CONTROLS, INFORMATION AND AUTOMATION Increasingly, farmers are discovering the benefits of remote monitoring, controls and variable speed using Variable Frequency Drives (VFDs) but few take advantage of the possibilities of what can appear to be an overly complex solution. A range of components and total solutions are available today that enable irrigation equipment installers to take over the monitoring of farmers’ pumps as part of a service package. This lets farmers focus on what they do best: optimising crop yields. An irrigation system is more than pumps and often involves a range of equipment from many different suppliers, for example the irrigation unit, weather data system, soil moisture monitoring, and so on. Farmers are understandably reluctant to bring together equipment from different suppliers in a single, unified surveillance system, and even more so to place management of the irrigation system at a computer. Farmers generally want to decide for themselves what should happen; the economic consequences are simply too great if something should go wrong. These concerns, however, can be overcome. With many players on the market aware of the issues, integration of equipment is getting easier. However, crop factors change more during a year and with many more variables compared to turf and landscaping. At the water source, a controller is needed that knows what to pump and when to pump from where; for example, from many different groundwater wells of different depths, where water levels can vary. Filter stations also have controllers. With this information available online, remote monitoring is possible with alarms. For example, mixing different water sources from deep wells and canals is something that is happening more regularly to ensure sufficient water. With different characteristics and levels of contaminants, these different water sources need to be blended and treated accordingly. Disinfection of the irrigation system – using chlorination, for example – to remove algae is necessary to avoid clogging. In greenhouses, small problems such as fungal growth in hydroponics can quickly get out of hand. These need very precise dosing, and controls for critical functions have to be extremely precise, as should the automated dosing program. Components and solutions are available today that enable irrigation equipment installers to take over the monitoring of farmers’ pumps as part of a service package. This lets farmers focus on what they do best: optimising crop yields. REMOTE MANAGEMENT AND DATA COMMUNICATION A remote management solution with communication interfaces using open standards that easily integrate the pumps and pump systems into SCA DA (supervisory control and data acquisition) systems, PLC s (programmable logic controllers) and other controller or monitoring systems offers the farmer a range of options including stand-alone pump surveillance, components that can be integrated with other equipment, and complete system monitoring with remote management. CONTROLS AND MONITORING Controls and monitoring are becoming more important for agricultural applications. Turf applications and golf courses are already using smart controls that capture soil moisture, climate data, and the amount of irrigation that is required. Irrigation can then be scaled up and down and scheduled according to this. However, the economic consequences for agriculture are substantially higher than for turf or landscaping applications where under-irrigated grass will quickly recover. Under-irrigated crops do not necessarily recover, at huge cost for the farmer. Ensuring quick and easy communication with pumps and pumping systems enables the installer to give a much better service to the farmer. Transparency of data means that planning and monitoring status data become much easier and result in improved reporting, increased understanding of the overall pump and irrigation system, possible improved water pumping availability, and improved irrigation scheduling. Easy and rapid analysis and optimisation of the system’s engineering is also made possible. Open and interoperable data bus networks are becoming increasingly important for supervisory systems monitoring pumps systems. Grundfos communication and control solu-
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