Utility-Tied Solar Water Pumping System for Domestic and Agricultural Applications

A utility-tied solar pumping system for domestic and agricultural uses is presented in this paper. A front-end active converter is interfaced with the pump to provide power support when photovoltaic (PV) array power is insufficient to power the pump and injects the excess power into the grid when the solar PV array generates higher power than the pump’s capacity. A boost converter is interfaced with the PV array for the maximum power point tracking. The motor speed is regulated by V/f control, which inherently does not require the position or speed sensor. An intuitive induction motor drive controller is proposed, which feeds the maximum available solar power based at given solar radiation to the induction motor drive as well as extracts the deficit power from the single-phase grid for rated water output. The quality of the supply current when supported with utility power supply is conditioned. In the availability of different power sources, the behaviour of the proposed system is studied in detail. Moreover, the behaviour of the system is simulated and experimentally verified using a prototype of the proposed system. The design and control of the system are validated from the simulation as well as experimental results.