Analysis of temperature effect on optimum sizing of solar photovoltaic water pumping system

Indian ambient condition varies widely during different seasons which can influence the performance and optimum PV array sizing of solar water pumping system. It is observed that water output of the same pump varies seasonally due to change in weather. Most of solar pumps use Variable Frequency Drives (VFD) controllers for DC/ AC conversion and driving the solar pumps. However, due to absence of proper MPPT in VFD, there is a difference between MPP voltage and the operating array voltage. Further, due to strong influence of temperature, PV array operating voltage decreases in summer because of higher temperature. The power available at operating voltages decreases significantly during summer, reducing water output. Due to this reason solar pumps using VFD drivers perform poorly during summer.