System of monitoring and automation of a rural pumping system, based on WSN and PLC

Abstract

The pumping system of the Administration Board of Drinking Water and Sanitation of the Algarrobera (JAAPS-LA) is made up of a cylindrical aquifer with dimensions of 70 meters deep and 0.305 meters in diameter, the central element of this system is the submersible pump electrical, which is controlled by time. This current system has some deficiencies, among them the shortage of drinking water when the demand of the users is higher than the nominal one; and the large waste of potable water when the demand is lower than the nominal one. The present work proposes the design, implementation and integration of a monitoring and automation system applied to the JAAPS-LA pumping system, based on a wireless sensor network, open hardware and a PLC. As a result, all the modules of the system were implemented: the liquid level acquisition module in the distribution tank by means of liquid level sensors; the wireless data transmission and reception module; the drive module of the pump by means of the Programmable logic controller (PLC); and, finally, the solar-photovoltaic energy capture module. To evaluate the performance of the monitoring and automation system implemented, the behavior was monitored for 4 days, with the data obtained it was possible to verify the correct pump drive logic and the high efficiency (100%) of the communication system.