Utilization of solar power as DC water pump movement in hydroponic plants

Abstract

Photovoltaics is used to convert sunlight energy into electrical energy, which can be used as a regulator of water circulation hydroponic planting methods that are easy, practical and attractive so that they can be used easily by the urban community in their operations. The use of solar power as a DC water pump driver in hydroponic plants was designed using several tools including 10 Wp photovoltaic and DC stepdown LM 7812 with 3.6 W power. This research was conducted in Agricultural Faculty Building, University of Sumatera Utara with a height of 2 meters from the ground. DC water pump could function optimally at 11.00 a.m. - 3.00 p.m. with an average sunlight intensity of 373.71 - 310.65 W/m2 and an average temperature of 30°C - 33°C. Photovoltaics monocrystalline type produced daily energy of 224.75 Wh with an efficiency of 8.14% while polycrystalline produced 194.81 Wh of electricity with 7.57% efficiency. The results showed that monocrystalline PV was better than polycrystalline PV.