Solution to Agricultural Machinery Powering Problems Using DIY Photovoltaics

The contribution of this work is the realization and the field testing of a photovoltaic system in agriculture following the Do-It-by-Yourself (DIY) approach, i.e., a system easy to be assembled from commercially available components, portable off-site and recharging the battery directly when working. This solution allows the daily work of a simple agricultural machine to be carried out with the advantage of no interruption and, in addition, the saving of any electricity cost associated to battery recharging. The design and the realization of the DIY photovoltaic apparatus are described, which turns out quite cheap. The resulting economic advantages are analyzed, with reference to a geographical collocation and the typical agricultural practice in Sicily.