Cost and Feasibility Analysis of a Solar-Powered Water Pumping System

A solution of an economically viable and efficient solar-powered water pumping system in remote water-scarce areas is proposed and analyzed which is based on the reduced use of converter stages in combination with efficient maximum power point tracking (MPPT) controller based on fuzzy logic. Further, Brushless DC (BLDC) motor is used here for efficient water pumping as it is free of excitation loss as in case of an induction motor. The proposed system consisting of a single-stage voltage source inverter uses battery backup for uninterrupted flow which is also controlled by taking MPPT controller output duty as one of the inputs. Consequently, a MATLAB-based model is used to analyze the system’s performance and economic feasibility of the proposed model is also analyzed. The cost of our proposed model was estimated using Homer software, and it was then compared to the cost of the model which uses a DC motor and DC-DC converter proposed by other researchers. It was found from the simulation results that the proposed model costs much lesser i.e., 6 lakhs as compared to other models. Thus, the proposed model is cost effective and efficient regardless of the weather, making it convenient and user-friendly for those who live in remote places and thereby providing help to solve the biggest problem of water crises.