Remote Solar, Wind, and Hybrid Solar/Wind Energy Systems for Purifying Water

Solar energy, wind energy, and a combination of wind and solar energy have been used successfully to power an UV (ultraviolet) water purification system. The main reason for this success has been the design of the controllers which have been operating for almost two years with various wind and solar energy inputs. Five different solar and wind energy systems have been tested so far and although these renewable energy systems have been used for water purification, graphs contained in the paper can be used to determine the feasibility of powering various other electrical loads. Combining a 100 Watt solar system with a 900 Watt wind turbine resulted in pumping and purifying enough water to satisfy the potable water requirements of 4000 people (16000 liters/day) at an estimated equipment cost of about $4660 (approximately $1/person).