Design And Construction Of A Solar Controlled Irrigation System Using Moisture Sensor And Arduino

ABSTRACT

Costs of diesel for irrigation systems are increasing sharply due to the lack of availability of diesel in the markets. Moreover, the use of diesel fuel is also more expensive in the “new lands” due to the remoteness of desert farms. Taking into account the costs of transportation of diesel, maintenance and overhauling of generators, using diesel will no longer be economically feasible or affordable for those farms in the near future. At the same time, Nigeria’s exporters lose competitiveness in the international market due to crop losses that were caused by lack of irrigation. High CO2 emissions, immense diesel spills into the soil and risky long distance transportation of diesel to the farms are just a few ecological downsides of diesel operated water pumps. This makes the use of solar energy sources vital to the development of our country’s agricultural sector.

Solar irrigation system is defined as a system that distributes water to targeted area using solar energy. Basically, it is meant for agriculture purposes. .The system is powered by solar system as a renewable energy which uses solar panel module to convert Sunlight into electricity. The system is powered by an intelligent solar system in which solar panel targets the radiation from the Sun. Other than that, the solar system has reduced energy cost as well as pollution. The system is equipped with four input sensors; two soil moisture sensors, two level detection sensors. Soil moisture sensor measures the humidity of the soil, whereas the level detection sensors detect the level of water in the tank. The output sides consist of two solenoid valves, which are controlled respectively by two moisture sensors.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

 TITLE PAGE

APPROVAL PAGE

DEDICATION

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

ABSTRACT

TABLE OF CONTENT

CHAPTER ONE

• INTRODUCTION
• BACKGROUND AND OVERVIEW OF THE STUDY
• AIM/OBJECTIVE OF THE PROJECT
• SCOPE OF THE PROJECT
• SIGNIFICANCE OF THE PROJECT
• LIMITATION OF THE PROJECT
• APPLICATION OF THE PROJECT

CHAPTER TWO

LITERATURE REVIEW

2.0      LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1      REVIEW OF RELATED PROJECTS
2.2     LITERATURE SURVEY AND BACKGROUND STUDY
2.3     THE PROPOSED SOLUTION

2.4     REVIEW OF AUTOMATED SOLAR BASED AGRICULTURE PUMPING

2.5      OVERVIEW OF IRRIGATION SYSTEM

2.6     CONCEPT DEVELOPMENT OF SOLAR-POWERED IRRIGATION

 CHAPTER THREE

3.0      METHODOLOGY

3.1     DESIGN METHOD

3.2    SYSTEM BLOCK DIAGRAM

3.3    DESCRIPTION OF BLOCK DIAGRAM MAJOR PARTS

3.4    SYSTEM CIRCUIT DIAGRAM

3.5   CIRCUIT DESCRIPTION

3.6   SYSTEM SETUP DIAGRAM

CHAPTER FOUR

TESTING AND RESULT ANALYSIS

4.1   CONSTRUCTION PROCEDURE

4.2 CASING AND PACKAGING

4.3 ASSEMBLING OF SECTIONS

4.4 IRRIGATION SYSTEM PIPPING ANALYSIS

4.5 TESTING ANALYSIS

4.6 POSSIBLE TEST

CHAPTER FIVE

• CONCLUSIONS
• DESIGN CRITIQUE AND DISCUSSION

5.3     REFERENCES

CHAPTER ONE

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 encourage sits usage in various sectors.

One of the applications 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 Nigeria. This is 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.

1.1                                         BACKGROUND OF THE PROJECT

Farmers have always played a significant role in our society as they provide the world’s population with food. However, one may forget that, not only do they provide food but they also provide energy, which nowadays, is of paramount importance, especially as in light of renewable energies. Indeed, farmers can produce energy from the wind, the sun or the biomass and they can use it for their own farm, or, if they have a surplus, resell it to companies.

Solar energy might be one of the easiest ways for farmers to produce energy. Indeed, farmers usually have several large buildings whose roofs are directly under the sun, without being hindered by the shadows of the trees, turning them into an ideal place to settle a photovoltaic system. Therefore, the use of solar energy in agriculture is becoming increasingly popular and the energy produced from this renewable source can be used either on the farm or in the local power grid, providing the farmer with an additional income.

One of the areas in agriculture that benefits the most from solar energy is irrigation, especially in arid regions. The main reason is that using the sun for irrigation represents a virtuous circle: when the sun shines, it feeds the irrigation system, well, we know that crops needs more water when the sun shines a lot. Therefore, a large quantity of energy is available when it is actually needed.

This project is about a moisture-sensing automatic plant watering system using Arduino UNO. The system reads the moisture content of the soil using soil moisture sensor and switches ON the motor when the moisture is below the set limit. When the moisture level rises above the set point, the system switches off the pump.  The status of the tank, motor and the moisture level will be displayed on a 16×2 LCD display.

1.2                                                   AIM OF THE PROJECT

The irrigation system is defined as a system that distributes water to targeted area. Basically, it is meant for agriculture purposes. The efficiency of the irrigation is based on the system used. Since antiquity, the human life is based on agriculture and the irrigation system is one of the tools that boost agriculture. The objective of this work is design a solar powered/ controlled irrigation system. This system is auduino-based and quite useful in areas where there is plenty of sunshine.

1.3                                                   OBJECTIVE OF THE PROJECT

At the end of this work, students involved will be able to:

• Monitor the moisture content of the soil using a soil moisture sensor and the water level of the tank using a float switch.
• Turn the motor ON when the soil moisture falls below a certain reference value and if there is enough water in the tank.
• Display the status of the soil and the tank using a 16×2 LCD

1.3                                                 SCOPE OF THE PROJECT

The pumps used for the transport of the water are equipped with solar cells. The solar energy absorbed by the cells is then converted into electrical energy via a generator which then feeds an electric motor driving the pump. Most of the traditional pump systems mainly work with a diesel engine or with the local power grid. However, these two modes of operations present disadvantages compared to solar pumps.

1.4                                         SIGNIFICANCE OF THE PROJECT

In solar-powered systems, it works the other way round, that is, although this system is relatively expensive, the source of energy is free, therefore, after the amortization period, there are no longer operating costs (only the maintenance costs must be considered). Therefore, solar pumps turn out to be a viable long term investment.

1.5                                           LIMITATION OF THE PROJECT

Dealing with the limitation, the only limitation seen in solar irrigation is that:

1. The solar-powered pumps but the operating costs are quite high compare to other means of irrigation.
2. It cannot work properly when there is no sun shine or during cloudy weather.

1.6                                         APPLICATIONS OF THE PROJECT

• The circuit can be used to measure the loss of moisture in the soil over time due to evaporation and intake.
• Minimizes water waste and improves plant growth.
• The circuit is designed to work automatically and hence, there is no need for any human intervention.
• The project is intended for small gardens and residential environment. By using advanced soil moisture sensor, the same circuit can be expanded to large agricultural fields.