PERFORMANCE ANALYSIS OF DIRECT SOLAR WATER PUMPING SYSTEMS WITH VARIATIONS IN PANEL CAPACITY IN SOA, EAST NUSA TENGGARA

Abstract

Limited access to water is still a major problem in Soa Ngada Regency, East Nusa Tenggara. This research aims to analyze the performance of solar water pumping systems with varying panel capacities of 400 Wp, 600 Wp and 800 Wp. The maximum power produced in each variation is during the day when the intensity of solar radiation is at its peak. Maximum power is recorded at 322 Watts in the 400WP variation, 554 watts in the 600Wp variation and 620 watts in the 800Wp variation. The percentage of power utilized by the pump varies, at 400Wp the average percentage of power utilized is 90.2%, at 600Wp 92.3% and at 800Wp the percentage is 85.2%. The decrease in power at 800Wp shows that the increase in power is not always directly proportional to the increase in system efficiency, this is caused by head loss, friction in the pipe which becomes greater as power increases and energy loss. Overall, the 600Wp variation shows more optimal performance in terms of the presentation of the power used, more efficient water discharge with the utilization of existing power and quite good efficiency. The system efficiency value obtained in the 400Wp variation is 22%, while in the 600Wp variation it decreases to 17% and in the 800Wp variation the system efficiency is 18%. The decrease in efficiency is caused by a mismatch between the panel power supply and the characteristics of the pump working point.