PV‐POWERED WATER

PUMPING

PV‐Powered Water Pumping

• One of the most economically viable
photovoltaic applications today is water
pumping in remote areas.
– A simple PV system can raise water from a
well or spring and store it in a tank, or it
can circulate water through a solar water
heater.
– Water for irrigation, cattle watering, or
village water supply can be critically
important, and the value of a PV water‐
pumping system in these circumstances
can far exceed its costs.

• Matching photovoltaics and pumps in such

directly coupled systems, along with
predicting their daily performance, is not a
simple task.

1
 PV Pump System (closed or open)

Electrical side: PVs create a voltage that drives current to a motor load. The voltage and current
delivered at any instant are determined by the intersection of the PV I –V curve and the motor I –V
curve.
Hydraulic side: A pump creates a pressure H (head ) that drives water at some flow rate Q through
pipes to some destination. H is analogous to voltage while Q is analogous to current. The role of H –
Q curves in determining a hydraulic operating point is analogous to the role of I –V curves that
determine the electrical operating point.

The Electrical Side of the System

𝑉 𝐼𝑅 𝑒 𝐼𝑅 𝑘𝜑𝜔
Note that at start‐up, while ω = 0, the current rises rapidly with increasing voltage until current
is sufficient to create enough starting torque to break the motor free from static friction.
Once the motor starts to spin, back emf drops the current, and thereafter, I rises more slowly
with increasing voltage.

2
The Electrical Side of the System

The Electrical Side of the System

A DC motor I–V curve is superimposed onto a set of hour‐by‐hour PV I–V curves. The mismatch
of operating points with the ideal MPP is apparent.
The motor does not start until about 9:00 a.m., when insolation and current are finally high
enough to overcome static friction.

3
 Centrifugal pumps
Pumps suitable for PV‐powered systems are either centrifugal and
positive displacement pumps.
Centrifugal pumps have fast‐spinning impellers that throw the
water out of the pump, creating suction on the input side and
pressure on the delivery side.
When installed above the water, they are limited by the ability of
atmospheric pressure to push water up into the suction side of
the pump (theoretical maximum of 32 ft.)
When installed below the water line, they can push water up
hundreds of feet.
Disadvantages: their speedy impellers are susceptible to abrasion
and clogging by grit in the water. They are also sensitive to
changes in solar intensity during the day.

Positive Displacement Pumps

Positive displacement pumps come in several types:
◦ helical pumps, which use a rotating shaft to push water up a
cavity,
◦ jack pumps, which have an above‐ground oscillating arm
that pulls a long drive shaft up and down (like the classic oil‐
rig pumper),
◦ diaphragm pumps, which use a rotating cam to open and
close valves.

Positive displacement pumps

◦ pump at slower rates so they are most useful in low volume
applications, but can handle high heads.
◦ are much less susceptible to gritty water problems than
centrifugal pumps, and are less sensitive to changes in solar
intensity.

4
 Comparison between centrifugal and
positive‐ displacement pumps

Hydraulic pump curve

The graphical relationship between head and flow rate is called the hydraulic pump curve.
◦ For a centrifugal pump, as the height of the water column above the pump increases, more and more
of the pump’s energy is devoted to simply holding up the water so flow rates rapidly diminish.
◦ For positive displacement pump, it holds up the water column mechanically, so its flow rates are less
affected by increasing head.

5
Power delivered by a pump
The power delivered by the pump to the fluid with density ρ is given by
𝑃 𝜌𝐻𝑄
In American units:
𝑙𝑏 𝑔𝑎𝑙 1𝑚𝑖𝑛 𝑊
𝑃 𝑊𝑎𝑡𝑡𝑠 8.34 𝐻 𝑓𝑡 𝑄 1.356
𝑔𝑎𝑙 min 60𝑠 𝑙𝑏
𝑓𝑡
𝑠
0.1885 𝐻 𝑓𝑡 𝑄 𝑔𝑝𝑚
In SI unit:
𝑃 𝑤𝑎𝑡𝑡𝑠 9.81 𝐻 𝑚 𝑄 𝐿/𝑠
When Q or H is zero, there is no power delivered to the fluid.
Similar to PV curves, the MPP occurs at the spot at which you can fit the biggest rectangle under
the H–Q curve.

Hydraulic Pump Curve

For directly coupled PV‐to‐pump systems, the voltage delivered to
the pump will vary as insolation changes. In turn, the pump curve
will shift as the pump voltage changes, which means that the pump
curves vary with insolation.
Many manufacturers of pumps intended for solar applications will
supply pump curves for voltages corresponding to nominal 12‐V
module voltages.
A typical “12V” PV module operating near the knee of its I–V curve
delivers about 15 V so these pump voltages are meant to correspond
to 1, 2, 3, and 4, typical “12‐V” PV modules wired in series..

6
Pump Curves for SJ1C11 DC Pump
Operating points would be
determined by the voltage and
the total head (static plus
frictional)
The efficiency of the pump as a
function of flow rate and head
are also shown.
Notice that the peak in efficiency
(44%) occurs along the knee of
the pump curves ‐ analogous to
the PV I –V curve.

The pump I–V Curve

30%-efficiency line crosses the 15-V line at Q = 2
gal/min and H = 20 ft.
. .
𝑃 25𝑊
.

𝑃 𝑉𝐼 ⇒ 𝐼 1.7𝐴

7
Pump IV Curve
Table shows the data points used to plot the pump I–V curve

Static Head
Open system: Water is to be raised from one level to the
next.
◦ The vertical distance between the lower water surface and the
elevation of the discharge point is referred to as the static head
(or gravity head). In the US, this is usually given in “feet of
water.”

Head can also be measured in units of pressure: The

pressure that a 1 𝑓𝑡 of water weighing 62.4 lb. exerts 1
ft of head on its 144 𝑖𝑛 of base.
Hence, 1 𝑓𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑤𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟 62.4𝑙𝑏/144 𝑖𝑛 0.433 𝑝𝑠𝑖.
Conversely, 1 𝑝𝑠𝑖 2.31 𝑓𝑡 of water.

8
 Dynamic Head (static + friction)
• If the pump supplies only enough
pressure to the column of water to
overcome the static head, the water
would rise and just make it to the
discharge point and then stop.
• In order to create flow, the pump must
provide an extra amount of head to
overcome friction losses in the piping
system. These losses rise roughly as the
square of the flow velocity, and depend on
the roughness of the inside of the pipe
and on the numbers of bends and valves
in the system.

Pipe Losses
Pipe losses due to friction are usually expressed in terms of equivalent head, with values
increasing roughly with the square of the flow rate

9
 Pipe Losses
Friction Loss in Valves and Elbows (Expressed as Equivalent Lengths of Tube)
Total head is the static head plus the frictional head

Example
• What pumping head would be required to deliver 4 gpm from a depth of
150 ft? The well is 80 ft from the storage tank, and the delivery pipe rises
another 10 ft. The piping is 3/4‐in diameter plastic, and there are three 90◦
elbows, one swing‐type check valve, and one gate valve in the line.

10
Answer: total pipe length: 240 ft,
the elbows and valves add up to:
11.5 ft of pipe, total equivalent
length of pipe: 251.5 ft,
friction head requirement:
4.2x251.5/100= 10.5 ft of water,
static head: 150+10=160 ft,
dynamic head: 160+10.5 =170.5 ft
of water pressure.

Hydraulic System Curve

If the process followed in Example is repeated
for varying flow rates, a plot of total dynamic
head H (static plus friction) versus flow rate,
called the hydraulic system curve, can be
derived.
Just as an I –V curve for a PV load is
superimposed onto the I–V curves, so is the
Q– H system curve superimposed onto the Q–
H pump curve to determine the hydraulic
operating point.

11
Hydraulic System Curve and Pump Curve
Combined
The figure tells us that this pump
will not deliver any water unless
the voltage applied to the pump
is at least about 36 V.
At 45 V, about 5 gpm would be
pumped, while at 60 V the flow
would be about 9.5 gpm.

A Simple directly coupled PV–Pump design

approach
• The easiest approach to estimating average performance of
directly coupled PV– pump systems is based on the familiar
concept of “peak sun hours.”
• Assume that the flow rates on a pump curve are deliverable for the
number of peak sun hours per day. This procedure assumes that a
booster is included in the system to help start the pump in the
morning and keep it running under conditions of low insolation.
• From pump power (W) and 1‐sun PV power (W/module) we can
determine the needed number of photovoltaic modules.

12
Example: Estimating Total Gallons Per
Day Pumped
Pick a solar collector and use it to estimate the
daily water pumped using the Jacuzzi SJ1C11
pump to deliver water from the 150‐ft well
analyzed. The pump I–V curve is given. Design
for a clear day in December at latitude 20◦N
with a south‐facing 20◦ tilt array.
Solution:
Figure suggests that we will need a PV array
that can deliver at least 40 V for much of the
day

From IV relationship it will need to supply over 8A during that time.

A combination of any of the collectors can be used, but the simplest system will be one with the
fewest modules, so let us try the SunPower E20/435 with 𝑉 72.9 𝑉, 𝐼 5.97 𝐴. The
voltage is plenty for this task, but we will need two modules in parallel to get into the right
current range.

13
From Appendix D, we get the hourly irradiance values shown below. By scaling the 1‐sun short‐
circuit current for a pair of modules in parallel (ISC = 6.43 A × 2 at 000W/m2), we get the short‐
circuit currents at each hour.

Then, all that we need to do is for each hour slide the 1‐sun I–V curve down to match the 𝐼 for
that hour. Adding the I–V curve for the pump motor results in the following figure.

14
System sizing procedure
1. Determine the water production goal (gallons/day) in the design month
(highest water need and lowest insolation).
2. Use design‐month insolation (PSH) to find the pumping rate:
𝑔𝑎𝑙 ℎ 60min
𝑄 𝑔𝑝𝑚 𝐷𝑎𝑖𝑙𝑦 𝑑𝑒𝑚𝑎𝑛𝑑 / 𝐼𝑛𝑠𝑜𝑙𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛
𝑑𝑎𝑦 𝑑𝑎𝑦@1 𝑠𝑢𝑛 ℎ
3. Find the total dynamic head H @ Q (gpm). As a default, the friction head may
be assumed to be 5% of the static head.
4. Find a pump capable of delivering the desired head H and flow Q. Note its
input power and nominal voltage. Pump input power can also be estimated
by dividing the power to fluid by pump efficiency η (defaults: suction pumps
25%; submersible pumps 35%)

System sizing procedure

5. The number of PV modules in series (assuming that modules will operate at about 15V) is an
integer number
𝑣𝑜𝑙𝑡𝑎𝑔𝑒 𝑉
𝑁𝑜. 𝑜𝑓 𝑚𝑜𝑑𝑢𝑙𝑒𝑠 𝑖𝑛 𝑠𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑒𝑠 𝑃𝑢𝑚𝑝
𝑉
15
𝑚𝑜𝑑
6. The number of PV strings in parallel will be an integer number
𝑃𝑖𝑛
𝑁𝑜. 𝑜𝑓 𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑔𝑠
𝑛𝑜. 𝑜𝑓 𝑚𝑜𝑑𝑢𝑙𝑒𝑠 𝑖𝑛 𝑠𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑒𝑠 15 𝑉/𝑚𝑜𝑑 𝐼 𝐴 𝑑𝑒 𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔
𝐼 is the rated current at STC. A reasonable default value for de‐rating is 0.80.

5. After having sized the system, the water pumped can be estimated by
𝑔𝑎𝑙 𝑉 min 𝑑𝑒 𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔
𝑄 15 𝐼 𝜂 𝑛𝑜. 𝑜𝑓 𝑚𝑜𝑑𝑠 𝑃𝑆𝐻 60
𝑑𝑎𝑦 𝑚𝑜𝑑 ℎ 0.1885 𝐻 𝑓𝑡

15
Example 2: system sizing for 150‐ft well
in Santa Maria, CA
Suppose that the goal is to pump at least 1200 gallons per day from the well described earlier using
the Jacuzzi SJ1C11 pump. Size the PV array based on Siemens SR100 modules with rated current 5.9 A,
mounted at L ‐15◦ tilt.
Answer:
From Appendix E, the worst month is December with PSH =4.9
𝑄 1200/ 4.9𝑥60 4.1 𝑔𝑝𝑚
From the hydraulic pump and hydraulic system curves, the dynamic head is 170 ft and the pump
efficiency is about 34%.
Estimated pump input power: 𝑃 0.1885 170 4.1/0.34 386 𝑊
From the hydraulic curves, the pump voltage is a little under 45 V, hence, three 15 V modules in
series should be sufficient.
Number of parallel strings = 386/{3x15x 5.9x0.80}= 1.8, so choose two parallel strings.
Estimated water delivery: Q ≈ 15× 5.9 × 6 x 4.9 x 60 x 0.80 × 0.34 /{0.1885 x 170} = 1325 gal/day

System Layout of Example 2.

16