Enhancement of a photovoltaic drinking water pumping system design software tool
Abstract
Easy access to safe, drinkable water is an essential requirement for societal growth and betterment. With the human population increasing and current climate changes, this key resource is becoming increasingly difficult to access in many locations across the globe, especially in areas without an electrical power grid. Solar-powered pumps are a good tool to help address this problem in many cases; however, taking into account all the parameters (water consumption, total dynamic head, local irradiance, etc.) to reach the cheapest design that satisfies requirements can be challenging. pvpumpingsystem is an open-source tool to assist in the design process and the determination of the model, number, and arrangement of photovoltaic panels, pump model, and reservoir capacity. This tool was recently enhanced to accommodate more detailed water consumption profiles and more realistic MPPT behaviour. The new consumption profiles have a significant impact (up to +/- 40% change to the load loss probability). The simulations also showed that using an MPPT with the perturb & observe algorithm, widely available in commercial devices, increases water output by as much as 6.7%. However, the detailed MPPT model did not affect results significantly compared to a generic 94% MPPT efficiency coefficient.