SOLAR POWER IRRIGATION SYSTEM PROJECT

EQUIPMENTS TO BE DESIGNED: Base, Solar Panel, Controller, Pump, Overhead tank, Farm field,
Background

OBJECTS REQUIRED: 3 big cardboard sheets (60 cm x 30 cm), 4 empty cardboard soap covers (like
Dove soap cover), Fevicol white adhesive, Gum, Cardstock paper (Thick white paper), Sketch Pens,
Plastic bottle, Small cardboard pieces (6cmx5cm), Small yellow piece of paper cut in the form of Sun
(1 no.), Small pieces of white paper cut in the form of clouds (3 nos.), Small pieces of green paper cut
in the form of flowers (9 nos.), Small pieces of green paper cut in the form of trees (9 nos.), 3 Straws
(2 small pieces and 1 large piece), 2 small pieces of wire, 3 brown pieces of paper rolled lengthwise,
Mud (100 gms), Small white strips of paper for writing the name (6 nos).

PREPARATION:
1. BASE & BACKGROUND:
a. Take one cardboard sheet (60 cm x 30 cm)
b. Place one empty soap cover at each corner of the cardboard sheet and stick it with
white adhesive
c. Put some white adhesive on top of each of the 4 soap covers and place the second
cardboard sheet (60cm x 30 cm) on top of the soap covers. Wait till the adhesive is
dried.
d. Cut the cardstock paper (Thick white paper) into 4 pieces – 2 each of length 35 cm and
65 cm respectively. Stick the cut cardstock pieces across the width of the cardboard
sheet, earlier attached on top of the soap covers.
e. Take on edge of the base, fill half of it with blue colour and the second half of it with
brown colour. Name the blue colour edge as “Ground water” and the brown colour
edge as “Ground level”. Fill the remaining 3 edges of the base with Brown colour. Fill
the upper surface of the base with Green colour.
f. On the right corner of the base, mark the boundary of 15 cm x 30 cm by 3 brown rolled
pieces of paper. Place the Small pieces of green paper cut in the form of flowers inside
the boundary area and fill it with mud.
g. Take the third cardboard sheet (60 cm x 30 cm) and fill it with blue colour. Arrange
this cardboard sheet in perpendicular to the base prepared above as a background.
h. Paste a yellow piece of paper, cut in the form of Sun and 3 pieces of white papers cut
in the form of clouds on the background
i. Place small pieces of green paper cut in the form of trees on the base, adjacent to the
background
2. SOLAR PANEL:
a. Fill one cardboard sheet (6cmx5cm) with black colour. Cut fine strips of paper and
attach them on top of the cardboard sheet to form squares in the form of a 6x5 grid.
b. Take a cardboard sheet (3cmx6cm) and colour it with black colour. Paste the 3 cm
edge on the base. Attach the 6x5 grid surface in a slant position on top of this
cardboard sheet. Name it as “Solar Panel”.
3. CONTROLLER:
a. Take a 4 cm x 4 cm square piece of paper, sketched in black colour.
b. Mark 2 small circulars on this paper, one sketched in green colour and the other
sketched in red colour.
 c. Roll a piece of paper length-wise. Stick the rolled paper to the square with a glue and
the paper to the base, adjacent to the Solar Panel. Name it as “Controller”.
d. Connect the Solar Panel to the Controller with a piece of wire.
4. PUMP:
a. Roll a piece of paper in a small, cylindrical shape. Punch a hole on its lateral surface.
Close the top and bottom surfaces of the cylinder with 2 pieces of paper cut in a
circles. Punch a hole on the top closed surface of the cylinder.
b. Attach the lateral surface of the cylinder to the base with glue. This has to be placed
adjacent to the Controller. Ensure that the hole on the lateral surface is facing the top.
Name it as “Pump”.
c. Connect the Controller to the Pump with a piece of wire.
d. Put one small straw on the lateral surface (which is now facing the top) and another
straw on the top surface of the cylinder, connecting it to Ground water.
5. OVERHEAD TANK:
a. Take a cardstock paper, cut it in a circle and sketch it with black colour.
b. Take a black paper, roll it along its length. Close the edges with a glue. Cut the long,
cylindrical roll of paper into 4 pieces length-wise. Attach these 4 pieces on the 4
corners of the bottom side of the circular black cardstock paper. Attach this to the
base, in between the Pump and the farm filled with mud.
c. Cut a plastic bottle, colour the bottom portion with yellow colour. Make 2 small holes
on each side of the bottle, opposite to each other (to insert straws).
d. Place the yellow plastic bottle bottom on top of the circular black cardstock paper.
Cover its top with a circular paper sheet, sketched in yellow colour. Name it as
“Overhead Tank”.
e. Connect the small straw on the lateral surface of the Pump (at 4.c above) to the
Overhead Tank, through one hole on the surface of its bottle.
f. Connect another small straw from the opposite of the bottle and connect it to the
farm adjacent to it.

An illustration of the above model is shown below:

BACKGROUND:
Farmers have always played a significant role in our society as they provide food to the entire
population. Indeed, farmers can produce energy from the wind, the sun or the biomass and they can
use it for their own farm, or, if they have a surplus, resell it to companies.

Solar energy might be one of the easiest ways for farmers to produce energy. Indeed, farmers usually
have several large buildings whose roofs are directly under the sun, without being hindered by the
shadows of the trees, turning them into an ideal place to settle a photovoltaic system. Therefore, the
use of solar energy in agriculture is becoming increasingly popular and the energy produced from this
renewable source can be used either on the farm or in the local power grid, providing the farmer with
an additional income.

One of the areas in agriculture that benefits the most from solar energy is irrigation, especially in arid
regions. The main reason is that using the sun for irrigation represents a virtuous circle: when the sun
shines, it feeds the irrigation system, well, we know that crops needs more water when the sun shines
a lot. Therefore, a large quantity of energy is available when it is actually needed.

The term “Irrigation system” is mainly a way to give water to the crops. In the field of agriculture, it is
very important to deliver water to crops in case of lack of rain and water under the earth. It is very
significant to give proper water to crops to make their progress effective. Therefore, this system is
used to offer proper water to crops and lands.

In that situation, solar energy is used to give the power to water pumps. In this type of irrigation
system, the solar charge controller is employed to store DC power of solar panels in batteries. This
battery is used to give the power supply to water pumps automatically.

Solar powered auto irrigation system works in the sunlight. When the sun shines the water pumping
process is a sensible way of solar energy use throughout the summer, as the water need is the highest.
The water pump which is used will provide a reliable water source for plantation.

Solar panels are designed with solar cells collected of semiconductor materials. The main function of
solar panel is to convert solar energy into DC electrical energy (generally of 12V). The required number
of cells and also their size depends on the rating of the load. The group of solar cells can generate
maximum electricity. But, the solar panel must place closely at accurate angles to the sun rays.

ADVANTAGES:
 Solar panels can be reliable, even in regional and remote areas.
o They make an ideal choice when grid power is irregular or unavailable. When properly
serviced and maintained and with adequate water storage, solar pumps offer great
reliability. Some systems even offer apps to help you remotely monitor performance
and flow rate.
 They have extremely low operating costs.
o One of the major advantages of a solar pump is that its energy comes straight from
the sun, lowering operating costs and its environmental footprint. Solar panels may
even be eligible for technology certificates from the Small-Scale Renewable Energy
Scheme that can help recoup purchase costs.
 They’re easy to transport and relocate.
o Depending on your system and site, solar water pump systems can be shifted
relatively easily.
 Solar pumps are generally low-maintenance.
o Upkeep is typically minimal compared to grid power or generators – an important
factor when these pumps are often used hundreds of kilometres from service bases.
If PV panels lose efficiency, they can be replaced separately to the whole system.
 Productivity increases in times of need
o When it’s hot and sunny people tend to use more water, and livestock will hang closer
to water troughs. A solar water pump moves more water in sunny weather and slows
appropriately when it’s overcast or raining, with the option to store a backup supply
if your storage tank is adequately sized.