Description
ABSTRACT
Agriculture technology is changing rapidly. This paper deals with design of solar based auto irrigation system. This system consists of solar powered water pump along with an automatic water flow control using a moisture sensor. It is the proposed solution for the present energy crisis for the Nigerian farmers. This system conserves electricity by reducing the usage of grid power and conserves water by reducing water losses.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
COVER PAGE
TITLE PAGE
APPROVAL PAGE
DEDICATION
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
ABSTRACT
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
- BACKGROUND OF THE PROJECT
- PROBLEM STATEMENT
- OBJECTIVE AND SCOPE OF THE PROJECT
- SIGNIFICANCE OF THE PROJECT
- APPLICATIONS OF THE PROJECT
- ADVANTAGES OF THE PROJECT
- NEED FOR IRRIGATION
- METHODOLOGY
- PROJECT ORGANIZATION
CHAPTER TWO
LITERATURE REVIEW
- OVERVIEW OF THE PROJECT
- LITERATURE SURVEY AND BACKGROUND STUDY
- THE PROPOSED SOLUTION
- CONCEPT OF SOLAR POWERED SYSTEMS
- THEORICAL REVIEW OF SYSTEM COMPONENTS
CHAPTER THREE
METHODOLOGY
- BASICS OF PROJECT
- SYSTEM BLOCK DIAGRAM
- SYSTEM DESCRIPTION
- COMPONENTS DESCRIPTION
- SYSTEM IMPLEMENTATION
- SPECIFICATION OF COMPONENTS
- CALCULATIONS
CHAPTER FOUR
RESULT AND DISCUSSION
- RESULTS
- DISCUSSION
- FINAL DESIGN
CHAPTER FIVE
- CONCLUSION
CHAPTER ONE
1.0 INTRODUCTION
Solar energy is the most abundant source of energy in the world. Solar power is not only an answer to today’s energy crisis but also an environmental friendly form of energy. Photovoltaic generation is an efficient approach for using the solar energy. Solar panels (an array of photovoltaic cells) are nowadays extensively used for running street lights, for powering water heaters and to meet domestic loads. The cost of solar panels has been constantly decreasing which encouragesits usage in various sectors. One of the application of this technology is used in irrigation systems for farming. Solar powered irrigation system can be a suitable alternative for farmers in the present state of energy crisis in India. This a green way for energy production which provides free energy once an initial investment is made.
In this paper we propose an automatic irrigation system using solar power which drives water pumps to pump water from bore well to a tank and the outlet valve of tank is automatically regulated using controller and moisture sensor to control the flow rate of water from the tank to the irrigation field which optimizes the use of water. The paper is divided into 6 sections discussing the literature survey, proposed solution, implementation, cost analysis and results and conclusion, references.
1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE PROJECT
As we know that Nigeria economy is one of the developing economies of the world. The agricultural sector has its largest contribution in the Nigerian economy. To achieve maximum utilisation of man power and to obtain maximum profit in a given stipulated there is a need in the upgradation of various engineering techniques that are being used today. Thus maintaining proper amount of water level in the soil is one of the necessary requirements to harvest a good crop that can be a source of various types of nutrients whether micro or macro for their proper growth. If we talk about Indian farmers they are worst hit by the famines that occurs due to failure of crops depending upon various drought factors. Rain plays the key role in deciding the future of these crops as well as the farmers every year. The over utilisation of ground water has drastically reduced the ground water level in the last 15 years.So it is the need of hour to utilise each and every drop of water wisely so that it can also be used by our coming generations also. Also we should develop some new methods that use the renewable sources of energy. The development of these new techniques are going to reach our goal of sustainable development as well as to cut off the emission of greenhouse gases to a minimum level. As the name of our project that is AUTOMATIC IRRIGATION SYSTEM with the help of the Solar power is a step to utilise some new engineering techniques. This technique will be a very good option for the small and medium farmers who suffer every year just because of failure of crops that took place every year. The implementation of this technology has a wide scope in the nearby future.
1.2 PROBLEM STATEMENT
Manual irrigation involves labour and consumes time in that farmers have to carry water to the farm. The objective of our project is to reduce this manual involvement by the farmer by using an automated irrigation system which purpose is to enhance water use for agricultural crops. The inspiration for this project came from the countries where economy is based on agriculture and the climatic conditions prime to shortage of rains & scarcity of water. The farmers working in the farm lands are only dependent on the rains and bore wells for irrigation of the land. Even if the farm land has a water-pump, manual involvement by farmers is also required to turn the pump on/off when needed. The project is intended to cultivate an automatic irrigation system which controls the pump motor ON/OFF on sensing the moisture content of the soil. In the field of agriculture, use of appropriate technique of irrigation is essential. The advantage of using this technique is to reduce human intervention and still certify proper irrigation. A software application was developed by predetermining the threshold values of soil moisture, temperature and water level that was programmed into an arm controller. This paper presents the controlling and monitoring the level of water and detecting the soil moisture content.
1.3 OBJECTIVE AND SCOPE OF THE PROJECT
The main objective of this project was to design a small scale irrigated system that would use water in more well-organized way in order to prevent excess water loss and minimize the cost of labor. The following aspects were considered in the choice of design solution
- Installation cost
- Water saving
- Human intervention
- Reliability
- Power consumption
- Maintenance
- Expandability
A critical Consideration in the segment costs, since cost define the viability and feasibility of a project. The water saving was also an important feature, since there is demand to decrease water loss and to Maximize the efficiency used. The Power consumption must also be monitored.
CHAPTER FIVE
5.1 CONCLUSION
The main applications for this project are for farmers and gardeners who do not have abundant time to water their crops/plants. It also covers those farmers who are wasteful of water during irrigation. The project can be extended to green houses where manual management is far and few in between. The principle can be extended to create completely automated gardens and farmlands. Collective with the principle of rain water harvesting, it could lead to massive water savings if applied in the right way. In agricultural lands with severe shortage of rainfall, this model can be effectively applied to attain great results with most types of soil.
By implementing the proposed system there are various benefits for the government and the farmers. For the government a solution for energy crisis is proposed. By using the automatic irrigation system it optimizes the usage of water by reducing wastage and reduce the human intervention for farmers. The excess energy produced using solar panels can also be given to the grid with small modifications in the system circuit, which can be a source of the revenue of the farmer, thus encouraging farming in India and same time giving a solution for energy crisis. Proposed system is easy to implement and environment friendly solution for irrigating fields. The system was found to be successful when implemented for bore holes as they pump over the whole day.Solar pumps also offer clean solutions with no danger of borehole contamination. The system requires minimal maintenance and attention as they are self starting. To further enhance the daily pumping rates tracking arrays can be implemented. This system demonstrates the feasibility and application of using solar PV to provide energy for the pumping requirements for sprinkler irrigation. Even though there is a high capital investment required for this system to be implemented, the overall benefits are high and in long run this system is economical.
The system is inexpensive in terms of hardware component and power consumption. The system helps in saving of water and electricity. It can be applied in large agricultural areas. The system helps in labor problem when there are no labors to work and eradicates man power. System can be swapped into manual mode whenever required. It is convenient to all climatic conditions and all sorts of irrigation.
1.5 APPLICATIONS OF THE PROJECT
Irrigation can be completed in fields, gardens, farms etc. It is effective for diversities of crops. This application can be used for patient monitoring. The software application developed for this system can be used for domestic works such as tank storage. This system can be functioned automatically as well as manually.
1.6 ADVANTAGES OF THE PROJECT
- As we are using solar energy and it is renewable source of energy there is no issue of
- This makes increase in productivity and reduces water
- Require smaller water
- This makes increase in productivity and reduces water
- Modifications can be done in the circuit as per requirements of the
1.7 NEED FOR IRRIGATION
- In term of populations of the country it is necessary to increase the production of food to feed stuff millions of
- There is uneven and indeterminate distribution of rainfall which cause drought.
- For different water necessities of crops can only be met through irrigation Being tropical country there is quick increase in the high temperature and evaporation. So, for abundant cause of water artificial irrigation is essential.
1.8 METHODOLOGY
To achieve the aim and objectives of this work, the following are the steps involved:
- Study of the previous work on the project so as to improve it efficiency.
- Draw a block diagram.
- Test for continuity of components and devices,
- Design and calculation for the device was carried out.
- Studying of various component used in circuit.
- Construction of the circuit was carried out.
- Finally, the whole device was cased and final test was carried out.
1.8 PROJECT ORGANIZATION
The work is organized as follows: chapter one discuses the introductory part of the work, chapter two presents the literature review of the study, chapter three describes the methods applied, chapter four discusses the results of the work, chapter five summarizes the research outcomes and the recommendations.
CHAPTER FIVE
5.1 CONCLUSION
The main applications for this project are for farmers and gardeners who do not have abundant time to water their crops/plants. It also covers those farmers who are wasteful of water during irrigation. The project can be extended to green houses where manual management is far and few in between. The principle can be extended to create completely automated gardens and farmlands. Collective with the principle of rain water harvesting, it could lead to massive water savings if applied in the right way. In agricultural lands with severe shortage of rainfall, this model can be effectively applied to attain great results with most types of soil.
By implementing the proposed system there are various benefits for the government and the farmers. For the government a solution for energy crisis is proposed. By using the automatic irrigation system it optimizes the usage of water by reducing wastage and reduce the human intervention for farmers. The excess energy produced using solar panels can also be given to the grid with small modifications in the system circuit, which can be a source of the revenue of the farmer, thus encouraging farming in India and same time giving a solution for energy crisis. Proposed system is easy to implement and environment friendly solution for irrigating fields. The system was found to be successful when implemented for bore holes as they pump over the whole day.Solar pumps also offer clean solutions with no danger of borehole contamination. The system requires minimal maintenance and attention as they are self starting. To further enhance the daily pumping rates tracking arrays can be implemented. This system demonstrates the feasibility and application of using solar PV to provide energy for the pumping requirements for sprinkler irrigation. Even though there is a high capital investment required for this system to be implemented, the overall benefits are high and in long run this system is economical.
