Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 68 (2017) 70–86

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Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/rser

A review of photovoltaic water pumping system designing methods, control

strategies and field performance
crossmark
⁎
Dhiaa Halboot Muhsena,b, , Tamer Khatibc, Farrukh Nagid
a
Department of EC Engineering, University of Tenaga Nasional, Malaysia
b
Department of Computer and Software Engineering, University of Al, Mustansiriyah, Iraq
c
Department of Energy Engineering and Environment, An-Najah National University, Nablus, Palestine
d
Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Tenaga Nasional, Malaysia

A R T I C L E I N F O A BS T RAC T

Keywords: Photovoltaic water pumping system (PVPS) is an important and promising application of solar energy systems
Photovoltaic system especially in remote areas. In this review paper, research work on PVPS modeling, reliability, feasibility, field
Water pumping system performance, design procedures and control strategies is analyzed and reported. In addition, technical
Load matching challenges to this science are concluded in this review. According to the results, the numerical method is
Field performance
recommended for sizing PVPS. In the meanwhile, incremental conductance and artificial intelligent (AI) based
maximum power point tracking algorithms are the most recommended control strategies for PVPS. On the other
hand, According to reported PVPS performance, the average overall system's efficiency is about 3.4% with
average annual productivity rate of 6580.611 m3/kWp. In general PVPS have a number of challenges related to
design procedure, modeling method, control strategy, availability of data and site obstacles such as shadow
effects.

1. Introduction modules, the nonlinearity of PV module/array I-V characteristics and

The life quality improvement and the advancement of the industry
in many countries are dramatically assisted to increase the energy
demand in the world [1]. This growing demand increased the gap
between the energy generated and the demand. In addition to that, the
fuel resources are gradually being lead to depletion. Also, the environ-
mental pollution in the world is increased due to the utilization of the
conventional energy generation methods. These reasons encourage the
researchers to discover alternative, renewable and sustainable, energy
sources [2].
Solar energy is considered renewable and environment friendly
energy source [3]. In the meanwhile, photovoltaic technology (PV) is
the most popular technology that directly utilizes solar energy and
converts it to a direct current [4]. One of the most popular applications
of PV power systems is PV water pumping system (PVPS). PVPS
utilizes the power generated from the PV module to power a pumping
system for different water pumping applications such as providing
drinking water for domestic and irrigation [5]. A properly designed
PVPS can be efficient and economical competitive to grid connected or
diesel generator (DG) based pumping systems especially in the rural
areas [6–8]. However, the low energy conversion efficiency of PV
the unique maximum power operation point are still the major
challenges of this technology [9–12].
In general, there are some review articles archived in the literature
on PVPS research development. In [13] the authors discussed the
opportunities and challenges of PVPS. The authors briefly discussed
the technical, economic and social implications of these systems in
developing countries. The authors proved that PVPS has the lowest life
cycle cost as compared to DG and grid connected based water pumping
system. Similarly, in [14] and [15] PVPS design procedure is reviewed
in terms of system's sizing, installation, mounting and monitoring. In
the meanwhile, the recent developments on PVPS in a specific location
are reviewed in [16]. The authors have reported most of the technol-
ogies applied to PVPS in Algeria including system's modeling, sizing
and performance.
However, these review papers do not present a critical analysis of
the recent developments in this science, whereas the focus was given to
systems feasibility and applications and simple design procedures. On
the other hand, some other archived reviews have discussed PVPS
technology and research development in detail such as [17,18]. Gopal
et al. [17] have reported studies on PVPS systems including system's
performance, economic and environmental impacts of PVPSs. In

⁎
Corresponding author at: Department of EC Engineering, University of Tenaga Nasional, Malaysia
E-mail addresses: deia_mohussen@yahoo.com (D.H. Muhsen), t.khatib@najah.edu (T. Khatib), farrukh@uniten.edu.my (F. Nagi).

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2016.09.129
Received 13 January 2015; Received in revised form 13 August 2016; Accepted 29 September 2016
Available online 11 October 2016
1364-0321/ © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
D.H. Muhsen et al.
addition to that, system's pumping unit types, sizing and control
strategies are discussed. In the meanwhile, in [18] research articles
on PVPS power electronic features were reviewed. In this review
research articles on maximum power point tracking technology
(MPPT) for PVPS are discussed. However, in [17] few studies on
PVPS have been reported and discussed as the review paper did not
give the full focus to PVPS only. Thus, critical challenges for PVPS
control, modeling and sizing were not provided. Meanwhile, in [18]
MPPT based control strategy for PVPS was only discussed without
considering other control strategies. Moreover, system's field perfor-
mance, models, and sizing have not been considered in the review. In
addition to that, a comprehensive review of PVPS is done by [19]. The
authors have focused on the latest updates of PVPS research, technol-
ogy, performance, economic and environmental aspects as well as
sizing techniques for PVPS. Furthermore, the factors which affect the
performance of system, such as PV efficiency degradation are discussed
in [19].
Based on that, in this paper, more than 100 research articles on
PVPS are reviewed. The aim of this review is to present a state of the art
in PVPS field performance, design, modeling and control strategies.
Critical analysis and summaries of the latest developments in the
aforementioned field are provided. Finally, a list of challenges to this
science is concluded.
2. Photovoltaic water pumping system theory
In general, diesel generators (DG) are being used for water
pumping purposes in remote areas. However, PVPS can provide more
clean and feasible system. Table 1 illustrates a brief comparison
between PVPS and DG based water pumping system.
In general, a PVPS is consisted of four main parts which are PV
array, power conditioning unit, electric motor and pump as shown in
Fig. 1. The PV array comprises a number of PV modules that are
connected in series and parallel. In the meanwhile, power conditioning
unit (PCU) is used to optimize the transferred energy between the PV
array and the motor-pump set [13]. The PCU may be either a DC-DC or
DC-AC converter depending on the type of the used motor. The
electrical energy produced by the PV array is converted to a mechanical
energy by an electric motor. Some of PVPSs use a battery as a storage
device so as to be used in the night or cloudy days. In the meanwhile, in
some other PVPSs the electric storage (battery) is replaced by hydraulic
storage unit (water storage tank). The stored water in the storage tank
is used when the PV array is unable to power the pump in the night or
when the volume of pumped water is not sufficient to cover the demand
water. As for system's motor, in most of PVPSs, DC motors are used
due to its high efficiency and simplicity of implementation despite that
DC motors need frequent maintenance. Brushless permanent magnet
DC (BPMDC) motors are used to overcome the obstacles of conven-
tional DC motor for low power systems. On the other hand, induction
Table 1
Comparison between water pumping systems powered by PV and diesel generator.
PVPS Pumping system based on DG
1. High initial cost. 1. Moderate initial cost.
2. Low maintenance and operation 2. High maintenance and operation cost.
cost. 3. Required frequent site maintenance.
3. Low maintenance. 4. High environmental pollution.
4. Low environmental pollution. 5. High life cycle cost
5. Low life cycle cost in remote areas. 6. Rapid installation and movable
6. Rapid installation and movable technology.
technology. 7. Required fuel continuously
7. Does not require fuel. 8. Required frequent site visits
8. Does not require frequent site visits. 9. Linear and regulate operation and
9. Nonlinear operation and depends on does not depend on the weather
the solar irradiance and condition.
temperature
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Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 68 (2017) 70–86
motors are used in PVPS as they are a reliable and maintenance free
alternative [20]. Table 2 shows the advantages and the drawbacks of
different types of electric motor that used in PVPS. It is worth
mentioning that, in the floating and submersible pumping systems
the motor and pump are equipped together by the manufacturer, while
in the surface pumping system the consumer can choose both motor
and pump separately [13]..
The pump in PVPS converts mechanical power to hydraulic power.
Two types of pumps can be used in PVPS namely centrifugal and
positive displacement pump (helical pump). The centrifugal pump uses
a rotating impeller to generate a centrifugal force that suck the water
while the impeller directs the water to the pump outlet with high
velocity and pressure. On the other hand, the positive displacement
pump is designed to provide a fixed amount of water by the contraction
and expansion of plaint diaphragm. The selection of a suitable pump
for a PVPS is done based on many factors such as water flow rate
requirement, height of discharge and the quality of pumped water. A
brief comparison between the two types of pumps is illustrated in
Table 3.
According to the reviewed reports, the proposed PVPSs can be
classified into four categories namely directly coupled PVPS, PVPS with
MPPT, PVPS with storage battery and PVPS with a sun tracker. The
first and second types are the most popular ones, while the third type is
more expensive and less feasible. On the other hand, the fourth type is
complicated, expensive and less reliable than other systems. Anyway, it
is necessary to assure a match between the PV generator and motor-
pump set [21–23] so as to achieve efficient operation. The matching
can be achieved by one of different techniques such as specially
designed motor, PV array configuration or MPPT techniques [24].
3. Modeling of photovoltaic water pumping system
As mentioned before, PVPS contains PV array, power electronic
features, motor and pumps. In this section the most used models for
these components are reviewed.
3.1. Photovoltaic array model
In general, a photovoltaic module can be modeled using the single
diode model as shown in Fig. 2. The photocurrent of the PV module is
represented by an ideal dependent current source that generates
current based on solar irradiance (GT ) and ambient temperature (T ).
In the meanwhile, a diode in the reverse mode can be used to represent
the output voltage of the PV module. A large shunt resistance is used to
express the saturation current of diode, while a small series resistance
is used to express the internal losses of the PV module. The output
current of a PV module can be expressed by
⎡ ⎛ V + IRs ⎞ ⎤ V + IRs
I =IPh−Io ⎢exp ⎜ ⎟ −1⎥ −
⎣ ⎝ Vt ⎠ ⎦ Rp (1)
where I and V are the output current (A) and voltage (V) of the PV
module, respectively, IPh is the photocurrent (A), Io is the diode
saturation currents of the diode (A), Rs is the series resistance (Ω),
Rp is the shunt resistance (Ω), IRp current flows via Rp , ID is the forward
current that flows via the diode, and Vt is the diode thermal voltage (V)
that can be given by
aBTC
Vt =
q (2)
where B is Boltzmann's constant (1.3806503e-23 J/K), TC is the cell
temperature (K), q is the electron charge (1.60217646e-19C), and a is
the diode ideality factor that represents the components of diffusion
current..
However, the PV array consists of a number of PV modules which
also consist of a number of solar cells. Thus, the output current of a PV
D.H. Muhsen et al. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 68 (2017) 70–86

Storage
tank

Static head
+ Power
V Conditioning
- Unit

PV

Static water level

Well
Drawdown level

Motor-Pump set

Pipe

Electric line

Fig. 1. Schematic diagram of a photovoltaic water pumping system.

Table 2
Brief comparison between the different types of electric motors.

DC Motor AC Motor

1. Expensive. 1. Cheaper and the available in ranges.

2. Directly coupled or via DC-DC converter. 2. Coupled to a PV generator by a DC-AC
3. High efficiency and it has high starting torque so it is preferred in PVPS. converter and sometimes with DC-DC
4. Required frequent maintenance, especially brush type motor. converter.
Brushes Brushless Permanent Magnet (PM) Switched Reluctance Motor (SRM) 3. Less efficient.
1. Expensive. 1. Less expensive than 1. High starting torque so it 1. Cheap and simple construction. 4. Free maintenance and rugged.
2. Less maintenance brushless DC motor. is preferred in PVPS. 2. Robust and reliable.
2. Periodically maintenance 2. Fast response. 3. It has a better thermal characteristics
(change brushes) 3. High efficiency. because no winding on rotor.

array can be expressed by [25], Table 3

Comparison between centrifugal and positive displacement pumps.
⎡ ⎛ 1 ⎛ V I R ⎞⎞ ⎤ N ⎛ V I R ⎞
Ia=Np IPh −Np Io ⎢exp ⎜⎜ ⎜ a + a s ⎟ ⎟⎟ −1⎥ − ⎜ a + a s ⎟
p
⎢⎣ ⎝ Vt ⎝ Ns Np ⎠ ⎠ ⎥⎦ Rp ⎝ Ns Np ⎠
Centrifugal Pump Positive Displacement Pump
(3)
1. The volume of pumping water is high. 1. Low water pumping volume.
where Ia and Va are the array output current (A) and voltage (V), 2. Low maintenance required. 2. Required frequent maintenance.
respectively, Np is the number of PV modules connected in parallel, Ns is 3. High efficiency, but the efficiency of 3. The pump able to operate efficiently
the number of PV modules connected in series. Anyway, the output pump degraded when the pump over a wide speed range away from
current of a PV array is mainly affected by solar irradiance and the operates away from rated speed. rated speed.
4. The pump can pump water with low 4. Required thigh starting torque to
ambient temperature. Therefore, the parameters of Eq. (2.3) can be
radiation. operate.
also computed based on standard test condition (STC) and the weather 5. The pumping flow rate varies 5. The flow rate of the pump is
condition as follows [26], according to the pumping head. approximately constant regardless
6. The flow rate is decreased when the of the pumping head.
GT water viscosity is increased. 6. The flow rate is increased when the
IPh=IPhSTC ×[1 + α ISC (TC −TCSTC )]×
1000 (4) 7. Widely used in the PVPS. viscosity of water is increased.
7. Rarely used in the PVPS.
⎛ NOCT − 20° ⎞
TC = T + ⎜ ⎟ GT
⎝ 800 ⎠ (5)

⎛ T ⎞3/ n ⎛ −qEg ⎛ 1 1 ⎞⎞
Io = IoSTC × ⎜ C ⎟ × exp ⎜ ⎜ − ⎟⎟
⎝ TCSTC ⎠ ⎝ aB ⎝ TC TCSTC ⎠ ⎠ (6)

TC2
Eg=1. 16 − 7. 02 × 10−4×
TC −1108 (7)

TC Fig. 2. Single-diode model electrical equivalent circuit of PV module.

Vt =VtSTC ×
TCSTC (8)
(°C); GT is the solar irradiance (W/m2); NOCT is the nominal operating
1000
Rp=RpSTC × cell temperature (°C) and α ISC is the temperature coefficient of the short
GT (9)
circuit current (A/ºC). It is worth to mention that the parame-
where Eg is the band gap energy (ev); T is the ambient temperature terXSTC refers to parameter X under STC.

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D.H. Muhsen et al.
Accurate PV system modeling plays an essential role in optimally
planning and operating of these systems [27,28]. PV module modeling
concept refers to the estimation of PV module's parameters using
manufacturing and/or experimental performance data. According to
the literature, there are many techniques for estimating PV module's
parameters [29]. One of these popular techniques is the analytical
technique. The analytical technique can be defined as the attempt of
finding a relationship between PV module's parameters under standard
testing condition (STC) and other operating conditions using the data
provided by the manufacturer. The analytical method offers simple and
fast parameter calculation [30]. However, the physical performance of
a PV module might be affected by the actual environment conditions
and thus, a significant difference between the simulated and the actual
performance of the modeled PV module might be observed. Many
examples on the analytical methods can be found in the literature. The
authors of [31] proposed a simple PV module model based on the
relations between PV modules parameters and meteorological variables
such as solar irradiance and ambient temperature. Similarly, in [32]
and [33] models were proposed to estimate the performance of a PV
module. In addition to that, the authors of [34] proposed a model for
estimating the series resistance (Rs ) of a PV module using the analytical
method. Bai et al. [35] used a compound method to estimate the
parameters of a five-parameter PV model. They combined a piecewise
I–V curve fitting technique and a four-parameter model to compute the
differential values of I–V curves at open- and short-circuit points under
STC. Afterward, five explicit equations were used to extract five
parameters under STC. Lim et al. [36] proposed an extensive computa-
tions method to identify the five parameters of single diode model
based on a single I-V curve and reducing the parameter space from
five to one. The proposed method in [36] deals with the diode model
as a dynamic system. On the other hand, some of the researchers
have proposed other methods to overcome the drawbacks of the
analytical method, such as Newton Raphson (NR) based methods
[37,38]. Levenberg-Marquardt (LM) algorithm [26,39] artificial
neural network based methods [40–44], evolutionary algorithms
(EA) [45–56] and some other numerical techniques [57,58] for this
purpose. A combination of analytical and numerical (i.e., NR
method) solutions was proposed by Hejri et al. [59] to extract five
parameters of a double-diode PV model using the manufacturer
specifications of the PV module. Ishaque et al. [60,61] proposed an
improved version of the method presented in [38] by modeling a
double-diode PV module using data provided by the manufacturer.
The model proposed by Ishaque et al. [60,61] is appropriate for low
irradiance cases. However, there are some drawbacks of NR based
method for estimating PV module's model parameters. First, the
assumed initial conditions of the parameters usually influence the
accuracy of the final results negatively [62]. Second, NR method
needs intensive computation. Finally, the NR method may be failed
to converge to the optimal value when the Jacobian matrix is
singular or the derivative of f (x ) is unbounded at the root [63].
LM algorithm based method combines the advantages of both
Gauss-Newton and gradient-descent methods. The main drawback
of LM method is the influence of the initial condition of the
parameters on the accuracy of the final results especially when the
optimization problem has multiple minima. Moreover, the efficiency
of LM algorithm is strongly depending on the choice of the damping
control parameter. In addition to that, the Jacobian matrix must be
computed at each iteration, and thus a great computational burden
is needed. On the other hand, ANN based method is a complex
location dependent. Furthermore, it is represented as a black box
and it needs for a huge amount of I-V data.
Recently, evolutionary algorithms have been extensively utilized in
PV modeling due to its high efficiency and reliability to perform such a
task [64–66]. Zagrouba et al. [47] used genetic algorithm (GA) to
estimate the five parameters of a PV module's model. Similarly, in [48]
the parameters of a PV module are extracted using GA and manufac-
73
Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 68 (2017) 70–86
turing synthetic data. GA exhibits better than previously mentioned
methods for this purpose [47]. Furthermore, the results obtained do
not depend on the initial condition of the parameters. However, the
main disadvantage of GA that it needs relatively long execution time
[67]. The drawbacks of a GA were overcome using the particle swarm
optimization (PSO) algorithm [68]. Other EA algorithms have been
utilized for this purpose as well. Alireza and Leandro [108] proposed a
simplified bird mating optimizer (SBMO) method to extract the
parameters of the single diode model electric equivalent circuit of a
PV array. Alam et al. [69] proposed the flower pollination algorithm
(FPA) as a method to extract the parameters of both single- and
double-diode PV models. This extraction method has exhibited good
performance, particularly at low solar irradiance levels. The parameters
of a single-diode PV model were extracted using the shuffled frog
leaping algorithm (SFLA) under different operating conditions for
various types of PV modules in [70]. Patel et al. [71] used the teaching
learning based optimization (TLBO) algorithm to extract the five
parameters of a single diode PV cell based on the I-V characteristic
for a specific solar irradiance level. Siddiqui and Abido [53] conducted
a comparison for the performance of various evolutionary algorithms
for estimating the parameters of a PV module's model. They concluded
that the differential evolution (DE) assisted with Tabu search optimiza-
tion algorithm offers more accurate parameter estimation than other
methods. Moreover, Yuan et al. [54] exploited mutation-scale parallel
chaos optimization algorithm (MPCOA) to extract the parameters of a
PV module's model. M. Barukcic et al. [55] estimated the five
parameters of a PV module's model using an evolution strategy (ES)
and the I-V curves provided by the manufacturers. Ishaque et al.
[56,67,72] proposed a penalty DE (PDE) algorithm to extract the
parameters of a single- and double-diode PV module models using
synthetic manufacturer data. The authors concluded that the PDE
algorithm was more accurate and rapidly converged compared with
GA, PSO, and simulated annealing (SA) algorithms. An improved
adaptive DE (IADE) algorithm was proposed by Jiang et al. [73] to
estimate the five parameters of a PV module model. The mutation
factor and crossover rate were adjusted using a strategy based on
exponential function. Thus, IADE offers higher accuracy and faster
convergence speed compared with GA, PSO, and conventional DE
algorithms. Furthermore, Wenyin and Zhihua [74] proposed an
improved adaptive differential evolution algorithm integrated with
crossover rate repairing technique and ranking-based mutation (Rcr-
IJADE) to extract the parameters of a PV module's model. The results
showed that the proposed method offers higher accuracy than different
types of DE algorithms for estimating PV module's model parameters.
An improved differential evolution with adaptive mutation per
iteration (DEAM) is proposed by [75] for extracting single-diode
model PV module's parameters. DEAM [75] has been validated by
experimental data and other previous methods in literature. The
results of [75] show a high agreement between the experimental and
simulated I-V characteristics. Furthermore, DEAM offers better
performance than other methods in terms of accuracy, CPU-execu-
tion time and convergence. Muhsen et al. [76] proposed a new
version of DE algorithm, is called differential evolution with inte-
grated mutation per iteration (DEIM) to extract the seven para-
meters of double-diode PV-module model. The proposed model in
[76] is validated through experimental data and other models, which
have been proposed in literature using various statistical errors. It is
found that DEIM exhibits high accuracy and fast convergence speed
compared with other methods. A comparative study between various
evolutionary algorithms and adaptive their control parameters for
extracting five parameters of single-diode PV-module model is
conducted by [77]. The results of [77] show that the hybrid
evolutionary algorithms offer significant superiority compared to
the standard evolutionary algorithms in terms of CPU-execution
time, accuracy and convergence to global optimal values. Table 4
summarizes the research works of PV modeling.
 Table 4
Summary of modeling photovoltaic cell/module.

Authors PV-Model Approach Method Comment

*
Ma et al.[25,26] SDM Compound LM The authors used LM method to estimate the parameters of PV module under STC, after that they used analytical method to find the parameters under
D.H. Muhsen et al.

various weather conditions.

Chan et al.[30] SDM/DDM** Analytical – An analytical method is proposed to estimate the parameters of SDM and DDM of solar cell using experimental data. The method offers parameters’
values with 10% as error.
Khatib et al.[31] SDM Analytical – The authors extract the four PV module parameters by deriving mathematical relationships using an experimental I-V data. TheRs is assumed constant.
King et al.[32] SDM Analytical – The authors estimate the unknown parameters of PV module based on mathematical relations which correlates the parameters with the solar irradiance
and cell temperature.
Walker[34] SDM Analytical – The author used analytical method to estimate IPh, Io and Rs .
Bai et al.[35] SDM Compound Piecewise curve fitting The five parameters of PV module are estimated by using piecewise I-V curve fitting technique and five analytical equations.
Lim et al.[36] SDM Analytical – The parameters are estimated based on a single I-V curve.
Easwarakhanthan et al.[37] SDM Numerical NR The five parameters of PV cell and module are extracted from experimental data using a nonlinear least-squares optimization algorithm based on NR
method.
Villalva et al.[38] SDM Numerical NR The authors proposed a numerical method to estimate IPh, Io, Rs and Rp based on a synthetic manufacturer I-V curve. The diode ideality factor is
considered constant, equal to 1.3.
Tossa et al.[39] SDM Numerical LM The authors proposed a method to estimate the five parameters of PV module based on LM algorithm. The obtained I-V characteristic curve under STC is
validated by manufacturer I-V data.
Karabacak et al.[40] SDM/DDM AI ANN The authors reported the search works which related to PV modeling and simulation based on ANN.
Karatepe et al.[41] SDM AI ANN A neural network based approach is proposed to estimate the parameters of PV module. A set of measured I-V curves are used to train the ANN.
Karamirad et al.[42] SDM AI ANN A multilayer perceptron artificial neural network with two hidden layer is proposed to estimate the behavior of PV panel under realistic operation
conditions. The results are validated experimentally and theoretically with analytical four and five parameters models.
Bonanno et al.[43] SDM AI ANN A radial basis function neural network (RBFNN) is proposed to estimate the I-V and P-V characteristics of PV module based on experimental data. The
inputs of RBFNN are solar irradiance and ambient temperature.
Patra[44] SDM AI ANN A Chebyshev neural network (ChNN) is proposed to model a dual-junction solar cell. The obtained I-V characteristic of solar cell is presented for only one
operation condition.
Dizqah[45] SDM AI GA The authors proposed a multi-objective GA to estimate the diode ideality factor as well as the series and parallel resistances. The IPh and Io are computed

74
directly based a mathematical relations. The objective functions are the main equation of the PV module under STC and NOCT conditions.
Moldovan et al.[46] SDM AI GA The GA is used to estimate the five parameters of PV module. The root square of the squared difference between the measured and predicted PV current
is represented as an objective function.
Zagrouba et al.[47] SDM AI GA The five parameters are estimated by using GA as a numerical technique. The obtained I-V curve is validated with an experimental I-V curve.
Ismail et al.[48] SDM/DDM AI GA The authors estimate the parameters of SDM and DDM by using GA and synthetic manufacturer data.
Hamid et al.[49] SDM AI PSO The PSO algorithm is proposed to estimate the five parameters of solar cell using a single experimental I-V curve. The results of PSO outperform the
simulated annealing (SA), artificial bee swarm optimizer (ABSO) and chaos PSO (CPSO) algorithms.
Khanna et al.[50] TDM*** AI PSO The PSO algorithm is used to estimate the parameters of a three diode electrical equivalent circuit of industrial solar cell. The estimated parameters are
nine as well as the 10th parameter that represents the relationship between Rs and the output current of solar cell.
Ye et al.[51] SDM/DDM AI PSO The parameters of SDM and DDM of solar cell are extracted based on PSO algorithm and experimental I-V curve. According to authors, the results of PSO
are higher precision than GA.
Askarzadeh et al.[52] SDM AI SBMO The five parameters of SDM of PV module using SBMO algorithm and single experimental I-V curve.
Siddiqui et al.[53] SDM/DDM AI Various algorithms The parameters of PV module are estimated using various evolutionary algorithms and only three experimental I-V points. The results refer to
outperform the DE algorithm assisted with Tabu search optimizer.
Yuan et al.[54] SDM/DDM AI MPCOA The parameters of PV module are estimated using MPCOA and single experimental I-V curve. The results refer to the potential of MPCOA as another
optional method.
Barukčić et al.[55] SDM AI ES The authors estimate the five parameters of PV module by using an ES and synthetic manufacturer I-V curves. As well as to these parameters, two linear
and a sigmoid function are used to approximate the I-V curve.
Ishaque et al.[56,67] DDM AI PDE The authors proposed PDE algorithm to optimize the seven parameters of PV module. The proposed method offers high agreement between the predicted
and synthetic I-V curves, especially under very low irradiance condition.
Navabi et al.[57] SDM Numerical Iterative The authors proposed an iterative method to estimate the five parameters of PV module under STC. After that, the parameter values under various
weather conditions are computed based on mathematical relationships in terms of STC values, solar irradiance and ambient temperature. The Rs value is
always considered constant.
Lineykin et al.[58] SDM Compound Lambert-W function The five parameters of PV module are extracted by using a method that combines analytical relations and numerical method based on experimental I-V
data and manufacturer technical characteristics.
Hejri et al.[59] DDM Compound NR The five parameters of DDM are estimated based on approach that combines the analytical and NR method.
Ishaque et al.[60,61] DDM Numerical NR The authors derived a mathematical relations to compute IPh, Io1, Io2, andRp . The Rs value is incremented until a precise solution for PV current based NR
method is obtained.
Wei et al.[66] SDM AI GA, PSO, DE The parameters of SDM of dye-sensitized solar cell are extracted by using three different evolutionary algorithms.
(continued on next page)
Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 68 (2017) 70–86
D.H. Muhsen et al. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 68 (2017) 70–86

A comparative study between six different types of evolutionary algorithms to estimate the parameters of PV module is conducted. The hybrid algorithms
The authors proposed a method based DE algorithm and synthetic manufacturer I-V curves to estimate a, Rs and Rp .In the meanwhile, IPh andIo are directly

The authors proposed the DEAM as an optimization method to estimate the parameters of SDM PV module's model. The proposed method exhibits high
3.2. Power conditioning unit (PCU) model

A SFLA is proposed to estimate the five parameters of SDM PV module under various weather conditions. The computed I-V curve is validated with

A new adaptive version of DE is proposed by authors to estimate the parameters of various models of PV cell/module with experimental data. The

A new adaptive version of DE is proposed by authors to estimate the parameters of DDM PV module's model. DEIM offers high accuracy and fast
A new version of DE algorithm is proposed to extract the five parameters of PV module. According to authors, the IADE offers better results than
The authors proposed the FPA as an optimization method to estimate the parameters of SDM/DDM PV module with synthetic manufacturer and
PCU is a controlled DC-DC converter. PCU can be used to control
the speed of the motor and to protect the motor-pump set from
running dry. It is also can reduce the wasted water by turning off the
system, when the storage tank is full. The controller can be operated
also as an MPPT to track the instantaneous maximum power point
(MPP) of a PV array. DC-DC converters are categorized into boost,
buck, and buck and boost converters. Table 5 illustrates a brief
comparison between the different DC-DC converters used.

3.3. Pump model

Based on the reviewed articles, most of the researchers, developed

The five parameters of PV cell/module are extracted by using TLBO algorithm and single I-V curve.

an empirical pump model based on experimental data or manufacturer

proposed method exhibits good agreement between the computed and experimental I-V curves.

data to construct a direct relationship between the electrical power (P ),

water flow rate (Q) and pumping head (H ) as follows [78],
P=AQ3+BQ 2+CQ+D (10)
where;
A=f1 (H ) (11)

B=f2 (H ) (12)
(DEAM and DEIM) offer better performance than other algorithms.
agreement between the computed and experimental I-V curves.

C =f3 (H ) (13)

D=f4 (H ) (14)
where fi , (i = 1,2,3, 4), are polynomial functions of the third order that
are estimated based on experimental data using curve fitting methods.
computed based on a mathematical relations.

convergence compared with other methods.

On the other hand, some of the researchers used the pump

similarity (affinity) law, the data sheet provided by the manufacturer
or technical graphs to compute the pump parameters for different
conventional DE, GA, PSO and SA.

speed values as illustrated below,

Q1 ω1
=
Q2 ω 2 (15)
experimental I-V data.

experimental data.

H1 ⎛ ω1 ⎞
2
=⎜ ⎟
H2 ⎝ ω 2 ⎠ (16)
Comment

P1 ⎛ ω1 ⎞
3
=⎜ ⎟
P2 ⎝ ω 2 ⎠ (17)
where ωi is the angular speed (rad/sec); Qi is the water flow rate (m3/
h); Hi is the pumping head (m); Pi is the mechanical power (W) and
i=1, 2 . Using the datasheet of the pump and Eqs. (2.15)–(2.17), a
DEAM/DEIM

direct relationship between the flow rate, speed and head can be
Rcr-IJADE
Method

estimated using a curve fitting approach as in [79], where Q is a

DEAM

DEIM
TLBO

IADE
SFLA

PDE
FPA

function of angular speed (ω ) and H.

Q=f (ω, H ) (18)
Approach

Anyway, some specific models for PVPS can be found in the

literature as well. Hamid et al. [80] proposed a dynamic and steady
AI

AI

AI
AI

AI

AI

AI

AI

AI

state models for motor-pump set in a PVPS. In this research, it is

assumed that the associated pump is a centrifugal pump driven by a
SDM/DDM

SDM/DDM
PV-Model

variable field flux DC-shunt excited motor. A polynomial function of

DDM
SDM

SDM
SDM

SDM

SDM

SDM

the fourth order is used to represent the magnetic characteristic of

motor. After that the fitted polynomial relation is utilized in both
DDM: Double diode model.
TDM: Three diode model.

dynamic and static models of motor-pump set. The first order

SDM: Single diode model.

differential equations of dynamic model are solved using Runge-

Kutta fourth order method. The developed model is used to predict
Table 4 (continued)

Muhsen et al.[75]

Muhsen et al.[76]

Muhsen et al.[77]
Ishaque et al.[72]

the performance of the pumping system in both dynamic and steady

Gong et al.[74]
Alam et al.[69]

Patel et al.[71]

states. Moreover, in [81], a simple approach for modeling the flow rate
Hasanien[70]

of a PVPS for any combination of irradiance and head values is

Jiang[73]
Authors

proposed. The author described the measured flow rate as a second

***

order parabolic equation of pumping head and solar irradiance as

**
*

below,

75
D.H. Muhsen et al. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 68 (2017) 70–86

Table 5
Types of non-isolated DC-DC converters..

Step up converter Step down converter Step up and down converter

1. It steps the voltage up
2. A boost converter is an example of step up
converter.
3. It is used with PV applications, especially with
grid PV connected system to step up the PV
output voltage.
4. The mathematical relationship between the
input and output voltages of converter is:
1 1−D
Vo= Vi
1−D*
1. It steps the voltage down
2. A buck converter is an example of step down
converter.
3. It is used with PV applications, particularly in
PVPS to supply the motor pump by a high
starting current.
4. The mathematical relationship between the
input and output voltages of converter is:
Vo=DVi
1. It is capable of step up or down the voltage
2. A buck-boost, CUK and stands for single ended primary inductor
(SEPIC) are step up and down converters.
3. This type of converters can be used with all PV applications, while the
CUK and SEPIC converters are more appropriate for efficient MPPT
because a ripple free current can be drawn from PV by them.
4. The mathematical relationship between the input and output voltages
D
of converter is: Vo= ± Vi . Where the sign is positive for SEPIC type,
while the negative sign for buck-boost and CUK converter types.

*D (duty cycle) is the time fraction that during it the converter’s switch is closed.

Q=b 2 G 2+b1 G+bo
2 network (ANN) (NAR, NARX, and GRNN) for modeling of PVPS.
where Q is the flow rate in l/s, G is a solar irradiance in W/m and b0,
b1 and b2 are coefficients based on pumping head. These coefficients
are calculated using second order parabolic regression equations as
follows:
b0=3.1 × 10−3H2−0.061H + 0.175
b1=−7. 8 × 10−6H2+1. 389 × 10−4H −1. 06 × 10−4
(19) PVPS. In [88] the authors have utilized different artificial neural
Hourly solar radiation and ambient temperature data are used as input
parameters of ANNs. In the meanwhile, system's flow rate was the
output of the networks. The results of the proposed models show that
the proposed models can estimate accurately the flow rate, and the
(20) performance of NARX model is slightly better than other models with a
relative error of 1%.
(21)

b 2=4. 7 × 10−9H2−8. 13 × 10−8H +9. 1× 10−8
According to [81], the deviation between the output of the proposed
model and the measured values is below 8%. Similarly, in [82], the
relationship between the flow rate of a pump coupled with a DC motor
and photovoltaic array's output power is modeled based on the
characteristic of the pump and the motor for a specific voltage and
speed points. The pump similarity laws are used to extract the
performance of centrifugal pump at different speed operation based
on the information provided in the data sheet. In addition to that, the
shaft's input power pump head characteristic as well as the total
desired head of the pipeline are described as a function of system's flow
rate as below.
P=b 2 Q 2 +b1 Q+b0
H = a2 Q 2 +a1 Q + a 0
where P is the shaft input power of the pump (W), ai and bi
(wherei=0, 1and2 ) are constants which are based on the type of pump
and can be estimated by a least squares fit based on the manufacturer
data. The authors of [79] represented the head required by pipeline in
term of water flow rate as follows;
H =c2 Q 2 +c0
where c0 is the static head in (m), c2 is a constant related to the head
friction losses. The drawback of the of these models that these models
cannot be used when the input power of the pump is less than the
required value so as to overcome the pipeline static head [79].
On the other hand, commercial softwares are being used to model
PVPS. In [83] PVPS is modeled using two softwares namely UW-PUMP
and TRNSYS. Both programs used the same motor-pump set and PV
array models. However, The UW-PUMP program utilizes an average
monthly ambient temperature and generated solar radiation data,
while the TRNSYS utilizes hourly ambient temperature and solar
radiation data. A comparison between the two softwares is conducted
using the annual and monthly flow rate of the system over a one year
time period. According to the results, the performance of the proposed
program (UW-PUMP) is slightly better than TRNSYS program.
Similarly, in [84,85] TRNSYS was used to predict the performance of
PVPS. On the other hand, HOMER was used in [86] to model PVPS
while other softwares were used an auxiliary tool to predict the
performance of PVPS as in [87].
Finally, artificial intelligence techniques were utilized to model
(22) 4. Photovoltaic water pumping system reliability, feasibility
and field performance
As a fact, the performance of any PVPS depends on many factors
such as meteorological variables (solar radiation, ambient temperature,
wind speed, humidity and shadow effects), PV module specifications
(conversion efficiency and tilt angle) and motor-pump–hydraulic
system characteristics (I-V characteristic of the motor-pump set, static,
dynamic and friction losses heads) [17]. In this section PVPS system
reliability, feasibility and field performance are reviewed based on a
number of systems’ performances reported in the literature. Eventually
a summary of these results is provided.
In general to assess a PVPS, the annual productivity rate (volume of
(23) pumping water per 1 kWp) needs to be calculated in order to assess the
feasibility of PVPS. Also, PV array, subsystem, and overall system
(24)
efficiencies including the performance factor (the ratio of field perfor-
mance to the theoretical performance) can be used to check the
feasibility of PVPS. In addition, the yield factor (the ratio of the
average daily pumped water to the rated pumped water of PVPS) and
the capacity factor (the ratio of actual annual pumped water to the
annual pumped water of PVPS operates at full rated) are another
factors that can be utilized to evaluate the productivity of PVPS.
(25)
Moreover, the cost of water pumping unit is an important assessment
factor. In [89] the performance of a PV array in a PVPS is evaluated.
According to the authors, the field conversion efficiency of the PV array
reaches 8.5%. Furthermore, Bucher et al. [90] conducted a feasibility
study of a PVPS based on a comparison between PVPS and DG based
water pumping system based on experimental results. According to the
results, a large PV water pumping system is required as compared to
the DG based system which consequently results high initial invest-
ment. The efficiency of the available pumping system (motor/centrifu-
gal pump assemblies) is in the range of (35–65%). Meanwhile, the
overall system performance efficiency is in the range of (3–10%). The
unit cost is found to be about 0.60 USD/m3 which is less than the DG
based pumping system (1 USD/m3). Posorski et al. [91] evaluated
ninety PV-water pumping systems installed in seven different countries
(Argentina, Jordan, the Philippines, Tunisia, Zimbabwe, Indonesia and
Brazil). The average overall efficiencies of the systems are 3%. The cost
of water discharge is 1 USD/m4 and 0.9 USD/m4 for PVPS and DG
based water pumping systems respectively. In [92], the steady state
performance of PVPS is analyzed. The adopted system consists of a
6.048 kWp PV-array, a storage battery with a capacity of 1060 A h, and

76
D.H. Muhsen et al.
a centrifugal pump. The switched reluctance motor which is used in the
pumping system has an overall efficiency above 85%. According to the
results, most of the losses are pumping losses (31.82%) and therefore
the efficiency of the pumping system can be improved by selecting an
efficient pump. The matching efficiency of the proposed system and PV
array reaches 95%.
In [93] the performance of a number of PVPSs in four distinct sites
in Algeria (Tamanrasset, Oran, Algiers and Bechar) is analyzed. These
PVPSs have different hourly load demand, PV module type, PV array
configuration, storage tank capacity, pumping head and pump type.
The influence of load profiles is illustrated by a factor called relative
deficit (the ratio of the total demand deficit to the total of the
demanded water). The results show that there is a linear relationship
between the relative deficit and the pumping head. In addition, the
relative deficit value depends on the storage tank of the system. The
PVPS with multistage pump performed the best for high pumping
head, whereas the motor-pump and total efficiencies are 23% and
1.5%, respectively. In [94] the performance of PVPS in Jordan is
investigated for 13 distant underground water wells. The studied wells
have water depth in the range of 18–75 m. Meanwhile, systems’ water
demand are in the range of 36 m3/day to 130 m3/day. The pumping
power is in the range of 0.5–1.94 kW. Hammad [94] proposed a new
factor is called pumping factor to compute monthly performance. The
pumping factor depends on the well water head, daily water demand
and the area of PV array as follows;
hDQ
FP=ζ
APV (26)
where,
(ζP ζPV )experimented
ζ=
(ζP ζPV )installed (27)
where FP is the pumping factor (m3 m/m2 day), h is the well water head
(m), DQ is the daily water demand (m3/day), ζ is the efficiency ratio,
ζP andζPV are the efficiencies of pump and PV array, respectively. The
experimental results show that the pumping factor is in the range of
39 m3 m/m2.day in November and 50.5 m3 m/m2 day in July.
Moreover, the average monthly efficiency of the utilized pump is
around 20%. In [95] four PV water pumping system installed at four
locations in Kairouan, Tunisia region are evaluated. Each system
consists of a PV array with a capacity of 2.1 kW that supplies a 3-
phase 1.5 kW squirrel cage motor via a 3 kVA 3-phase DC/AC inverter.
The motor is coupled with a NE 42-30 Pleuger multi stage submersible
centrifugal pump. A water storage tank capacity of 40 m3 volume is
utilized in this system. The four systems deliver a daily water in the
range of 6.5 m3/day to 30 m3/day with a head from 65 m to 112 m. The
maximum subsystem efficiency is 30% at 65 m pumping head,
2.12 m3/h flow rate and 2840 rpm as the rated speed of the motor.
According to the results, the optimal water flow rate is 2.7 m3/h with
an overall system efficiency of 2.5. In [96] the performance of three
PVPSs with different PV array configuration is studied. The perfor-
mance is investigated based on experimental results to choose a
feasible pumping system to provide 4–6 m3 per day with a pumping
head in the range of 19–35 m. The first system (PVPS1) consists of a
PV array that is consiste d of two parallel strings with one module per
string. Meanwhile, the second system (PVPS2) contains a PV array with
different configuration (two modules connected in series). The third
system (PVPS3) consists of a PV array that is consisted of two parallel
strings and two PV modules in series in each string. The systems are
tested experimentally for water head in the range of 10–35 m. The PV
array is operated with efficiency of 12%. The results show that the
production of PVPS1 is more than PVPS2 for a pumping head that is
less than 30 m. Meanwhile, PVPS3 is the best with the aforementioned
pumping head values. Furthermore, PVPS1 has the best overall system
efficiency (3% at 25 m head), while for a pumping head that is more
than 25 m, PVPS2 is better in terms of the overall efficiency, (3.8% at
77
Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 68 (2017) 70–86
35 m head). Similarly, in [97] a comparative study of PVPS with
different configuration is conducted. Four systems with different PV
array configurations are adopted in this study. The first configuration
(PVPS1) consists of three parallel strings, each string comprises six
75 W modules that are connected in series (6 Sx 3P). In the meanwhile,
the second (PVPS2), third (PVPS3) and fourth (PVPS4) system
configurations are 12S×2P, 8S×3P and 6S×4P, respectively. These
systems are tested experimentally for a sunny solar day and based on
an 80 m water head. According to the results, PVPS3 supplied
maximum daily water volume of 22 m3 and had the maximum average
pumping efficiency (45.06%) as compared to other configurations.
Also, the overall efficiency of the fourth system was more constant
during the operation period, except in the low sunlight periods. On the
other hand, the electric power provided by PVPS3 is the most suitable
for the DC-pump so as to assure a maximum power operation.
In [98] the performance of PVPS under different water demand
profiles and two static water head values is investigated. The system is
consisted of a 1.5 kW PV array, one horse power permanent magnet DC
motor and a centrifugal pump that has a flow rate and input power of
80 l/min and 750 W, respectively. The PV array comprises two parallel
strings, each string includes 15 modules connected in series. A 51 Wp
PV modules are used in this work. According to the results, the
pumping water rate is in the range of 6–65 l/min with 6–8 pumping
hours. The motor-pump efficiency is in the range of 12–30%. In [99] an
economic study between two PVPSs powered by diesel and photovoltaic
in Jordan is done. The daily water demand of the station is 45 m3 at
105 m pumping head. The systems consist of a.5.9 kWp, a 7.5 kVA
three phase DC-AC, as well as a 5.5 kW submersible motor-pump with
flow rate of 8 m3/h. Two storage tanks with 55 m3 storage capacity are
used for each system. According to the results, the PVPS is more cost
effective as compared to the DG based system. In [100] the authors
have discussed the performance, reliability and efficiency of different
PVPSs that use two types of pumps (helical and diaphragm pumps).
According to the experimental results, the maximum pump efficiency is
48% and 60% for diaphragm and helical pumps respectively. While, the
overall system efficiency for the PVPSs that use the diaphragm and
helical pumps are 5% and 7%, respectively. In [101] the authors
analyzed the performance of a PVPS to determine the overall system
efficiency and the water pumping volume. The PV array used in the
system is configured as 6 parallel strings, each string contains two
51 Wp modules that are connected in series. A 400 A h lead acid
battery, a 1 kW DC charge controller, a 100 W submersible pump and a
water reservoir of 0.5 m3 capacity are utilized. Two phases of operation
are applied to this system. In the first phase, the PV array charges the
batteries without powering the pump. While, in the second phase the
PV array is disconnected and the battery bank powers the pump. The
results showed that the overall system efficiency is 5% with a 30 m total
head. In [102] the feasibility of PVPSs in Turkey is discussed. Two
types of PVPSs are used in this study. The specifications of the systems
are depicted in Table 6. According to the results,. The water unit cost of
PVPS1 and PVPS2 are 0. 24 US$/m3 and 0. 26 US$/m3, respectively.
In [103] the performance of a PVPS located in India is studied. The
Table 6
Specifications of proposed PVPSs [102]..
PVPS1 PVPS2
1. Provides water for one farmer 1. Provides water for four farmers
2. Water demand is 18 m3 with 20 m 2. Water demand is 52 m3 with 20 m
total dynamic head total dynamic head
3. The system operates for 3 days 3. The system operates for 4 days
4. Used two PV module type ITS230 4. Used eight PV module type ITS200
with maximum power is 230 Wp. with maximum power is 200 Wp.
5. DC- multistage centrifugal pump 5. DC- multistage centrifugal pump type
type PS600 is used in the system. PS1800 is used in the system.
6. Area of PV array surface is 2.92 m2 6. Area of PV array surface is 11.68 m2
D.H. Muhsen et al. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 68 (2017) 70–86

system is tested experimentally with pumping head of 5 m for 9
operating hours. The experimental results show that the system has
an average daily production is 38 m3 with a flow rate in the range of
0.02–0.14 m3/min. According to the results, the overall system's
efficiency is 2.75%. In [104] a PVPS is proposed for a specific location
in Indonesia. The system aims to pump water for 1400 m horizontal
distance with a 218.34 m head. According to the results, the system
starts pumping water at a solar radiation level of 300 W/m2 while, the
flow rate was in the range of 1.44 m3/h to 3.24 m3/h. In [105] the
influence of meteorological variables (solar radiation and temperature)
on the performance of a 2.1 kWp PVPS in Tunisia is studied. The
system is equipped with a 3 kVA/127 V DC-AC inverter, a 1.5 kW
127 V squirrel cage motor that is driving a centrifugal pump and a
storage tank. The system is modeled and simulated using MATLAB/
Simulink. The simulation results show that the overall efficiency of the
system is about 3%. Meanwhile, the average daily production is found
to be 7.7 m3/day in January and 14.7 m3/day in July. In [106] the
influence of the pumping head on the performance of a PVPS in Saudi
Arabia is studied. The system consists of a 1.8 kW photovoltaic array,
SQF5-2 submersible helical pump and a storage tank. The system is
tested with four different heads (50 m, 60 m, 70 m and 80 m). The
results illustrate the dependency of water flow rate and total system
efficiency on the solar radiation and pumping head. According to the
results, the system which is with a 50 m pumping head has the best
total system efficiency (about 7%) at low solar radiation times. While,
at 80 m water head, the highest total system efficiency (around 6.6%) is
recorded at medium and high solar radiation only. In addition, the best
average efficiency along the operation hours is 4.4% with pumping
head of 80 m. In [107] the feasibility of using PVPS in Egypt is studied.
According to the results, the cost of the water pumping unit by PVPS is
cheaper than unit pumped by a DG based system. However, the authors
concluded that the cost of water pumping unit is more sensitive to the
price of PV modules than the PV array's lifetime. In [108] the influence
of a shaded photovoltaic array on the performance of PVPS in Algeria is
studied. Ten different partial shading scenarios are applied to explicit
the effect of shadow on the PVPS performance. According to the
results, 50% of the PV production is reduced due to the PV array
shadow where the overall system efficiency is degraded from 1.299%
(without shading) to 0.83% (with shading). In addition, two of shadow
cases led to system shortage. Finally, in [109] the authors investigated
the feasibility of replacing the fossil-fuel source by renewable energy
source to power a water pumping system in Nigeria. The results show
that solar and wind sources are more cost effective than DG based
water pumping system. Table 7 shows a summary of all of the
previously reviewed works.
5. Photovoltaic water pumping system design procedures
In fact, the high initial cost of the PV array is one of the important
drawbacks of PVPS. Therefore, many researchers are focusing on the
optimal size of PV array as well as other components such as storage
unit and inverter) to meet the required load at minimum cost [110–
113]. In general, there are three main methods for sizing PV systems
namely intuitive, numerical and analytical [114,115]. The simplest one
is the intuitive method, where it is based on the worst month or the
average monthly solar radiation in sizing the PV array and storage
units. According to [114] using this method may lead to an over or
under sizing of PV system which consequently increases system cost or
decrease the reliability of the system. Thus, the intuitive method is only
convenient to be used for estimating initial and rough approximation
size of PV system [116]. On the other hand, in the numerical method,
hourly meteorological data are used to simulate the system so as to

Table 7
Summary of reliability, feasibility and performance of PVPS.

Authors System efficiency Average flow rate System size Climate nature Water head Productivity rate per
year

Alajlan et al.[89] – 600 l/h 0.98 kWp Saudia Arabia 50 m 2681.655 m3/kWp
Posorski[91] 3–5% – 2 kWp Seven different countries 5–125 m –
Metwally et al.[92] – 150 m3/day 6.048 kWp Egypt 30 m 9052.730 m3/kWp
Arab et al.[93] 1.5–2% 6 m3/day (4S×3P), (3S×4P) BP Saturn Tamanrasset, Oran, –
Algiers and Bechar,
Algeria
Belgacem[95] 2.5% 6.5–30 m3/day 2.1 kWp Kairouan, Tunisia 65–112 m 3172.215 m3/kWp
Boutelhig et al.[96] ≤ 3.8% 4–6 m3/day – Ghardaia, Algeria 19–35 m –
Benghanem et al.[97] – ≤ 22 m3/day (6S×3P), (12S×2P), (8S×3P), Madinah, Saudia Arabia 80 m 4461.030 m3/kWp
(6S×4P) ×75 Wp
Mokeddem et al.[98] – 6–65 l/min 1.5 kWp Oran, Algeria 0.6 m and 11 m 6219.600 m3/kWp
(static head)
Al-Smairan[99] – 45 m3/day 5.9 kWp Tall Hassan, Jordan 105 m 2783.855 m3/kWp

Vick et al.[100] 5% (diaphragm) 7% 0–14 l/min Different sizes Amarillo, Texas, USA Different heads –
(helical) 0–8.4 l/min
Kaldellis et al.[101] 5% 20 m3/day (2S×6P) ×51 Wp Greece 30 m 11928.200 m3/kWp

Senol[102] – 18 m3/day and 2 modules×230 Wp and 8 Turkey 20 m 14282.450 m3/kWp

52 m3/day modules×200 Wp 11862.500 m3/kWp
Kolhe et al.[103] 3% (theoretical) 2.75% 38 m3/day (4S×5P) New Delhi, India 5m –
(exp.)
Setiawan et al.[104] – 1.44–3.24 m /h3
3.2 kWp (8S×4P) Purwodad, Indonesia 218.34 m 3202.875 m3/kWp
Hamrouni et al. 3% 7.7–14.7 m3/day 2.1 kWp (14S×3P) Louata, Tunisia 65 m 1946.545 m3/kWp
[105]
Benghanem et al. 3.26, 3.44, 3.79% and ≤ 33 m3/day 1.8 kWp (8S×3P) Madinah, Saudia Arabia 50, 60, 70 and 6691.545 m3/kWp
[106] 4.41% 80 m

Mohammedi et al. 1.299%* 43.66–27.9 l/min 990 Wp (6S × 3P) Bejaia, Algeria 11 m 9498.030 m3/kWp
[108] 0.83%**
Cloutier et al.[109] – 10, 20 and 30 m3/ 840, 1680 and 2520Wp Nigeria 40 m 4345.325 m3/kWp
day

*
Without Shading.
**
With Shading.

78
D.H. Muhsen et al.
describe its hourly energy flow. After that, based on system perfor-
mance, possible system configurations that achieve a specific level of
reliability are found. Then, an evaluation that is based on specific
constrains is applied to these configuration so as to pick the suitable
system up. The main disadvantage of numerical sizing method is it
needs for long computation time to identify one optimal configuration
based on a predetermined reliability level [116]. It needs long time,
because it computes the reliability of system for all configurations of
design space. In the meanwhile, in the analytical method, equations for
PV system size in terms of the system reliability can be developed and
utilized. With this method, the calculation of system's size is very
simple and accurate, but the complexity of deriving these equations’
coefficient is the main drawback of this method.
Anyway, many issues should be taken into consideration when
sizing a PVPS [117]. These issues are accurate information about the
water flow rate profile demand, the efficiency and specification of PVPS
components, the total dynamic head, the pumping time factor, solar
radiation, PV array power and the capacity of the storage tank. Fig. 3
illustrates the parameters that affect the design of PVPS..
In this section research work related to PVPS sizing is reported.
Moreover, the reviewed methods are summarized at the end of the
section so as to provide a clearer comparison. From the literature the
three aforementioned sizing methods are used to design PVPS. The
intuitive methods have been used and applied for many PVPS. In [118]
a tool for designing a water pumping system is developed. The design
tool aims to match between the produced and demand water. The
system is simulated based on specific climatic data. The size of the PV
array is then calculated based on the total system efficiency, solar
energy and the daily hydraulic energy. Similarly, in [119] two
simplified design procedures namely peak sun hours and hydraulic
energy rule-of-thumb are reviewed and compared. The month with the
lowest solar radiation and greatest water demand is considered as the
design month to specify the required size of the PV array. Furthermore,
in [120] the authors presented a design methodology for photovoltaic
water pumping system. The design procedure starts with the calcula-
tion of the solar radiation on tilted PV arrays with an optimal tilted
angle to collect largest solar energy. After that, optimal sizing of PV
arrays, inverter, batteries, cable and motor-pump set is done based on
the worst month and peak sun hours (PSH). An economic analysis
based on the life cycle cost (LCC) method is carried out for three
systems namely PV, grid and DG based systems. According to the
results, the system that is powered by PV array was the most cost
effective as compared to other two conventional power sources.
However, 38% of the produced energy by PV array are not used. In
[121] a simple sizing method based on standard graphical performance
information which is provided by the manufacturer is proposed to size
a PVPS. The authors use a hypothetical constant called equivalent total
Fig. 3. Design parameters of PV-water pumping system [91].
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Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 68 (2017) 70–86
head instead of the combination of vertical and head loss. They used
DASTPVPS software to derive experimentally an equation that is
correlated to the equivalent total head with boreholes characteristics.
The results showed that the inclusion of an equivalent total head
equation boosts the performance of the system and the design
accuracy.
On the other hand, the numerical method is used as well for many
PVPS. In [122] a methodology for sizing a PV array to meet both water
and electricity demands is proposed. The methodology consists of two
analytical steps. In the first step an experimental data are utilized to
compute the area and configuration of the PV array and the maximum
capacity of the storage battery of a system that meet the desired energy
demand. In the second step, the authors simulated the proposed
configurations to investigate the energy behavior of the system over a
specific time period. A PV size versus maximum battery capacity curve
is obtained from the numerical algorithm and based on that the
optimal design is chosen. The optimum configuration is selected based
on the minimum system cost achieved. In [123] a numerical method
for sizing a PVPS is presented. The optimization aims to minimize
system cost subject to a specific reliability. The method depends on the
loss of power supply probability (LPSP) concept. It uses hourly solar
radiation and ambient temperature data for one year time. A constant
load profile is used in this work with different head levels. Four values
of LPSP are used in the simulation; (0, 0.01, 0.05, and 0.1). The
simulation program provided several configurations that meet the
desired reliability level (LPSP). After that, the optimal configuration
that investigates the lowest cost is selected. In [124] an optimal sizing
method for PVPS based on LPSP is proposed. The LPSP is used to
specify the reliability of a set of system configurations that meet the
desired load demand. After that, an economic evaluation is applied to
these configurations, so as to find the optimal configuration that
achieves the minimum cost at the desired reliability.
In general, the drawback of the numerical method is the need for a
long time to simulate the performance of the system over a wide range
of configurations. Therefore, some authors use heuristic techniques to
size PVPSs [125–129]. Ma et al. [125] proposed modeling and
designing procedures for PVPS. The authors presented an optimization
of system configuration based on zero load rejection (zero LPSP). The
optimum system is defined as the system that investigates the desired
reliability level at minim cost. Genetic algorithm (GA) technique is used
to solve this optimization problem. In [126] an optimization of a small
photovoltaic water pumping-hydro energy storage system for a small
village in north Nigeria utilizing particle swarm optimization (PSO)
algorithm is proposed. The PSO algorithm is used to minimize the cost
of the system and optimize the sizes of the devices based on different
constraints such weather condition, user’s requirements and operation
strategy. The authors in [127] used a hybrid sizing method that
combines the numerical and heuristic techniques to size hybrid PV-
DG powered pumping system that used to irrigate Mediterranean
crops. In [127], a possible design space that contains system config-
urations meeting the desired system reliability is generated on the basis
of a numerical method. GA was then used to select the configuration
that investigates the minimum life cost. Muhsen et al. [128] proposed a
differential evolution based multi-objective optimization algorithm to
optimally size PVPS. In [128] three objective functions, namely loss of
load probability, life cycle cost, and excess water volume are aggregated
by a single objective function based on a predetermined weights. The
main drawback of [128] is the complexity of initializing the weights
which are used by the aggregation function. Furthermore, the proposed
method in [128] converts the multi-objective optimization to a single
objective optimization; therefore, the sizing method identify only single
configuration at each run time. Muhsen et al. [129] proposed a
differential evolution based multi-objective optimization (DEMO)
algorithm to size a standalone PVPS as well as to overcome the
drawbacks of [128]. In [129], the PVPS is sized based on technical
criterion (loss of load probability) and economic criterion (LCC). The
D.H. Muhsen et al. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 68 (2017) 70–86

main drawback of DEMO [129] is that the computation complexity is
increased by increasing the number of criteria that considered to size
PVPS.
As for the analytical method, it is employed to size PVPS in many
researches as well. In [130] a method for calculating PVPS's loss of load
probability (LLP) is presented. The proposed method aims to describe
the ratio of PV maximum current to the nominal motor current (Imp/
In.mot) as a function of the ratio of a PV maximum voltage to the motor
nominal voltage (Vmp/Vn.mot) at different values of the LLP. The
resulted (Imp/In. mot)−(Vmp/Vn. Mot) curve divides the plotting plane
into two distinct regions called the oversizing region (above the curve)
and undersizing region (below the curve). The motor-pump is char-
acterized by I-V and Q-V curves. These curves are obtained by
experiment, and then these curves are fitted by linear and polynomial
equations. In [79] an analytical method to optimize the size of PVPS is
proposed. The method is based on meteorological data, water demand,
well's depth, simple modeling and curve fitting techniques. The authors
used the speed of pump rotation and the affinity law to find the flow
rate of PVPS in terms of speed and head by a two-variables polynomial
curve fitting function. After that, the curve fitting method is also used to
obtain a correlation for the pump efficiency in term of the flow rate. In
[78] a method for PVPS sizing based on loss of Load Probability (LLP)
is proposed. The study investigated the effect of total head, peak power
of the PV array, water consumption and storage tank capacity on the
performance of the system. The authors proposed a direct relationship
between the input power and the flow rate based on experimental data.
According to the simulation results, the peak power of the PV array and
the total pumping head are strongly related to the relative deficit of the
system. On the other hand, the capacity of the storage tank and the
profile of water consumption have a minor effect on the relative water
deficit with a given total pumping head. In [131] a comparative study of
PVPSs is done to select an optimum configuration of the system. The
optimum configuration of the PV array is selected based on an
experimental performance of Four systems that have a 2P×2S,
2P×1S, 1P×S and 1P×1S configurations that are powering a 120 W/
24 V DC Shurflo pump. The experimental performance is monitored for
three different heads (10 m, 15 m and 25 m). According to the results,
the authors recommended to combine 2P×1S and 1P×2S PV array
configurations together to power the pump. The combination is
controlled by an electronic PV array reconfiguration controller to
activate 2P×1S PV to power the system in the morning so as to supply
the system with an adequate starting current. While, the 1P×2S PV
array is used to power the system during optimum sunlight. In [132] an
approach to optimize and improve the performance of a PVPS is
proposed. The approach is represented by optimizing the PV array
configuration based solar radiation. Three PV configurations are used
in this research which are 4P×1S, 2P×2S and 1P×4S. These configura-
tions are chosen to address the low, medium and high solar radiation
intensity conditions respectively. The proposed approach provides a
sufficient starting current to the motor, especially in the morning,
evening and cloudy weather. Finally, Table 8 shows a summary of
different sizing techniques proposed for PVPS.
6. Photovoltaic water pumping system control procedures
In general, it is important to control PVPS optimally so as to
achieve optimal operation of the system and consequently reliable
system. Many control approaches have been developed by researchers
to efficiently operate PVPS [133–139]. These approaches include
MPPT algorithms, voltage regulation, frequency control and load
matching.
MPPT is a technique that is applied to PV system to extract and
track the maximum power generated by the PV array at different
weather conditions. The MPPT algorithms can be classified into
conventional (normally effective in case of not having any shading
objectives) algorithms and algorithms that are based on stochastic and

Table 8
Summary of sizing of PVPS.

Authors Sizing Methodologies Outcome

Khatib et al.[15] Intuitive method Obtained a nomogram graph for 25 °C ambient temperature and different solar radiation, head and flow rate to
specify the PV size.
Campana et al.[118] Intuitive method (the worst month Used the lowest ratio of monthly, daily average of radiation to water demand and initial investment cost to
method) specify the optimal and cost effective PVPS design. The results show the fixed PV array driven an AC pump is the
most cost effective than others type.
Caton P[119]. Intuitive method (the worst month The least solar radiation and greatest water demand month are considered to specify the optimal size of the PV
method) array.
Ebaid et al.[120] Intuitive method (the worst month The system is over sizing, where 38% of PV producing energy is excess, because the authors used a simple and
method) none accurate sizing method.
Narvarte et al.[121] Analytical method Sizing the PV based on the standard graphic provided by the PV-pump manufacturer and experimental
equivalent total head equation.
Hadj Arab et al.[130] Analytical method For a given PV array size the LLP sensitivity is varied according to the location of the system. Also, the proposed
method can be represented as a graphical tool for sizing PVPS for a given head.
Martire et al.[80] Analytical method The proposed sizing method based on simple modeling components of PVPS and fitting methods.
Kalddlis et al.[122] Numerical method Obtained the optimum PV size and maximum battery capacity, according to numerical algorithm and economic
analysis.
Bouzidi[123] Numerical method For a given reliability, realize an optimum size of pumping system with minimum cost using a numerical method
based on the LPSP.
Bakelli et al.[124] Numerical method Realize an optimum configuration (optimum number of PV modules and capacity of storage tank based on
technical (LPSP) and economic (LCC) optimization criteria.
Hamidat et al.[78] Numerical method Sizing PVPS based on (LLP) method. They found the peak power of PV and the total head are strongly related to
the deficit water, while the capacity of storage tank has a little effect on the deficit water.
Ma et al.[125] AI method based genetic algorithm For zero reliability and a minimum cost, an optimum system configuration (number of PV modules and capacity
of upper reservoir) is specified.
Stoppato[126] AI method based PSO algorithm The PSO algorithm is used to optimize the system technically and economically. The system capable to cover the
water demand and 9% of electricity demand.
Carroquino[127] AI method based genetic algorithm Optimize the size of system numerically subject to a desireLLP , afterward the GA is used to optimize the system
based on LCC .
Dhiaa[128] AI method based DE algorithm Optimally size PVPS using differential evolution based multi-objective optimization algorithm. The multi-
objective optimization problem is converted to single objective problem by aggregating the objectives LLP, LCC
and excess water in a single objective function based on a predetermined weights.
Dhiaa[129] AI method based DEMO algorithm DEMO is proposed to size PVPS by minimizing two objectives (LLP and LCC) simultaneously. A set of PVPS
configurations are obtained that constitute a tradeoff between the objectives (Pareto front).

80
D.H. Muhsen et al.
AI techniques. In general the conventional algorithms may fail to track
the MPP under partial shading condition and rapidly solar radiation
changing [140]. Conventional MPPT algorithms comprise; Perturb and
Observation (P & O), Incremental and Conductance (InCond), Hill
Climbing (HC), fractional Voc , fractional Isc , ripple correlation control
and load current or load voltage maximization. The P & O and InCond
algorithms are the most widely used in PV systems [140]. The concept
of P & O algorithm is based on perturbing the output voltage of PV
array with a small value and then according to the direction of changing
in PV power, the sign of next perturbation value is specified.
Meanwhile, in InCond algorithm the PV voltage is adjusted based on
the comparison between the instantaneous conductance (I / V ) and the
incremental conductance(∆I /∆V ).
In [141] A nonlinear control technique that depends on feedback
linearization control is used to enable the system to operate at MPP by
adjusting the duty cycle ratio of buck-boost converter. The concept of
feedback input-output linearization control in [141] is based on
differentiating the PV output voltage to find a direct relationship with
a duty cycle ratio. The duty cycle ratio (u ) is the control variable which
is the output of a nonlinear controller, while the solar radiation (G ),
temperature (T ), motor armature current (Ia ), PV output voltage (VP )
and an output of linear P-controller (υ) are the inputs of nonlinear
controller. Meanwhile, the input of the P - controller is the difference
between the PV output voltage and reference voltage (Vref ), which
corresponds to the voltage at maximum power point. Fig. 4 shows the
block diagram of control strategy followed in [141]. The simulation
results showed that the proposed control strategy leads to good and
robustness performance. Similarly, in [142] Incremental Conductance
(InCond) method is utilized to track the MPP of the PV array in a PVPS
with minimum losses point tracking (MLPT) for induction motor. The
proposed control strategy improved system's efficiency and reduces the
losses of the motor. The experimental results indicated that 8% of input
power is saved by reducing the motor losses..
In [143] an MPPT algorithm and sun tracking algorithm were
applied to improve the overall efficiency of PVPS that operates with
different total head ranging from 5 to 35 m. The MPPT technique
proposed in [143] is based on the difference between the measured
voltage of the PV array and a reference voltage at which the maximum
power is obtained. The difference is compared with a sawtooth signal
via a comparator to produce the switching signal to control a MOSFET
switch. The duty cycle of the triggering signal depends on the output
voltage of the PV array and the type of load. On the other hand, with
the proposed sun tracker for PVPS increased the PV output power by
36%. In [144] two approaches of perturbation and observation (P & O)
based MPPT are proposed for PVPS. These approaches are direct duty
cycle based P & O and the reference voltage based P & O. The effect of
the algorithm's parameters (step size and perturbation rate) on the
performance of the system is investigated. Furthermore, the drawbacks
and advantages of each approach under different weather conditions
are demonstrated. According to the results, the reference voltage
perturbation has a faster response than the direct duty ratio perturba-
tion at rapidly changing of solar radiation and temperature.
Meanwhile, the stability characteristics of direct duty ratio perturba-
tion are better than the reference voltage perturbation technique
particularly with high perturbation. In addition, the direct duty cycle
ratio perturbation technique offers higher energy utilization efficiency
than the reference voltage perturbation technique for both slow and
rapidly changing of solar radiation. In [145] the equation of the
terminal voltage of the PV array and the equation of derivative of
power with respect to current at maximum power point are solved
together by a numerical method for maximum voltage and current.
After that, a curve-fitting approach is used to describe the current and
voltage at the maximum power point in terms of the photocurrent and
PV open circuit voltage, respectively for all levels of solar radiation. In
[146] an electronic circuit is used to produce a fixed duty cycle ratio for
the step-up converter to enable the PV array to operate at MPP
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Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 68 (2017) 70–86
regardless of solar radiation variations. The quality of matching DC-
motor drive a volumetric/centrifugal pump which is directly coupled
with a photovoltaic is demonstrated by comparing the I-V character-
istics of PV array and motor-pump. SUPER SCEPTRE computer
software is used to obtain the I-V characteristics of the motor-pump
set. The results show, a large mismatch between the photovoltaic
maximum power point and the equilibrium operating point of DC
motor coupled a photovoltaic pump. On the other hand, the DC motor
driven a centrifugal pump is more compatible with a photovoltaic
array. In [147] matching between photovoltaic and 3-phase induction
motor for optimal operation using an enhanced PV model is presented.
A PCU, consists of a double step-up converter and a six step voltage
source inverter, is used to track the MPP of the PV array in the system.
In [148], an on-line fuzzy controller is proposed to adjust the duty
cycle ratio of a DC-DC converter to optimize the global efficiency of
PVPS by maximizing the input power of a centrifugal pump, and
consequently the water pumped flow rate is maximized. The inputs of
proposed fuzzy controller are the variation of both the global efficiency
and the chopper ratio. Meanwhile, the output of fuzzy controller is the
adjusted duty ratio. The output and input scaling factors of the
controller are chosen based on the trial and error method. Five triangle
membership functions are chosen to express the output and input
variables of the controller. In [149] a feed forward artificial neural
network (ANN) based controller for tracking the optimal operating
point for PV water pumping system is proposed. The optimal operating
point is either the maximum PV power point (MP) or the gross
mechanical energy (GME) operating point of the pumping system.
The proposed ANN controller adjusts the duty ratio of the buck-boost
converter based on the solar radiation to match between the PV array
and the motor-pump set. Thus, the input and output of ANN are the
solar radiation and chopping ratio corresponding to GME or MP point,
respectively. The ANN comprises one hidden layer with bipolar
sigmoid activation function as well as to output layer with linear
activation function. In [150] a technique based on fuzzy logic control is
proposed to identify the MPP by adjusting the duty cycle ratio of DC-
DC converter. The method of tracking the MPP is based on the ratio of
PV power variation to the PV current (dP / dI ), where this value
represents the error that should be minimized to be close to zero.
The input variables of fuzzy controller are the error and the derivative
of error, where each variable is represented by five triangle member-
ship functions. Meanwhile, the duty cycle ratio is the output of
controller, which is expressed by seven singletons membership func-
tions. In [151] a MPPT for PVPS is presented. The proposed adaptive
controller is based on nonlinear autoregressive moving average-L2
(NARMA-L2) ANNs, which comprise two feed forward neural net-
works. The inputs of NARMA-L2 are the motor input power and the
maximum PV power as reference power. Meanwhile, the duty cycle
ratio of maximum power point is the output of NARMA-L2.10,000
samples of data of the reference optimum power under different solar
radiation values are used to train the network. The simulation results
show that the proposed controller has a good performance and fast
Fig. 4. Block diagram of the control scheme proceed in [141].
D.H. Muhsen et al.
response. In [152] a single stage Z-source inverter with an MPPT based
on fuzzy logic-incremental conductance technique is applied to a PVPS
to extract and track the maximum power point of the PV array. A direct
torque control strategy is used to drive the brushless DC motor coupled
with a centrifugal pump. A particle swarm optimization is proposed to
regulate the parameter of PID-speed controller of the motor to improve
the transient response. Simulation results indicate the effectiveness of
the proposed control strategies.
In [153] the authors developed two control strategies to improve
the efficiency of PVPS. The first strategy is based on a controller that
consists of an InCond-MPPT algorithm supplied a proportional-
Integral (PI) controller by the estimated PV voltage at MPP. The role
of PI-controller is to produce the ratio vector of the PWM of the
inverter. On the other hand, the second strategy is based on the direct
torque control (DTC) to control the flux and torque of induction motor
by selecting the optimum switching vector for the inverter. The main
drawback of the first strategy is that the pump has not pumped water in
spite of the PV generator operates at MPP during the low solar
radiation hours. Meanwhile, the main drawback of the second strategy
was the significant ripple in the flux and torque. According to the
results, the second control strategy offers a fast response without
overshoot and less steady state oscillations under rapid solar radiation
and temperature changes. Furthermore, the adoption of DTC strategy
assists to overcome and eliminated the complexity of using the MPPT
algorithms.
In [154] the authors proposed control strategies for two types of
PVPS based on the utilized motor in the system. The first system
utilized DC motor while the second system utilized induction motor. In
the first case, an approach to match between the PV array and motor to
achieve maximum mechanical power is presented. The maximum
mechanical power is extracted by controlling the excitation of the
motor. On the other hand, in the second case, the maximum power is
obtained by controlling the frequency of the voltage source inverter
that connects both the PV array and induction motor. The results show
that the maximum mechanical power extracted from separately excited
DC motor is higher than that in an induction motor. Although the DC
motor utilizes the power of PV array better than the induction motor.
In [155], two strategies for controlling PVPS are proposed. The first
control strategy is based on the concept that the PV array operates at
maximum power points with a variable water discharge rate. While, the
second control strategy is based on the maximum efficiency of the
motor with a unique motor speed that is related to the optimum motor
efficiency and limited water discharge rate. Table 9 illustrates a brief
comparison between the two control strategies.
In [156] an approach is developed to match between the PV array
and separately excited DC motor-pump set for the maximum power
operation. The approach is based on finding an expression for optimum
motor field current in terms of the motor-pump parameters and PV
array MPP. The operating point of the motor-pump follows the
maximum power trajectory of PV array by adjusting the field current
of DC-motor according to the solar radiation. The results show that the
Table 9
Brief comparison between two control strategies proposed by [155].
First Strategy
1. The voltage to frequency ratio (vs /ws ) is constant, while system's frequency is
adjusted.
2. Operation of the pumping system begins at the level of irradiance is 25%.of
maximum value therefore; the volume of water pumped is greater than that in the
second strategy.
3. The system operates at maximum power points of the PV array.
4. The water discharge rate is variable.
5. Closed loop control is used to implement the strategy, where the voltage and speed
of the motor are sensed to adjust the output frequency via changing the triggering
angle of both DC-DC converter and inverter to keep the voltage to frequency ratio
constant.
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Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 68 (2017) 70–86
required motor excitation current is equal to the rated excited current
in peak irradiance. In the meanwhile, at low irradiance the DC motor
needs double of the rated field current to match the maximum power
point of the PV array. In [157] two control strategies are proposed to
match between the input characteristics of DC-motor and the PV
output characteristics by adjusting the duty cycle ratio of buck-boost
converter. The first strategy aims to extract the maximum power of the
PV array by deriving a direct correlation correlated the duty cycle ratio.
Meanwhile, the second strategy aims to maximize the gross mechanical
energy of the system per day by deriving a correlation between the duty
cycle ratio and the optimal power value, which is related to the
maximum power of the PV array. It can be observed from the steady
state simulation results that the chopping ratio and armature voltage
for both types of motor in 2nd strategy operation case are higher than
in the 1st strategy operation case. Meanwhile, the armature current in
the 1st strategy operation is higher than the 2nd strategy operation
case along the solar radiation variations. Therefore, the copper losses of
a DC motor in 2nd strategy operation are less than the losses during 1st
strategy operation. Consequently, the 2nd strategy utilization improves
the efficiency of DC motor and the whole pumping system. In [158]
Two control approaches are proposed for a PVPS. The first approach is
for speed control, while the second is for hysteresis current control.
Traditional and fuzzy logic (FL) based PI controllers are used in these
approaches. The simulation results for the system without the pro-
posed controllers show high fluctuating in the torque and phase current
of the motor. Meanwhile, the simulation results of system with the
traditional PI-controllers indicated a little ripple in both torque and
current of motor, but a big overshoot is clear in the transient response
of the motor. On the other hand, the dynamic response of the system
with a FL-controller is improved whereas the ripple in the torque
response is eliminated. Furthermore, the FL-controller is capable to
converge quickly the speed of the motor to the reference value with zero
steady state error and without overshoot. In [159] the transient
performance of the system is dominated by two sets of differential
equations based on the status of chopper switch. The two sets of
differential equations are solved in MATLAB using a fourth-order
Runge Kutta numerical method. The authors used a boost converter to
match between the motor-pump set and PV array to increase the flow
rate of pumped water. Table 10 shows a summary of all the aforemen-
tioned control methods applied to PVPS.
7. Challenges to PVPS science
7.1. Availability of meteorological data
One of the most important challenges in modeling, design and
control of PVPS is the availability of a long term meteorological data
with a small time step. However, Modeling techniques based on AI are
being utilized to forecast meteorological data when the data are not
available.
Second Strategy
1. The voltage to frequency ratio (vs /ws ) is adjusted, while the frequency is constant.
2. Operation of the pumping system begins at the level of irradiance is 50% of maximum
value. So, the amount of the pumped water is less than that in the first strategy.
3. The motor operates at maximum efficiency and the PV array Operating characteristic is
controlled to match the operation point of the motor at different irradiance.
4. The water discharge rate is limited because in this strategy the induction motor
operates at unique speed, corresponding to the maximum motor efficiency.
5. The closed loop system sensed the motor voltage to dominate the motor torque via
adjusting the output voltage of DC-DC converter. The speed regulation of motor can be
improved by sensing the actual speed.
D.H. Muhsen et al. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 68 (2017) 70–86

Table 10
Summary of control strategies of PVPS.

Authors Approach of control Notes

Andoulssi et al.[141]
Corrêa et al.[142]
Katan et al.[143]
Elgendy et al.[144]
Alghuwainem[145]
Applebaum[146]
Akbaba[147]
Benlarbi et al.[148]
Veerachary et al.[149]
Mazouz et al.[150]
Kassem[151]
Mozaffari Niapour et al.[152]
Caton P[119].
Hamrouni et al.[105]
Zaki et al.[154]
Eskander et al.[155]
Akbaba et al.[156]
Chary Mummadi[157]
Terki et al.[158]
Akbaba et al.[159]
Dubey et al.[160]
MPPT Provide an MPPT based on a nonlinear control technique with feedback linearization control to adjust the
duty ratio of buck-boost converter.
MPPT and MLPT The InCond algorithm and MLPT for induction motor are used to improve the efficiency of system and to
reduce the motor losses.
MPPT An MPPT technique and sun tracking control system are used to improve the overall system efficiency.
P & O MPPT Comparison between the direct duty cycle perturbation and the reference voltage perturbation algorithms is
investigated.
Load Matching According to the author, there is a unique and the optimum duty cycle ratio for step up converter at which
maximum power transfer from PV array to the motor at all levels of radiation.
Load Matching The author has calculated the DC motor driven a centrifugal pump is more compatible with a photovoltaic
array.
Load Matching The PCU stimulates the PV array to operate on the maximum power trajectory.
Online optimization of the global Online fuzzy controller is proposed to adapt the electrical load impedance of PV array by adjusting the
efficiency chopper ratio based on the maximum global efficiency of the system at different radiation levels.
MPPT ANN controller is used to adjust the duty ratio of the buck-boost converter according to the solar radiation
for tracking the optimal operating point.
MPPT A fuzzy controller is used to choose the appropriate duty cycle of DC-DC converter to enable the system to
operate at MPP.
MPPT A NARMA-L2 ANN adaptive controller is proposed to adjust the duty ratio of buck-boost converter.
MPPT & DTC Proposed a MPPT algorithm based on fuzzy logic-incremental conductance technique, also a DTC strategy
is used to drive the motor of PVPS.
MPPT Used commercial MPPT to match between the PV modules and motor-pump set.
MPPT and V /f law The InCond-MPPT algorithm with V /f law is used to control and extract maximum PV power
Frequency and Excitation Control Maximum mechanical power to drive a centrifugal pump by DC motor and AC motor is attained by
controlling the excitation and the frequency of the voltage source inverter for both DC and AC motors,
respectively.
Load Matching Two control strategies are used; the first one is the PV operates at maximum efficiency with variable flow
rate, while the other strategy is the induction motor operates at maximum efficiency with limited flow rate.
Load Matching The matching between the PV array and separately excited DC motor is achieved by adjusting the motor
field current and represented it in terms of the motor-pump parameters and MPP characteristics of the PV
array.
Load Matching Stimulate the PVPS to operate at MPP or at maximum daily gross mechanical output energy (GME) by
adjusting the duty ratio of buck-boost converter.
PI-controller A fuzzy PI speed controller and hysteresis current controller are proposed to control the speed and current
loops, respectively.
Load Matching The step up converter increases the motor output power by around 15%.
Voltage Regulator Two controllers are used; one of them to control the output voltage of DC-DC converter, meanwhile the
other controller based on a vector oriented control scheme to control the voltage source inverter.

7.2. PVPS models 7.4. Performance and yield factor

Most of the models of PVPS that are proposed in the literature are
simple, where the performance of the system is limited by the flow rate
according to different pumping head and solar radiation. Thus, it is
important to find a dynamic model of the system to depict, in details,
the performance of the PVPS in terms of the deficit and excess volume
of pumping water and the state of charge of storage device (battery
and/or storage water tank). In addition to that, the accuracy of the PV
model adopted is very important. Therefore, the variables that influ-
ence on the PV production such as weather conditions, location and
orientation of PV, the conversion efficiency and dust accumulation
should be taken into account when the PV is modeled. Furthermore,
the deviation of PV module specifications due to variety of PV brand
should be considered by choosing an appropriate deviation factor to
compensate the deviation.
PVPS productivity strongly depends on meteorological variables
and thus, these systems are location dependent systems. Therefore, it is
important to conduct evaluation studies using mathematical models or
pilot projects so as to report the productivity of PVPS in a specific site.
7.5. PV technology price fluctuations
The price of PV modules is becoming lower nowadays due to the
continuous development in this field. This, structural barrier is limiting
the investment in PVPS as the future value of PV modules must be
considered when judging the feasibility of PVPS.
7.6. Cut in solar radiation

One of the challenges in PVPS is the required threshold or critical

solar radiation to start/end pumping water in the morning/afternoon.
Therefore, water-pumps set with low starting currents are required in
order to be able to start pumping at low solar radiation levels.
7.3. PV array configuration

The configuration of PV array's modules is one of the challenges to
PVPS. PV array reconfiguration may help in partial shading condition
or improve system overall productivity. Thus, PV array reconfiguration
controller need to be developed to provide dynamic configuration of the
PV array so as to match it with the load (motor-pump set) and to
increase the energy production in shadow cases or cloudy days.
7.7. Excess energy and storage units
The storage units in PVPS either electric storage, such as batteries,
or hydraulic storage, such as water storage tank, are required to take
advantage of the amount of water/energy surplus. Therefore, using the
storage units in PVPS is necessary to store the excess energy or to
compensate the energy shortage. However, the initial cost and main-

83
D.H. Muhsen et al.
tenance are limiting the utilization of these technologies specially when
using batteries. Thus, batteries optimum sizing and replacement
algorithms are needed.
7.8. Matching methods
The process of matching between the PV generator and the load is
very important to reduce the energy losses. Thus, using efficient
matching methods in PVPS are required to extract maximum power
that can be produced by PV array are needed. This algorithms need to
be accurate, fast and smart in order to track the MMP of the system
accurately.
7.9. Shadow losses
The shadow problem is one of the major challenges of the PV
technology, due to the nonlinearity relationship between the PV
production losses and the shadow. Thus, there is a need to have
controlling schemes that are able to reconfigure the PV array in order
to mitigate the shadow effect.
7.10. Optimal sizing of PVPS
In general, most of the proposed size optimization techniques in the
literature are probabilistic and based on intuitive assumptions. Thus,
the sizing methodology of PVPS is still not mature. Sizing methods that
consider the number of parallel and series connected PV panels that
satisfy a specific reliability condition with the lowest cost are promising
size methods. In addition, the evolutionary algorithms or multi-criteria
decision making can be used to get optimal PVPS size based on the
reliability and cost together as objective functions.
7.11. Conversion efficiency
The conversion efficiency of photovoltaic is still relatively low. The
rising of PV cell temperature can be represented the most important
cause of decline the efficiency of PV array. Therefore, the designer of PV
systems can be used a photovoltaic thermal hybrid solar collectors
(PVT) to convert the solar radiation into electricity as well as capturing
the remaining solar energy and eliminate the useless heat from the PV
array [161]. Furthermore, the conversion efficiency of PV array can be
improved using a cool technique to dissipate the high temperature of
the PV array. Also, using an appropriate motor-pump set integrated
with a control strategy to realize a good matching with a PV array.
Developing an accurate and robust MPPT algorithm leads to utilize the
PV efficiently under different operating conditions.
7.12. Load prediction
Long term of water flow rate demand should be available to use
instead of using average daily, hourly or even average daily water
demand. The accurate prediction technique can be developed to help
with issues, especially novel techniques such as ANN.
8. Conclusion
More than one hundred published articles in the period of 1995–
2015 related to PVPS were reviewed in this paper. The focus in this
survey is devoted research work that focuses on the modeling,
performance evaluation, optimal sizing and control of PVPS. Most of
the models of PVPS in the literature are based on mathematical models
for each component of the system. According to the literature, the
average overall system efficiency of PVPS is about 3.4%. Meanwhile,
the average annual water pumping per KWp is 6580.611 m3. The
numerical sizing method is used more than intuitive and analytical
methods. The percentage of using numerical, intuitive and analytical
84
Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 68 (2017) 70–86
methods for sizing PVPS in the literature are 46%, 31% and 23%,
respectively. A 48% of control works, in the literature, were focused on
using an MPPT algorithms to control the PVPS. A 60% of the articles
are used traditional MPPT algorithms, and 40% used MPPT algorithms
based on AI techniques. The load matching control strategy is used to
match between the PV array and motor-pump set about 33% relative to
all control works in this review. Challenges to this science was reported.
It is concluded the mature sizing procedure to choose the optimal PV
and storage configuration according to a reliability and cost objective
functions and an accurate dynamic modeling is comprised of all the
factors affect on the performance of PVPS are the most important
challenges. Also, the availability of meteorological and load demand
data can be represented as other challenges to design, modeling and
control of PVPS. Moreover, some of suggestions are proposed as
solutions for these challenges can be represented as a future work in
the PVPS.
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