Objective
- To co-ordinate the work of the participating institutes in the field of testing and developing photovoltaic water pumps and to establish a strong network of excellence in this field, including institutes from the EU and Third Mediterranean Countries.
The area chosen as being currently of most interest in PV pumping is the small to medium size range, i.e. systems of less than 500W. This is a market sector where there is huge potential if system costs for a given hydraulic duty can be reduced far enough. One way to achieve this is through high overall sub-system efficiency, resulting in reduced PV array costs for a given water output. Manufacturers have only recently begun to address these areas, with the introduction of systems using positive displacement pumps and high efficiency motors in size ranges of a few hundred watts. However, it is believed that there is still much room for improvement, and it is the objective of this project to co-ordinate the various participating institutes in identifying common goals and paths towards low costs and increased efficiency.
Specific objectives of the programme are :
- To form a strong network of institutes from EU and TMCs already active in PV applications research to exchange information and experience, and collaborate in the field of PV pumping;
- To standardise PV pump laboratory and field test procedures between institutes;
- To carry out round-robin testing of the most advanced commercially available PV pumping systems. This will act both to cross-calibrate individual laboratories and to provide useful test data on several commercial systems;
- To analyse loss paths in the present generation of PV pumps and to co-ordinate goals to move towards a new generation of higher-efficiency PV pumping systems.
- Collaboration on testing, regular meetings and exchange visits have already led to a strong network between many of the participants.
- Test procedures were developed, circulated, revised and agreed by participants.
- Most of the pump tests have been completed and the analysis of the results is underway.
- Networking and Information Exchange
Regular meetings of all participants are being held. In addition, exchange visits between researchers of participating institutes are taking place.
In terms of information exchange a network has been created :
- to distribute up-to-date information and papers on PV pumping;
- to freely exchange test results and other pump research work;
- to facilitate exchange visits by researchers to each other's institutes;
- to allow institutes with less experience in pump testing to benefit from working with those that have more experience;
- to promote collaborative links between participating institutes.
It is regarded as vital that the information gathered and results produced from the Concerted Action are made available to the widest possible audience to which they will be of use. To this end, the final project meeting will incorporate an open seminar for anyone interested in the project results (manufacturers, researchers, users, etc.). In addition a state-of-the-art compilation of recent papers and publications will be produced at the end of the project that will contain the most relevant material circulated amongst the participants during the project.
- Development of Test Procedures for Pump Testing
As part of the programme, test procedures for both, laboratory and field testing of PV pumps are being developed. The draft procedures were circulated to all participants and comments were used to revise the documents. The tests described below are carried out according to these test procedures.
- Testing of PV Pumps
A programme of round-robin laboratory and field testing is being carried out. This will serve several useful purposes :
- to provide independent test results on the systems tested;
- to cross-calibrate the participating laboratories;
- to provide valuable experience in PV pump testing to those institutes who are less well equipped.
In all 11 pumps have been procured, 6 of which are on a round-robin laboratory test at several different institutes, and the other 5 are undergoing field testing. Most of the pump systems chosen are designed for arrays of under 500 Wp, use positive displacement pumps, use DC motors, have a design head of 20-50m1 and/or are new products or are in some way unusual. Some more established diaphragm and centrifugal pumps have been included for comparison.
- Improvement of System Efficiency and Cost Reduction
The test results from the pump tests are used to analyse loss mechanisms in the present generation of PV pumps. The goal of this work is to move towards the design of a new generation of higher-efficiency 'third generation' PV pumping systems.
In addition, an economic analysis is carried out with the aim of reducing the overall system cost for a given water demand.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
This project has not yet been classified with EuroSciVoc.
Be the first one to suggest relevant scientific fields and help us improve our classification service
You need to log in or register to use this function
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
projects.no_data
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
projects.no_data
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Coordinator
RG27 0PR HOOK EVERSLEY,HANTS
United Kingdom
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.