearson coefficient of −0.903) between solar insolation and the optimum photovoltaic power to motor power consumption ratio. Additionally, there was found to be a strong correlation between average cloud opacity and optimum photovoltaic power to motor power consumption ratio (Pearson coefficient of 0.899). Both correlations were shown to be statistically significant, with both yielding p-values <0.001. The findings of the correlation analysis indicate that a relatively large PVM ratio would be economical when used on a site that regularly receives relatively low insolation and heavy cloud cover. Finally, the daily optimum photovoltaic power to motor power consumption ratio ranged from approximately 2.3 to 5.0. Generally, it was observed that the OPVM ratio shifted below 2.4 on clear sunny days and above 4.0 on very cloudy days. While these conclusions may not exactly extrapolate to scales of practical application, performance metrics of larger systems are expected to bear some similarity. Being guided by these results, additional studies at these larger scales are recommended.

Suggested Citation

  • Watt, Franklin W. & Campbell, Paul A., 2024. "The effects of solar insolation and cloud opacity on the optimum array size for a direct-coupled solar pumping system," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 228(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:renene:v:228:y:2024:i:c:s0960148124006621
    DOI: 10.1016/j.renene.2024.120594
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0960148124006621
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.renene.2024.120594?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Sontake, Vimal Chand & Kalamkar, Vilas R., 2016. "Solar photovoltaic water pumping system - A comprehensive review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 59(C), pages 1038-1067.
    2. Chandel, S.S. & Nagaraju Naik, M. & Chandel, Rahul, 2015. "Review of solar photovoltaic water pumping system technology for irrigation and community drinking water supplies," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 49(C), pages 1084-1099.
    3. Li, Guiqiang & Jin, Yi & Akram, M.W. & Chen, Xiao, 2017. "Research and current status of the solar photovoltaic water pumping system – A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 79(C), pages 440-458.
    4. Andreas Haiduk & Amani Ishemo, 2011. "Energy Demand Considerations for the Supply of Domestic Water in Jamaica," International Journal of Water Resources Development, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 27(4), pages 759-768.
    5. Good, Jeremy & Johnson, Jeremiah X., 2016. "Impact of inverter loading ratio on solar photovoltaic system performance," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 177(C), pages 475-486.
    6. Dino Collalti & Eric Strobl, 2022. "Economic damages due to extreme precipitation during tropical storms: evidence from Jamaica," Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, Springer;International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, vol. 110(3), pages 2059-2086, February.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Ahmed, Eihab E.E. & Demirci, Alpaslan, 2022. "Multi-stage and multi-objective optimization for optimal sizing of stand-alone photovoltaic water pumping systems," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 252(C).
    2. Poompavai, T. & Kowsalya, M., 2019. "Control and energy management strategies applied for solar photovoltaic and wind energy fed water pumping system: A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 107(C), pages 108-122.
    3. Camille Soenen & Vincent Reinbold & Simon Meunier & Judith A. Cherni & Arouna Darga & Philippe Dessante & Loïc Quéval, 2021. "Comparison of Tank and Battery Storages for Photovoltaic Water Pumping," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(9), pages 1-16, April.
    4. Naval, Natalia & Yusta, Jose M., 2022. "Comparative assessment of different solar tracking systems in the optimal management of PV-operated pumping stations," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 200(C), pages 931-941.
    5. Shao, Weiwei & Liu, Jiahong & Zhu, Mingming & Weng, Baisha & Wang, Ning & Huang, Hao & Yu, Yingdong & Yan, Dianyi & Jiang, Shan, 2018. "Evaluation of a photovoltaic water-supply scheme for the surface water system in Xiamen, China," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 230(C), pages 357-373.
    6. Yaichi, Mohammed & Fellah, Mohammed-Karim & Tayebi, Azzedinne & Boutadara, Abdelkader, 2019. "A fast and simplified method using non-linear translation of operating points for PV modules energy output and daily pumped water to predict the performance of a stand-alone photovoltaic pumping syste," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 133(C), pages 248-260.
    7. Allouhi, A. & Buker, M.S. & El-houari, H. & Boharb, A. & Benzakour Amine, M. & Kousksou, T. & Jamil, A., 2019. "PV water pumping systems for domestic uses in remote areas: Sizing process, simulation and economic evaluation," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 132(C), pages 798-812.
    8. Tiwari, Arunendra K. & Kalamkar, Vilas R., 2018. "Effects of total head and solar radiation on the performance of solar water pumping system," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 118(C), pages 919-927.
    9. Cervera-Gascó, Jorge & Montero, Jesús & Moreno, Miguel A., 2023. "An intelligent irrigation management model for direct injection of solar pumping systems," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 279(C).
    10. Islam, Md. Rabiul & Sarker, Pejush Chandra & Ghosh, Subarto Kumar, 2017. "Prospect and advancement of solar irrigation in Bangladesh: A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 77(C), pages 406-422.
    11. Mohammed Wazed, Saeed & Hughes, Ben Richard & O’Connor, Dominic & Kaiser Calautit, John, 2018. "A review of sustainable solar irrigation systems for Sub-Saharan Africa," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 81(P1), pages 1206-1225.
    12. Rahman, Syed Mahbubur & Mori, Akihisa & Rahman, Syed Mustafizur, 2022. "How does climate adaptation co-benefits help scale-up solar-powered irrigation? A case of the Barind Tract, Bangladesh," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 182(C), pages 1039-1048.
    13. Elshurafa, Amro M. & Alatawi, Hatem & Hasanov, Fakhri J. & Algahtani, Goblan J. & Felder, Frank A., 2022. "Cost, emission, and macroeconomic implications of diesel displacement in the Saudi agricultural sector: Options and policy insights," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 168(C).
    14. Krishna Muniyoor, 2020. "Cost-benefit analysis of adopting the solar photovoltaic water pumping system: A case of Rajasthan," ECONOMICS AND POLICY OF ENERGY AND THE ENVIRONMENT, FrancoAngeli Editore, vol. 2020(2), pages 35-49.
    15. Francisco José Gimeno-Sales & Salvador Orts-Grau & Alejandro Escribá-Aparisi & Pablo González-Altozano & Ibán Balbastre-Peralta & Camilo Itzame Martínez-Márquez & María Gasque & Salvador Seguí-Chilet, 2020. "PV Monitoring System for a Water Pumping Scheme with a Lithium-Ion Battery Using Free Open-Source Software and IoT Technologies," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(24), pages 1-28, December.
    16. Parvaresh Rizi, Atefeh & Ashrafzadeh, Afshin & Ramezani, Azita, 2019. "A financial comparative study of solar and regular irrigation pumps: Case studies in eastern and southern Iran," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 138(C), pages 1096-1103.
    17. Chandel, S.S. & Naik, M. Nagaraju & Chandel, Rahul, 2017. "Review of performance studies of direct coupled photovoltaic water pumping systems and case study," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 76(C), pages 163-175.
    18. Lorenzo, C. & Almeida, R.H. & Martínez-Núñez, M. & Narvarte, L. & Carrasco, L.M., 2018. "Economic assessment of large power photovoltaic irrigation systems in the ECOWAS region," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 155(C), pages 992-1003.
    19. Vivar, M. & H, Sharon & Fuentes, M., 2024. "Photovoltaic system adoption in water related technologies – A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 189(PB).
    20. Xue, Jinlin, 2017. "Photovoltaic agriculture - New opportunity for photovoltaic applications in China," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 73(C), pages 1-9.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:renene:v:228:y:2024:i:c:s0960148124006621. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.journals.elsevier.com/renewable-energy .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.