Author : Kuldeep Upadhyay, Rahul Gupta, Mukesh Pandey and Anurag Gour

The performance analysis of a solar photovoltaic (PV) array based water fountain system installed at energy park of UTD RGPV campus (state university) M.P., India has been studied. A 1hp DC motor with 900W (12 panels of each 75Wp) have been used for discharge 10m water head. The maximum discharge logged 146litre/minute between 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM at PV power output between 110 to 120W/m2 and the system is operating approximately 8 hours in the of September of the winter season. The full day discharge has found 70,000 liters and it is more than the average discharge given by the manufacturer at 10m depth. It is exposed that solar PV based water pumping system is a suitable and feasible option for off-grid water fountain like the area of UTD RGPV, Bhopal, where clear sky days are more than 250 in a year.

Keywords: Solar PV, total head, off-grid, average discharge

Article published in International Journal of Current Engineering and Technology, Vol.7, No.5 (Sept/Oct 2017)