| Work Detail |
Indian scientists devised a new system for growing crops in remote areas without a connection to the electricity grid. It consists of a photovoltaic panel, add-on module hardware (AOMH), a battery, step-down DC-DC converters, system power devices, automation, and sensing elements.
Scientists at Indias Netaji Subhas University of Technology have developed an environmentally controlled and protected agriculture technology (PECFT) based on photovoltaics for farms in remote areas without connection to the electricity grid.
“Our solution could be used in all geographic locations, although it is designed specifically for people with low incomes,” the lead author of the research, Anuradha Tomar, explains to pv magazine . “It could help bridge the gap in low-budget agricultural applications as a unified package for triple simultaneous land use to improve feeding, photovoltaic energy yield and management of the agricultural sector with limited access to water.”
In the article “ Sustainable photovoltaic based protective environment controlled farming technology as economy boosters for agro-sectors ”, published in Smart Agricultural Technology , the researchers state that the key feature of the proposed system is microclimate control, which is achieved by taking into account multiple environmental parameters such as temperature, humidity, photos synthesis, CO2, humidity level, ventilation, irrigation and fertigation.
The prototype of the system measures 2,400 mm × 1,700 mm × 2,365 mm, has a capacity for 24-28 plants and a total volume of 5.57 m3.
It consists of a casing that the researchers called add-on module hardware (AOMH), a solar panel, a battery, buck-DC-DC converters, system power devices, automation, and sensor elements. For climate control, it also includes a water pump, a fan for CO2 assimilation, sprinkler misters, and drip irrigation solenoids. The photovoltaic panel has a sheet of glass as a refractor and reflector. Provides power for low heat gain, temperature control, and power generation.
"To ensure sufficient photosynthesis in the color range of short-wave radiation (wavelength 400-700 nm), photovoltaic power generation (700 nm-1 mm), net thermal energy (sum of radiated, refracted, convict, and conductive) into the PV_PECF and outgoing long-wave radiation, the energy from the soil and plants must always be dynamically adjusted according to crop needs," they explain. the scientists.
Tuning is done using a model based on the Energy Balance State Monitoring Index (E2SMI), which is reported to initiate the appropriate charging action at the optimal trigger point. "An attempt is being made to adequately counteract the impact of non-linear external meteorological variations," they stressed. "It favors sufficient energy savings in the indoor air conditioning process and thus increases the return on investment (ROI)".
The Indian group validated this system setup for a full tomato growing cycle and compared these results to a reference open field growing cycle. "The leaf area index (LAI) is between 1.44 and 1.58 times higher than in the open field and the ROI increases by 9.24%," he further explains. “The AOMH integrated into the MPPT could provide an average combined additional energy gain of 10.32% compared to one without AOMH module.”
The researchers concluded by saying that ROI could be further improved in proportionally larger systems. “The benchmarks/parameters considered for the presented work are baseline values ??to start with and therefore need fine tuning based on crop performance and experience in the near future,” they noted. |
