A Review on Solar Powered Auto Irrigation
Ederlyn M. Aquino, Ian Oliver N. Medina, and Karl Josua B. Estomo

Abstract—The purpose of this paper is to conduct a review
about Solar powered auto irrigation. Previous studies are
reviewed to identify the data sources that the other researchers
used and to learn what is the current progress in the said
research topic. It is found that the system uses the moisture level
of the soil to determine whether the pump will send water to the
crops or not. The system is powered by solar energy to provide
an affordable source
I. INTRODUCTION
In dry lands and during inadequate rainfall, irrigation is
applicable to assist in the growing of the agricultural crops
and maintenance of landscapes [6]. Nowadays, manual
irrigation system which uses electric motors with ON/OFF
scheduling are driven by the farmers who regularly need to
observe the weather, crop and soil [4]. Manual irrigation
system is usually the cause of water waste and the inaccuracy
of water the soil/crop needs [3]- [5]. However, an automatic
irrigation system provides maximum water usage efficiency
by monitoring the soil moistures and ensures the proper level
of water for growing the crops [4]. Solar energy as an
environmental friendly form of energy can be a suitable
source for automatic irrigation systems which will be helpful
for farming [2]. The use of photovoltaic cell is an efficient
approach in collecting power from sunlight. The energy
collected from the sunlight will be used to the operation of
the irrigation pump [1].
This paper intends to identify the data used by the previous
researchers and to determine the current progress in the solar
powered auto irrigation system. It will include the major
differences in the previous researches.
.Write also the areas that you will not be including but
which your reader may expect from your study.
answer/solution to the problem you have presented. Include
comprehensive data presentation in form of tables, graphs and
other illustrations with matching explanatory paragraphs. If it
is possible, include statistical treatment of your data to
consider the significance of your data in justifying further the
veracity of your claims.
II. MODELS
This section provides a detailed review of the models that are
done in the previous studies. It includes: Automatic irrigation
module, solar pumping module and time based system.
E. M. Aquino is a Fourth Year student of the Department of Electrical
Engineering, Polytechnic University of the Philippines Santa Mesa, Manila
Philippines 1016 (e-mail: ederlynaquino@gmail.com).
I. O. N. Medina is a Fourth Year student of the Department of Electrical
Engineering, Polytechnic University of the Philippines Santa Manila, Manila
Philippines 1016 (e-mail: ianolivermedina@gmail.com).
2.1. Automatic Irrigation Module
In automatic irrigation module, the energy produced in the
solar panel will be stored in a DC battery. Then the water
pump will be connected to the battery for the motor to run by
means of the power generated in the solar panel [5]. The solar
panel is connected to a charge regulator which controls the
voltage and current coming from the solar panel going to the
battery and prevent the battery from overcharging [8]. The
sensor which is placed in the field of crops converts the
moisture content in the soil into an equivalent voltage. This
voltage will be sent to a sensing circuit which has a reference
voltage that can be adjusted depending on the moisture level
of different types of crop. The amount of water needed by the
soil is proportional to the difference of these two voltages. A
control signal will then be transmitted to the motor that will
control the flow of water thus giving the right amount of
water needed [2].
2.2 Solar Pumping Module
There are two types of solar pumping systems: Battery-
Coupled and Direct-Coupled. Battery-coupled solar pumping
system uses battery to store energy which is generated from
the solar panel [2,9]. The battery will give power to the water
pump to release water in the field whenever it is needed [9].
In direct-coupled solar pumping system, the electricity
coming from the solar panel will be sent directly to the pump.
Then the water from the bore well will be pumped into an
overhead tank depending on the intensity of sunlight to store
the water temporarily before releasing the water into the field.
This type of water pumping mechanism is designed only to
be implemented during daytime because the amount of water
that will pumped is dependent on the type of pump used and
the amount of sunlight striking the solar panel. The use of
battery is more advisable to use than direct connection
because it can store energy for future use since there might be
a day when the sun is not available [2].
2.3. Time based system
This solar powered auto irrigation system function is based
on time. The system uses relays, timers and rain detector
sensor. The pumping and irrigation system is controlled by
relays and timers. And if the rain detector sensor detects a
rainfall within three hours before scheduled irrigation, the
system will skip the irrigation function for the day [9].
K. J. B. Estomo is a Fourth Year student of the Department of Electrical
Engineering, Polytechnic University of the Philippines Santa Mesa, Manila
Philippines 1016 (e-mail: kstart820@gmail.com).
 III. TOOLS
This section provides a detailed information on the hardware
and software tools that can be used in the solar powered auto
irrigation. This do not intend to make a comprehensive
comparison of the tools, but to indicate the benefits of adding
the tools in the system.
different microcontrollers that can be used for the system
and, the irrigation can be scheduled or automatically
whenever the soil needs to be moisturized. It has been
concluded that the research is subjected to several
limitations. These are the lack in monitoring of the growth
of plants,

3.1 GSM module

GSM module is globally accepted for digital cellular
communication and can be an external modem device [11].
With the use of this, the solar powered auto irrigation system
can notify the farmer about its status through SMS [5]. Also,
the farmer can send message to the system with a specific
message to check the level of water in the tank [7].
3.2 Light Dependent Resistor (LDR)
Light dependent resistors are resistors whose resistance
decreases as the light intensity increases [11]. These are
placed on the solar panels to develop a solar tracking system
to be included in the irrigation system [5]. The system tracks
the direction of the radiation reflected from the sun [9].
3.3 Microcontrollers
The previous researches used different kinds of
microcontroller such as PIC, Arduinos, AVR, ATMEGA
328P. Microcontroller stores the program for the system and
receives the signals from the sensors [1]. It operates the
opening and closing of the solenoid valves for the water
needed by the soil/crop [3].
3.4 Soil Moisture Sensor
Soil moisture sensors is buried in the ground at the specific
depth to measure the moisture level of the soil [1], [11]. It
ensures the accurate level of water the soil/crops need [5].
The power requirement of this sensor is low that gives the
ability to make measurements over a long period of time [11].
REFERENCES
[1] V. R. Balaji, M. Sudha, Solar Powered Auto Irrigation System. India,
2016
[2] S. Harishankar, R. Sathish Kumar, Sudharsan K.P., U. Vignesh, T.
Viveknath, Solar Powered Smart Irrigation System. India: Research
India Publications, 2014
[3] E. T. Ososanya, S. Haghani, W. H. Mahmoud, S. Lakeou, Design and
Implementation of a Solar-Powered Smart Irrigation System. Seattle
WA, 2015
[4] Jia Uddin, S.M. Taslim Reza, Q. Newaz, Jamal Uddin, T. Islam, and
Jong-Myon Kim, Automated Irrigation System Using Solar Power.
Bangladesh, 2012
[5] K. Bhole, D. Chaudhari, Solar Powered Sensor Base Irrigation System.
India, 2016
[6] M. S. Chavan, P. Pawar, R. Bhagat, N. Somanwad, Solar Powered Auto
Irrigation System. India, 2017
[7] S. P. Yalla, K. V. Rajesh Kumar, B. Ramesh, Energy Management in
an Automated Solar Powered Irrigation System. India, n.a.
[8] Pooja M. B., S. R. Karegoudar, Shantinath B. K., Shaileshwari S., V.
Benade, Solar Powered Automatic Irrigation System. India, 2017
[9] AI Abdelkerim, MMR Sami Eusuf, MJE Salami, A. Aibinu, M. A.
Eusuf, Development of Solar Powered Irrigation System. Malaysia:
IOP Publishing, 2013
[10] Er. U. Singh, M. Vyas, G. Sharma, S. P. Singh, S. Khan, Solar Based
Smart Irrigation System. India, 2016
[11] K. Bhole, D. Chaudhari, Soil Moisture Sensor Base Automatic
Irrigation System Powered by Solar Energy. India, 2016

3.5 Solar panel

Solar modules are used to convert sunlight into electricity
[6]. The system uses solar panel as its main source and stores
the harvested energy into battery [1], [5]. The solar panel
produced energy which is directly proportional to the
intensity of Sunlight striking the Solar Panel [9].

3.6 Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition

SCADA uses PLC as a controller and allows the solar
powered auto irrigation to be controlled via computer. The
system can be operated as an administrator or an operator
which requires password to be accessed. It has the capability
of recording critical state during the operation. SCADA
system helped in reducing power consumption, maintenance,
automatic system interface [9].

IV. CONCLUSION
This paper has given an overview in solar powered auto
irrigation that are used in the agricultural areas. There are
several commonalities between the previous researches on
how they develop the solar powered auto irrigation.
However, other researches added an improvement such as a
solar tracking system, GSM and SCADA based system.
Furthermore, the paper showed the current developments in
the said system and its current capabilities. There are