Energy Management for Photovoltaic Irrigation with a Battery Bank

Abstract

A proposal for energy management in an off-grid photovoltaic pumping and irrigation system is presented and evaluated for a specific case study. The system is assumed to be based on off-the-shelf components (photovoltaic panels, battery banks, DC/AC converters, relays, submergible pumps, etc.), with a microcontroller-based energy management system, deciding when to disconnect the load from the photovoltaic panels or the battery, or the battery from the photovoltaic panels. The aim is to reduce the battery bank us, but always fulfilling the irrigation demand. Using a specific case study (for tomatoes irrigation in Tunisia), the proposal is evaluated, showing that it fulfills the irrigation water demand, using the batteries only when really needed.