Automated Water Irrigation System for Urban Farming

¹ School of Computer Science and Engineering, Taylor’s University Lakeside Campus, 47500 Subang Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia
² Solar Energy Research Institute, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, 43600 Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia

^* Corresponding author: drfaizalfauzan@gmail.com

Abstract

The advancement in knowledge and technology has benefited various types of industries worldwide including the agricultural sector. The developments in the traditional agricultural sector has created a new type of agronomy called, urban farming. This type of farming is usually done in the city or even in housing areas and apartments. The concept of this agricultural activity is to utilise limited amounts of available space for the planting of fruits and vegetables that can grow at a quick rate. This type of farming is small-scaled and requires low initial investments. However, the issue with urban farming is that water irrigation is usually done manually using human labour and is powered by electricity which is a non-renewable energy power source. Thus, the main objective of this research paper is to produce a new and improved small-scaled automated water irrigation system for urban farming that is not only self-sustainable but also powered by renewable energy. There were three types of analysis conducted that contained the major factors affecting a water irrigation system. These analyses are renewable energy, flow and economic analysis. Besides that, main design elements were also taken into consideration such as using renewable energy as a power source (Solar, Wind or Hydro), pump and motor power, pipe size, material, layout and cost, volumetric flow rate, head loss and actual pressure present in pipes. The results of the analysis justified that hydro energy was the best renewable energy to be used as a power source. The results also showed that a 500 W pump and motor set was most optimum to irrigate water in the urban farm. In addition, a 0.3 m underground pipe layout using ¾ inch rubber pipes was proven to be the most efficient for a new and improved water irrigation system. From the economic analysis conducted, the new and improved design of automated water irrigation system for urban farming was able to save up to RM 2364.58 annually with a Return on Investment (ROI) of about 6 months while showing profit within 1 year. The analyses conducted and results obtained proved that the new and improved design of automated water irrigation system for urban farming is not only cost efficient but is also environmentally friendly.