Stand-alone water pumping system powered by amorphous and polycrystalline photovoltaic panels in Paraná - Brazil

Water resources have fundamental importance both for living beings life and for human activities. The lack of water can be a limiting factor for occupation and development of a certain region. Photovoltaic pumping systems are an alternative solution for remote locations, with electric generation from photovoltaic panels being a locally pollutant-free option and less maintenance when compared to combustion-generation engines. This work aims the analysis of a photovoltaic pumping system with two cell technologies, amorphous and polycrystalline silicon. The research shown an average volume pumped of 2,255.44 and 2,397.01 litres per day in the amorphous and polycrystalline systems, respectively. The best efficiency results in both systems were at 0.8 kWhm −2 , 4.69% for amorphous and 7.75% polycrystalline. However, the first one presented lower voltage drop with panel's temperature increasing. It obtained higher flow and overall efficiency in the polycrystalline system.