DESIGN AND EXPERIMENTAL EVALUATION OF A SMART SOLAR-POWERED IRRIGATION SYSTEM WITH GSM-BASED REMOTE MONITORING FOR SMALL-SCALE FARMING

Agricultural production in remote areas is constrained by irregular rainfall, limited access to grid electricity, and the cost and labour requirements of conventional pumping. This study designed, simulated, implemented, and evaluated a smart solar-powered irrigation system that combines photovoltaic energy, soil-moisture sensing, tank-level monitoring, automatic pump control, servo-assisted water distribution, and GSM-based status notification. An Arduino Uno R3 served as the central controller. An HC-SR04 ultrasonic sensor monitored tank level, while an analogue soil-moisture sensor informed irrigation decisions. A 12 V DC water pump supplied field irrigation and a 12 V submersible pump replenished the storage tank. The control logic used preset thresholds and GSM SMS messages to communicate pump states. Proteus 8 Professional was used for simulation, after which a hardware prototype was assembled and tested under representative water-level and soil-moisture conditions. The reported design load was 51.9 W with a daily energy requirement of 104.55 Wh. The selected energy subsystem comprised an 18 V, 30 W polycrystalline solar panel, a 12 V, 18 Ah lead-acid deep-cycle battery, and a 10 A charge controller. Simulation and prototype tests demonstrated the intended state transitions: tank replenishment under low-water conditions, irrigation when adequate tank water coincided with dry soil, and pump shutdown when soil moisture was sufficient. The complete component cost was reported as GH¢2,130 at the exchange rate stated in the project. The study demonstrates the technical feasibility of a compact, off-grid irrigation controller, while identifying sensor calibration, battery management, GSM reliability, and longer-duration field validation as priorities for future work.