Assessing center pivot irrigation system efficiency and energy costs
27% average energy savings potential
Multi-partner collaboration involving energy co-op Tri-State G&T and Electric Power Research Institute with IIC
50 irrigators have been trained to use the calculator through the Colorado Master Irrigator program
Easy-to-use, free spreadsheet calculator helps irrigators pinpoint problems in their center pivot irrigation systems.
Of the thousands of center pivots dotting the US landscape with crop circles, few of these systems have been fully audited since their installation. In practice, this means that producers may spend considerable time and money on band-aid like repairs that don’t address fundamental underlying issues, related to system pressure, for example. Pump and system inefficiency negatively impact crop yields due to poor water application uniformity and needing to take systems offline for repairs during critical crop growth periods.
To address these challenges, CSU Water Resources Specialist Joel Schneekloth and engineer Lee Wheeler set out to develop an Excel-based calculator that would make it possible for irrigators to readily assess the performance of their pumps and center pivots anytime, but particularly as establishing a good, non-burdensome habit of reviewing their systems during the off season. This simple but powerful tool enables irrigators to quickly discern whether they need to update or upgrade their systems and determine if they should schedule an in-depth full or partial system audit to get to the bottom of problems they are having. The tool also helps irrigators gauge how quickly the costs of changes they might make can be recouped thanks to resulting improvements in operating efficiency.
“Managing irrigation system performance is fundamental to producers’ bottom lines and to making the adoption and use of advanced precision technologies and strategies pay off.”
-Amy Kremen, IIC Associate Director
Energy represents the largest cost of running an irrigation system. This calculator identifies specific issues that impact energy used, including flow meter accuracy, voltage/amp imbalance, and low system pressures. In the course of working with producers and others to develop and test this tool, Schneekloth and Wheeler gathered data that tracks with the consensus of engineers that a majority of center pivot systems being used are not running efficiently due to those issues, which happen naturally over time with wear and tear and other shifts or impacts over related to water tables and water quality.
At a higher level, the calculator’s outputs make it possible to orient producers to the water-energy relationship of their pumping systems, something that might be overlooked in the normal course of running their farm operations. As producers consider using newer precision irrigation tools and make critical crop variety choices and decisions regarding timing and amounts of water, fertilizer and inputs, it is essential that they understand and maintain proper system performance to realize the potential of all of those investments and to avoid wasting time, money, water, and energy.