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Designing a predictive optimal water and energy irrigation (POWEIr) controller for solar-powered drip irrigation systems in resource-constrained contexts

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Listed:
  • Sheline, Carolyn
  • Grant, Fiona
  • Gelmini, Simone
  • Pratt, Shane
  • Winter V., Amos G.

Abstract

Sustainable agriculture intensification is necessary to meet the food needs of the growing global population without further exacerbating water scarcity or contributing to climate change. This paper presents the Predictive Optimal Water and Energy Irrigation (POWEIr) controller, a precision irrigation controller for solar-powered drip irrigation (SPDI) systems. The POWEIr controller optimizes SPDI energy and water use, provides an optimal irrigation schedule to the user, and is shown to reduce the overall system cost. An economic analysis shows that modeling season-long operation and improving solar energy use efficiency can save 18%–74% in the solar pump lifetime cost while delivering irrigation 31%–66% more reliably than existing commercial SPDI systems. The POWEIr controller uses a small, inexpensive set of sensors and leverages physics-based models and machine learning to make energy and crop water demand predictions. The POWEIr theory was validated with an experimental prototype of the controller that was used to operate a small-scale SPDI system. The results demonstrate that the POWEIr controller can use a small battery to ensure irrigation reliability despite prediction uncertainty and weather variability. On large water demand days the POWEIr controller prototype had up to 46% higher solar irrigation reliability compared to simulated typical practices and used six times less battery storage to deliver the required irrigation. This means that the POWEIr controller could enable more reliable irrigation with a smaller, less expensive battery for energy storage. The POWEIr controller has the potential to increase the adoption of precision irrigation technology and sustainable irrigation methods among farmers in resource-constrained contexts, which in turn could advance sustainable agriculture intensification globally.

Suggested Citation

  • Sheline, Carolyn & Grant, Fiona & Gelmini, Simone & Pratt, Shane & Winter V., Amos G., 2025. "Designing a predictive optimal water and energy irrigation (POWEIr) controller for solar-powered drip irrigation systems in resource-constrained contexts," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 377(PA).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:appene:v:377:y:2025:i:pa:s0306261924014909
    DOI: 10.1016/j.apenergy.2024.124107
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    References listed on IDEAS

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