The Development of an Application Conceived for the Design, Feasibility Study and Data Analysis of Photovoltaic Pumping Systems

International Journal of Electrical and Computer Engineering (IJECE)
Vol. 7, No. 2, April 2017, pp. 713~719
ISSN: 2088-8708, DOI: 10.11591/ijece.v7i2.pp713-719  713
Journal homepage: http://iaesjournal.com/online/index.php/IJECE
The Development of an Application Conceived for the Design,
Feasibility Study and Data Analysis of Photovoltaic Pumping
Systems
B. boukhris1
, M. Mediouni2
, L. Elmahni3
1,2
LASIME, ENSAIbn Zohr University, Agadir, Morocco
3
LMTI, Department of Physics, Ibn Zohr University, Agadir, Morocco
Article Info ABSTRACT
Article history:
Received Dec 9, 2016
Revised Mar 15, 2016
Accepted Mar 29, 201
Because of the rise in diesel and butane prices widely used for pumping,
added to their negative impact on both Morocco's environment and trade
balance, the use of renewable energies should sound obvious, practical and
cost effective. This study offers the transformation of a traditional butane
pumping system (BPS) and diesel pumping system (DPS), located on a farm
nearby the city of Agadir, into an optimized solar pumping system (SPS).
The suggested method is based on a techno-economic study according to the
“Business-As-usual” scenario. As a first step, we have dimensioned our
pumping system and chosen the elements that constitute it. As a second step,
we carried out an economic analysis, based on the calculation of all costs,
which makes it possible to ensure the viability of the components of our SPS
over its life cycle and brought it to a discounted value. The processing of the
different data is made possible thanks to the computer application
“PVDesign” which we have developed. This application has allowed us to
carry out a comparative study of several techniques of pumping systems. The
result of the study is that the SPS beats the other systems at various levels,
namely economic, environmental and technical.
Keyword:
Butane
LCC
Photovoltaic
Pumping system
Software
Copyright © 2017 Institute of Advanced Engineering and Science.
All rights reserved.
Corresponding Author:
Lahoussine Elmahni,
LMTI, Department of Physics
Ibn Zohr University,
Phone: +212611276125, Agadir, Morocco.
Email: elmahni.lah@gmail.com
1. INTRODUCTION
According to the National Agency for the Development of Renewable Energies and Energy
Efficiency (ADEREE) [1], the agricultural sector represents 13% of the Moroccan energy bill. Nevertheless,
Morocco has a considerable solar field, estimated at more than 3,000 h / year of sunshine; that is, an
irradiation of more than 5 KW.h / m2
per day.
The national solar pumping program aims to reduce the government subsidy of the butane gas and
diesel fund by benefiting from green and free energy. This requires measures to eliminate all regulatory
economic and technical barriers.
Several research studies on the design, feasibility and cost-effectiveness of solar pumping systems
have aroused the interest of researchers. In fact, one of these studieshas economically investigates SPS
systems taking into account the effects of the key components of the initial cost, life cycle cost and incomes.
The obtained results show that the cost of photovoltaic modules is the most sensitive parameter in this
analysis [2]. Another has study used the genetic algorithm (GA), as well as the Pareto optimality concept, for
the techno-economic optimization of an SPS storage system [3]. A farther study has examined the application
of the permanent magnet synchronous motor (PMSM) in renewable energies, particularly in solar pumping.

 ISSN:2088-8708
IJECE Vol. 7, No. 2, April 2017 : 713–719
714
Its objective wasto model the complete system, including the photovoltaic inverter, PMSM and the
centrifugal pump in the Matlab / Simulink environment [4]. An additional study has examined all the
necessary stages and key components to design and build an SPS by making a comparison with the diesel
system [5] and [6] develops a sizing and simulation tool dedicated to autonomous solar systems and PV
pumping systems.
All these works focus either on the technical dimensioning of the pumping station components or on
a purely economic analysis of the system. During the interviews we had with farmers, technicians and
engineers, all expressed the necessity for a complete computerized tool integrating a database of equipment
available in their areas and joining the technical and economic studies.
In this context, the present research aims at promoting a wider use of solar energy as an alternative
to diesel and butane in irrigation and drinking water sectors. We propose the development of a PVDESIGN
application for sizing, feasibility study and detailed economic analysis of the profitability of a photovoltaic
pumping system compared to a Butane Pumping System (BPS) and Diesel Pumping System (DPS). This
application allows us to carry out the whole process of designing an SPS, from the preliminary assessment of
the producibility to the practical realization of the project. This tool makes it possible to analyze the foreseen
solutions with precision and to evaluate the expected results before any financial commitment.
This work begins with a description of the project and then presents the theoretical elements that
have been used for the dimensioning of our system. The next section focuses on the explanation of the
method used for the economic study. The last section 4th paragraph exposes the architecture of the
application and presents the results of our work.
2. PROJECT DESCRIPTION
Our work is based on the study of an existing butane and diesel pumping station for irrigation in a
village known as Zaouia located in the rural commune of Isn, province of Taroudant. This station is
composed of a diesel engine (or butane) and centrifugal pumps which flow in a very large basin. Other
surface pumps allow the water to be redistributed to the crops through a drip system (Figure 1). Our objective
is to transform this traditional solution into an SPS (Figure 2) and, therefore, demonstrate its economic and
technical competitiveness compared to traditional solutions beforehand.
Figure 1. Existing projects, DPS (left) and BPS (right)
Figure 2. Installed solar panels

IJECE ISSN: 2088-8708 
The Development of an Application Conceived for the Design, Feasibility Study and … (B. boukhris)
715
The parameters taken into account are the farmer's water requirements (Q = 400 m3
/ day), Total
dynamic head (TDH), estimated at 100 m and the meteorological parameters of the site.
3. THEORETICAL ELEMENTS
The implementation of an SPS must meet certain economic and technical criteria; therefore, our
application must meet the following requirements:
a. Optimum station size that would ensure a reliable and economical operation of the system and allow a
good choice of solar equipment (photovoltaic modules, inverters, motor pumps and accessories).
b. A feasibility study and economic profitability of the project, since the analysis of costs and the credibility
of an energy system is prerequisite before any decision to invest in equipment.
3.1. System Design
The dimensioning of a SPS [7-10] begins with the computation of the daily average hydraulic
energy required from relation 1 [11], and the power in peak watts, that the photovoltaic field must have by
using equation 2 [12].
(1)
with:
[ ( )] ( )
(2)
with:
: Illuminance in the Standard Condition of Measurement: W/m2
, T:= 25°C and air mass = 1.5.
: The coupling factor, defined as the ratio between the electrical energy generated under operating
conditions and the electrical energy that would be generated if the system was operating at the maximum
power point, which is equal 1 if a perfect maximum power point tracking system is used.
: The temperature coefficient of the cells (0.004 / ° C≤γ ≤0.005 / ° C for mono and polycrystalline silicon
modules, and 0.001 / ° C≤γ ≤0.002 / ° C for amorphous silicon modules.
T: The average daily temperature of the cells.
: The performance of the motor pump unit ( ).
: Inverter efficiency ( ).
( ) The average daily irradiation incident on the modules plan at the inclination β in Kwh / m2
/day.
The following tasks will then be performed:
1. The lowest irradiation in KW.h / m2
/ day of the site under study.
2. The choice of the pump according to Q and TDH.
3. The choice of the inverter compatible with voltage, current and power.
4. The choice of the appropriate panel.
5. Determining the total number of panels, as well as the number of modules in series and in parallel.
3.2. Economic Analysis
The economic analysis consists of calculating all costs that will ensure the viability of the
components of our pumping system over a period of time, reduced to a discounted value. This makes it
possible to compare costs on a common basis with other options and then make the most economical choice.
This cost analysis should include the cost of the initial capital funding and the present value of operating,
maintenance and replacement costs over the expected life span of the pumping system. This analysis is called
Life Cycle Cost (LCC). Equation 3 gives the expression of the overall cost [13].
(3)
with: : Total cost of the system, : Cost of equipment, acquisition and installation,
Maintenance cost, : Operating cost and : Replacement cost.
: Hydraulic Power [KWh/day]
: Water Volume [m3
/day]
: Total dynamic head [m]
: Constant [Kg.s.h/m2
]
Or
g: Earth’s Gravity = 9.81 m/s2
ρ: Water Density =1000 Kg/m3
= g. ρ/3600 = 2.725

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716
and are recurring and require updating throughout the life cycle of the system. In fact,
replacement cost is the sum of all equipment replacement costs expected during the life of the system, and
replacement costs normally only occur for years determined by the life of each component. Similarly, the
cumulative cost of maintenance is the sum of all expected repair costs over the life of the system.
Life cycle cost analysis consists of determining the current value of all planned spending over the life cycle
of the system. The discounted costs are obtained by applying to the costs appearing in future years the factor
"q" of discounting expressed by the following expression [14]:
With ( )
(4)
with: q: the discount factor, : cost to be updated for year "n", : the expected annual actual discount rate
and : the year of the appearance of the cost to update.
The updated price cubic meter (m3
) of water for the year 'n' considered is given by equation 5 below [15]:
(5)
4. GENERAL ARCHITECTURE OF PVDESIGN
The global architecture of the application developed with the C#language is visible in Figure 3. Our
study is limited to the analysis of the SPSs. This software can be broken down into four main parts.
Figure 3. Architecture of the developed application (PVDESIGN)
1. Databases: The application offers a wide range of choices in these different databases for
manufacturers, inverters, regulators, pumps, photovoltaic modules and batteries. Meteorological data can be
imported from (PVGIS: Photovoltaic Geographical Information System) [16], METEONORM [17] or NASA-
SSEdata [18]) or manually entered. These data are displayed as tables or charts.
2. Sizing of SPSs: This part of the software requires the introduction of certain quantities,
particularly the flow of water to be pumped per day Q (m3
/ d) and TDH (m). These parameters make it
possible to determine the power and electrical energy of the motor-pump unit. The daily running time of the
solar pump and the overall irradiation in the local site would make it possibleto determine the peak power of
the photovoltaic network. This allows us to choose the type of PV panel and the type of solar pump that
would give us the optimum configuration.
3. Dimensioning of the photovoltaic systems connected to the global network [19], [20]. This system
is not dealt with in this paper. It consists essentially of photovoltaic panels and an inverter capable of
ensuring an optimal connection to the public grid and improving the quality of the electrical power generated
 Site selection
 Expression of needs
 Calculation of power and
performance of components
 Choice of components
(inverter-pump-modules
pv...)
 Evaluation of costs

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and injected. This system is intended to meet the energy needs of the producer and inject the surplus into the
public grid. In return, when photovoltaic production is insufficient, the grid fills the energy deficit [21]
4. Dimensioning of autonomous (or isolated) photovoltaic systems [22]. This part is also beyond the
scope of our study. This system is not connected to the distribution power network. It consists of solar panels,
a charge regulator, batteries and an inverter.
5. RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS
The aim of this project is twofold. On the one hand, it seeks to satisfy the water requirements of our
farm (Q = 400 m3
/day) for the estimated total dynamic head (TDH) of 100 m and taking into account the
meteorological data of the study site. On the other hand, it aims at carrying out a comparative economic study
of our SPS with the traditional systems BPS and DPS. The PVDESIGN application has been developed to
achieve the following results:
5.1. Design
Figure 4 shows the PVDESIGN home screen, whereas Figure 5 shows the screen for selecting the site,
as well as the introduction of the parameters of our pumping system. The desired performances are visible to
the left of the image, Including the daily flow rate (400 m3
/day) and the total head (TDH = 100 m). From the
databases, the software exposes to the right of this image the average daily and monthly irradiations of the
chosen site.
Figure 6, shows the results proposed by our software with our choices of imposed material. Indeed,
choosing the manufacturer LORENTZ, PVDESIGN offers us a range of solutions for the controller and the
motor pump. In this case PSk2-40 C-SJ42-19 -D was chosen. In the same way, the solar panels chosen are of
the type LC 250-P6 of LORENTZ. PVDESIGN offers 152 panels, 19 in series and 8 in parallel.
Figure 4. PVDESIGN Home Screen
Figure 5. Site selection and performance of the
pumping system in PVDESIGN
Figure 6. Dimensioning of the pumping system by
PVDESIGN

 ISSN:2088-8708
718
5.2. Economic Analysis
Equation 3 is used to calculate the cost of the LLC life cycle, while equation 4 is used to calculate
the discounted costs for each year of the lifetime considered in our study. Equation 5 gives the updated price
cubic meter (m3
) of water for each year.
Table 1 lists the values of the parameters observed in our calculations While Table 2 gives the
investment values for each component of our stations with their estimated lifetimes.
Table 1. Parameters considered in economic study
Diesel Price
(MAD/liter)
Butane Price
(MAD/container)
Consumption in (liter/hour)
or in (container /hour)
Energy (Kwh/day)
Flow Rate(m3
)/day)
9 40
Diesel 10 210
400Butane 1
Table 2. Initial investments and lifetimes of BPS, DPS and SPS equipment.
DPS/BPS SPS
Equipement Investment
(MAD)
Lifetime
(Year)
Equipment Investment
(MAD)
Lifetime
(Year)
Generator 120,000,00/50,000,00 5 PV panels 281200,00 20
Motorpump 60000,00 7 Inverter 60000,00 7
Drilling 80000,00 20 Motorpump 60000,00 7
Tank 70000,00 20 Drilling 80000,00 20
Accessories 8000,00 20 Tank 100000,00 20
G. Investment 218000,00 Accessories 30000,00 20
maintenance 2% 4360 G. Investment 611200,00
maintenance 0,25% 1528,00
Figure 7 shows a screenshot of the PVDESIGN application, indicating the results obtained by
comparing our studied systems namely BPS, DPS and SPS. These results show that the photovoltaic system
has a high price at the beginning compared to other systems. However, it recovers very quickly in less than 2
years compared to the DPS system, and after 5 years, the price of the m3
of the SPS system becomes much
lower than that of the BPS system. This economic study shows that the photovoltaic system is the best
solution for our pumping system. Let alone, the classic advantages of solar compared to the other two
techniques, namely: respect of the environment, better reliability, repair, limited maintenance and lack of
fuel.
Figure 7. Costs comparison of m3
of water pumped by BPS, DPS and SPS depending on the number of years
of operation.
6. CONCLUSION
The development of a computer application for solar pumping is considered part of optimization by
adopting the best techno-economic solutions. This tool allows us to analyze the expected solutions with
precision and to evaluate the results, prior to any material commitment. The developed software makes it

IJECE ISSN: 2088-8708 
719
possible to predict the performance of the system and to evaluate all the possible costs, for different probable
cases, by varying the parameters that have a significant impact on the operation of the project. The developed
software also offers comparative economic studies of several pumping system techniques, therefore
providing reliable economic indicators. These should be the basis on which various choices have to be made.
Following the findings, we can say that solar pumping is more economical in comparison with butane
pumping, even though it is subsidized by the Moroccan state, and that diesel is largely exceeded today by
SPS and BPS.
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