Research report: Numerical and experimental investigation of a solar pump operated by photovoltaic modules
A 5-kilowatt photovoltaic water pumping system designed as an alternative to diesel-powered irrigation has delivered promising results in a combined numerical and experimental study, with simulations reporting an average performance ratio of 0.829 and a total water output of 25,651 cubic metres over the evaluated period.
The research, published in Energy, Sustainability and Society, was carried out by a team including Vineet Singh, Vinod Singh Yadav, Vaibhav Trivedi, Anurag Maheswari, Manoj Kumar, Pushkar Singh and Ashu Yadav. The study was motivated by the economic and environmental burden that diesel pumps place on farmers, particularly small-scale cultivators, whose profit margins are squeezed by rising fuel costs and by the emissions associated with fossil-fuelled irrigation.
According to the paper’s background section, the system components — the pump, the controller, the solar array configuration and an auxiliary water storage tank — were selected based on the cultivated crop type and the field area. Wheat, the predominant crop in the region around the test site, served as the basis for the performance evaluation.
Performance was simulated using PVsyst 6.3.1 (2017) software. For experimental validation, the team used a fully functional prototype installed at the Faculty of Engineering and Technology at MJP Rohilkhand University in Bareilly, India, located at 28.21°N, 79.46°E.
The simulation results indicated that the system generated a total of 6,901.7 kilowatt-hours of energy and delivered 25,651 cubic metres of water, which the authors report was adequate to meet the irrigation demands of the evaluated field.
An optimisation analysis within PVsyst identified the ideal panel orientation parameters as 0 degrees azimuth, a 30-degree tilt angle and a 10-metre pitch distance between rows. Under these optimised conditions, the modelled system achieved an effective solar irradiance of 1,895 kilowatt-hours per square metre, a total array output of 15.6 megawatt-hours, and minimal shading losses limited to 35 kilowatt-hours.
The study combined numerical simulation with experimental validation of a prototype.
In the conclusions, the authors recommend future research on life-cycle economic and environmental assessments of solar photovoltaic pumping systems under varying climatic and operational conditions. In the conclusions, they state that future research should be based on comprehensive life-cycle economic and environmental assessments of solar photovoltaic pumping systems, particularly under varying climatic and operational conditions.
Those recommended follow-up investigations include detailed analysis of long-term maintenance costs, system reliability, energy storage integration, and CO2 emission reduction throughout the entire service life of the system. The authors also suggest that studies aimed at improving overall system efficiency and reducing the initial installation cost could enhance the large-scale adoption of solar pumping technology for sustainable water supply applications.
While the reported performance ratio and water output describe this particular 5-kilowatt installation and its simulated operating conditions, the work adds a documented case of a modelled-and-tested photovoltaic pumping system sized around a real crop and field area, with the authors’ own conclusions pointing to the life-cycle and cost analyses still needed before wider deployment claims can be made.
Subject of Research: Numerical and experimental evaluation of a 5-kW photovoltaic-powered water pumping system for agricultural irrigation.
Article Title: Numerical and experimental investigation of a solar pump operated by photovoltaic modules
Article References: Singh, V., Yadav, V. S., Trivedi, V., Maheswari, A., Kumar, M., Singh, P., & Yadav, A. (2026). Numerical and experimental investigation of a solar pump operated by photovoltaic modules. Energy, Sustainability and Society. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13705-026-00603-w
Image Credits: AI Generated
DOI: 10.1186/s13705-026-00603-w
Keywords: solar water pumping, photovoltaics, irrigation, PVsyst simulation, performance ratio, diesel pump replacement, wheat cultivation, solar array orientation, agricultural energy, sustainable water supply, India, renewable energy
News Source: Alan Morgan. (October 28, 2026). Research report: Numerical and experimental investigation of a solar pump operated by photovoltaic modules. Scienmag.
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