The weather and climate of the tropics: Part 10 – Tropical agriculture

Recent advancements in solar technology offer an enormous opportunity for the people of Pacific Islands to use electricity from the off-grid solar system for both their energy needs and farming activities. However, a farm's productivity and animal health might be seriously threatened if it experiences stray voltages caused by the improper grounding of its installed electrical systems. As a shift in the neutral point of an electrical system creates a current flow to the ground through conducting elements, the impacts of stray voltages need to be addressed from both technical and economic viewpoints. In this research, the effects of stray voltages passing through animals are explored using circuit designs for solar sources considering variable grounding resistances due to the different body resistances of various types of animals, and environmental and grounding design issues. A comparison of the stray voltages of two different sources (off-grid solar and traditional grid) with various configurations are conducted to determine their effects on a farm. Finally, their economic impacts together with possible techniques for mitigating them are explained.

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“…Colombia and Brazil are countries located in the tropical zone of the planet [1] This zone has an elevated ground flash density and a lightning peak current higher than in other latitudes [2]. This atmospheric condition in tropical zones can induce potentially elevated problems to people and electrical systems.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Equation of lightning return current in tropical zones

Rubiano-Cruz

¹

,

Páez-Moncaleano

²

,

Chacón-Cardona

³

et al. 2021

J. Phys.: Conf. Ser.

0

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The purpose of this study is to model mathematically the equation of the lightning return current in tropical zones and to validate it with data obtained from direct measurements in Colombia and Brazil. This study is carried out because the lightning return current in tropical zones is greater than in other latitudes of the planet. For this reason, it is very important for different applications in electrical engineering. Nowadays, the Heidler equation is used for the simulation of faults in electrical systems. This equation will serve as a reference to make a comparison between the data of the equation obtained in this article with those from the equation of Heidler.

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“…Traditionally, most Fijian village families have their own small dairy farm, with the majority of their farming practices not monitored and farmers unaware of stray voltages which are related to a soil's fertility, presence of NEV and other factors [6]. The climate of a PIC is tropical in nature [7]. Due to the geographic location [8], energy generation and distribution expenses in an Island [9] and overall economic situation [10], people relying heavily on RE resources (solar energy) for daily supplies of electricity.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Impact of Stray Voltage on Renewable Energy-based Farm in Pacific Island Country

Islam

¹

,

Prasad

²

,

Haque

³

et al. 2020

IJEEI

0

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Recent advancements in solar technology offer an enormous opportunity for the people of Pacific Islands to use electricity from the off-grid solar system for both their energy needs and farming activities. However, a farm's productivity and animal health might be seriously threatened if it experiences stray voltages caused by the improper grounding of its installed electrical systems. As a shift in the neutral point of an electrical system creates a current flow to the ground through conducting elements, the impacts of stray voltages need to be addressed from both technical and economic viewpoints. In this research, the effects of stray voltages passing through animals are explored using circuit designs for solar sources considering variable grounding resistances due to the different body resistances of various types of animals, and environmental and grounding design issues. A comparison of the stray voltages of two different sources (off-grid solar and traditional grid) with various configurations are conducted to determine their effects on a farm. Finally, their economic impacts together with possible techniques for mitigating them are explained.

show abstract

The weather and climate of the tropics: Part 10 – Tropical agriculture

Cited by 5 publications

References 19 publications

Impact of Stray Voltage on Renewable Energy-based Farm in Pacific Island Country

Impact of Stray Voltage on Renewable Energy-based Farm in Pacific Island Country

Equation of lightning return current in tropical zones

Impact of Stray Voltage on Renewable Energy-based Farm in Pacific Island Country

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