Is Solar-Powered Smart Irrigation the Future of Farming?

Lessons Learned from a Solar-Powered Smart Irrigation Experiment

By Sophie Nguyen, Remote Energy Intern

SolarDrip: Water Efficient Sun-Powered Irrigation

In the face of climate instability, climate change poses significant threats to food security and economic stability, especially in countries dependent on agricultural productivity. To address these challenges, solar-powered smart irrigation systems are needed more than ever to reduce energy costs, water waste, and greenhouse gas emissions.

Two high school students, Sophie Nguyen and Avital Coleman, took on this challenge by creating their own solar-powered smart irrigation system for a school science competition –SolarDrip. SolarDrip is designed for rural farmers who could easily learn to operate the system, while reducing water usage and keeping production yields high. Their project won three specialized awards as well as 1st place in their category, Environmental Engineering. Here, Sophie Nguyen explains each component of SolarDrip:

IRRIGATION SETUP:

The idea for our project was to create a functional system that combined solar, code, and irrigation. We wanted to approach irrigation for small-hold farmers differently from other systems on the market as they were either designed for gardens or commercial farming. To achieve this, we used four gutters to grow our lettuce plants. Drip irrigation tubing was run throughout the plant rows except for the control group, which was hand watered. The purpose of the control group was to compare its water use and overall plant life to the experimental group (plants connected to the irrigation system). The irrigation tubing ran to a 12-volt pump, which was submersed in a 10 gallon water tank.

SOLAR ENERGY:

For our system, we utilized a solar panel to power the 12-volt electrical pump, which outputs water onto our plants. The solar panel was connected to a charge controller to maintain a good charge on the battery. The panel would then charge the battery, which would power the pump and electrical system even if there was no sun. However, due to the constraints of having to work inside our school building, we were not able to gather sufficient energy from the sun for our solar panel to power our system. To continue on with our project, we opted to use just a battery charged by the utility to gather the results from our smart solar irrigation system.

SMART SYSTEM:

To conserve water, our irrigation system used real-time data from weather API’s (Application Programming Interface), which obtain specific weather data from a location.. To further improve the accuracy of water use, soil moisture sensors were incorporated. The whole system was controlled using a Raspberry Pi that we coded, controlling the weather API’s and soil moisture sensor. Our system was made to be customizable for new locations. As shown in the graphic below, a user would input their coordinates and the weather API would check if there was sufficient rainfall in that certain area. If it was determined there was not sufficient rainfall, the soil moisture sensor would run. Based on the API and moisture sensor, the system would make a determination on how much water was needed.

Hybrid checking system.
Picture credit: Sophie Nguyen and Avital Coleman

RESULTS:

Over a seven-day trial period, our smart irrigation system used 66.67% less water, compared to our plants that were manually watered. Based on our plants that lived and died, a Chi-squared analysis was run. Based on this analysis, we found that the irrigation system was just as effective at keeping plants alive as it was at saving water.

FURTHER WORK:

The next steps for SolarDrip will be working directly with small-hold farmers to further understand their specific agricultural and climate needs. SolarDrip represents an advancement in using technology to benefit age-old agriculture. With further adjustments and research, there is potential to revolutionize agriculture, affecting farmers, consumers, economies, and communities worldwide.

Is Solar-Powered Smart Irrigation the Future of Farming?