Construction Of An Automatic Solar Powered Water Level Regulated Water Pump

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 encourages its 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.

1.4 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE PROJECT
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
[1] As we are using solar energy and it is renewable source of energy there is no issue of power.
[2] This makes increase in productivity and reduces water consumption.
[3] Require smaller water sources.
[4] This makes increase in productivity and reduces water consumption.
[5] Modifications can be done in the circuit as per requirements of the farmer.

1.7 NEED FOR IRRIGATION
(i) In term of populations of the country it is necessary to increase the production of food to feedstuff millions of people.
(ii) There is uneven and indeterminate distribution of rainfall which cause drought.
(iii) For different water necessities of crops can only be met through irrigation amenities. 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:
i. Study of the previous work on the project so as to improve it efficiency.
ii. Draw a block diagram.
iii. Test for continuity of components and devices,
iv. Design and calculation for the device was carried out.
v. Studying of various component used in circuit.
vi. Construction of the circuit was carried out.
vii. Finally, the whole device was cased and final test was carried out.

1.8 PROJECT ORGANISATION
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.