Design and Experimental Evaluation of an Arduino-Based Photovoltaic Irrigation System for Efficient Water Management

Abstract

This study presents the design, simulation, and experimental implementation of a smart photovoltaic-powered irrigation system based on Arduino control and soil moisture sensing. The proposed system aims to improve water and energy efficiency in small-scale agricultural applications by enabling automatic irrigation without the use of batteries. The system was first modeled and simulated using ISIS Proteus software to validate the electrical architecture and control logic. An Arduino microcontroller was programmed to process real-time soil moisture data acquired from a humidity sensor and to control a DC water pump through a relay module. Irrigation is automatically activated when the measured soil moisture falls below a predefined threshold and stopped after a programmed watering duration. Following the simulation phase, a laboratory-scale prototype was constructed using photovoltaic panels, a DC-DC voltage regulator, a surface water pump, and an Arduino Mega 2560 board. Experimental results demonstrate the reliability of the control strategy and confirm the feasibility of combining photovoltaic energy with low-cost embedded electronics for autonomous irrigation. The proposed system represents an energy-efficient and sustainable solution suitable for remote or off-grid agricultural environments.