Community-scale 900Wp off-grid solar for hydroponics farmer groups in Pasuruan, East Java (3 citations).
Hydroponics farming in rural East Java faces unreliable grid electricity that disrupts water pumps and nutrient circulation, threatening crop yields. Power outages during critical growth periods can cause nutrient solution stagnation, pH drift, and root oxygen deprivation, leading to crop losses of 15-25%.
Diesel generators are expensive to operate and contradict the sustainable agriculture narrative that hydroponics represents. Small farmer groups in Pasuruan lack capital for large grid-connected systems but could benefit from appropriately sized off-grid solar for essential loads — water pumps, air pumps, and grow lights.
Prior to this community service project, the farmer group relied entirely on the public grid with no backup. During the rainy season, outages lasting 4-8 hours were common, directly impacting the hydroponics operation. The project aimed to demonstrate that a modest 900Wp solar installation could eliminate grid dependence for critical agricultural loads.
The 900Wp system was sized using peak sun hour methodology for Pasuruan's solar resource (~4.8 kWh/m²/day annual average), with battery capacity calculated for 2 days of autonomy. Sigit contributed to system design, component specification, and load analysis for hydroponics equipment.
The system powers water pumps, air pumps, and nutrient circulation equipment for a 200m² hydroponics installation. Six 150Wp polycrystalline panels feed a 60A MPPT charge controller, charging a 24V 200Ah battery bank. DC distribution at 12V and 24V eliminates inverter losses for pumps and LED grow lights.
Additional facilities developed alongside the power system include a UV-filtering plastic roof to reduce heat stress on plants, and supplemental LED grow lights to accelerate growth and aid plant recovery after high-temperature periods. A community ownership structure was established for ongoing maintenance and operational knowledge transfer.
The system has operated continuously since installation with 95%+ uptime. The battery bank provides 12 hours of runtime without charging — enough to power 160W of diverse loads through the night. During daylight hours, solar panels deliver energy for both battery recharging and direct loads simultaneously.
Crop yields improved 30-40% compared to the pre-electrification baseline, driven by consistent water and nutrient delivery uninterrupted by grid outages. Operating costs decreased 80% compared to the previous diesel generator alternative. The farmer group developed technical capacity for basic maintenance and troubleshooting through hands-on training.
The UV plastic roof installation reduced direct sunlight intensity, lowering heat stress while transmitting wavelengths critical for photosynthesis. Grow lights enabled extended photoperiods for faster growth cycles and helped plants recover after high-temperature periods.
This paper documents a community service implementation carried out in collaboration with a hydroponics farmer group in Pasuruan, East Java. The methodology combined field observation, load analysis, system sizing, hardware installation, and performance monitoring over multiple growing cycles.
Load characterization measured the power draw of water pumps (45W), air pumps (30W), nutrient circulation pumps (25W), and grow lights (60W total) to determine the 160W baseline. Solar resource data for Pasuruan was obtained from meteorological records, yielding an annual average of 4.8 kWh/m²/day peak sun hours. System sizing followed the validated peak sun hour methodology with a 75% system efficiency factor.
Performance was measured through direct observation of system runtime, battery state of charge, and crop yield tracking before and after installation. Energy balance was monitored across twelve months, comparing solar generation against hydroponics load consumption. The 12-hour battery-only runtime was verified through controlled discharge testing.
Jurnal Layanan Masyarakat (Journal of Public Services), 2022
DOI: 10.20473/jlm.v7i2.2023.220-229
Sizing methodology used to design the 900Wp system for Pasuruan solar resource.
Low-cost solar measurement instrument that could validate system performance.
Rural electrification approach — 900Wp scales up for productive agricultural loads.
Applied community development project demonstrating productive use of renewable energy for agricultural intensification. The system design builds on the peak sun hour sizing methodology validated by sigit's earlier simulation work.