Energy Consumption of Brushless DC Motor for Modern Irrigation System

Abstract

This research proposes the calculation of energy used in modern drip irrigation systems with water pumps driven by Brushless DC motors. The drip irrigation systems are highly efficient in the use of water and electricity with higher quality crops. This system requires a flow of water with a certain pressure so that water dripped into the plant has a constant discharge. Pressurized water source is generated from two methods, namely overhead water tank and direct water pump. In the overhead water tank method, the amount of water pressure and energy required to provide the water depends on the amount of water discharge and the height of the tank position. In the direct water pump method, the amount of water pressure and electrical energy required depends on the speed of the pump rotation and the amount of water discharge. In this study, the direct water pump system is controlled by PI method which makes the water pressure is more stable. The simulation result indicates that irrigation system with overhead water tank requires higher energy than the direct water pump. The direct water pump method requires simple infrastructure which can operate at all required water pressure.