Conference article

Rope-pumps are a highly successful method of lifting water by hand in developing countries. The primary aim of this work was to develop a validated methodology to decide the most cost effective renewable power sources in order to fully automate the operation of the rope-pump for given well depth; volume of water required and environmental conditions in the proposed installation location. The renewable energy sources considered were a 150W photovoltaic (PV) panel and a 100W wind turbine; either used in isolation or in combination with a battery and motor; or direct drive to a motor; providing five viable systems for further consideration. All system elements and the rope-pump itself were fully characterised through experimental testing. Computer-based simulations incorporating environmental conditions for Lilognwe; Malawi; were used to provide a 15 year lifecycle analysis. Results show that the use of PV powered system can deliver water reliably; at the lowest cost. For validation purposes; each rope-pump system was also analysed with the environmental conditions found in Bristol; UK providing comparison results; indicating the approach is systematic and rigorous enough to provide an effective decision making tool for the installation of rope-pumps anywhere; provided environmental data is available.

Rope-pump; renewable power; system modelling; system selection