Tue, 31 January, 2023
As part of the IMPHORAA project’s aim to deliver water pumping solutions to under-served communities, TWI Ltd has designed a water pump controller that will be used in conjunction with a nanogrid controller designed by Nanoé.
The water pump controller will start and stop a water pump depending on parameters such as the subscription plan of users, water levels in storage tanks, the state of the solar panel-powered battery charge, the availability of the water source, and so on.
TWI designed the water pump controller printed circuit board (PCB) with a microcontroller, voltage regulator, power relay, on-board memory module and transistor-to-transistor logic (TTL) to a recommended standard 485 (RS485) converter.
The solar panel powered battery provides 24V voltage to the pump controller, meanwhile, the Nanogrid controller communicates with the pump controller regarding users credits and battery state of charge information, using the TTL to RS485 converter.
This information, combined with water level readings in the storage tank from level sensors and the internal recording of already pumped water volume, will assist the microcontroller in making decisions to turn the pump on or off automatically.
This water pump controller will help facilitate the delivery of reliable, clean water to remote and rural locations as part of the overall goals of IMPHORAA, improving the lives of communities in a range of ways.
TWI is also due to support the field testing of the IMPHORAA system in the Philippines from 7 to 10 February 2023.
