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Arduino Solar Tracker

Open hardware/software test
bench for solar tracker with virtual
instrumentation.

Apr 11, 2020 • 368278 views • 75 respects

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Components and supplies

 4 Resistor 330 ohm

4 LDR, 5 Mohm

1 Arduino UNO

1 Mini Solar Panel

SG90 Micro-servo
2
motor

Rotary potentiometer
1
(generic)

Pushbutton Switch,
2
Pushbutton

Tools and machines

1 PLX-DAQ

Apps and platforms

 1 Arduino IDE

Project description

This project presents an open

hardware/software test bench for solar
tracker. The proposed prototype is based on
a dual-axis solar tracker controlled with
Arduino Uno which is an open-source
prototyping platform based on easy-to-use
hardware and software. The solar tracker
can be controlled automatically with the
help of LightDependent Resistor (LDR)
sensors or manually using a potentiometer.
Moreover, this test bench provides virtual
instrumentation based on Excel in which its
solar tracker data can be recorded and
presented. The hardware used has been
chosen to be inexpensive, compact and
versatile. The proposed test bench is
designed to help students develop their
understanding of control theory and their
application.

Arduino Solar Tracker

Aboubakr El Hammoumi

Watch on
The proposed test bench is presented in Fig.
1. It is based on a solar tracker that can
rotate automatically to track the sun with
the help of four LDR sensors and two
servomotors (SM1 and SM2), or manually
using a potentiometer. To switch between
the two modes (automatic and manual), a
push-button is used. Another push-button is
used to link either the SM1(up-down
servomotor) or SM2 (left-right servomotor)
to the potentiometer to control their
movement. Moreover, a computer is used
as a virtual instrument to visualize the mode
and current, voltage and power of the PV
panel according to time in MS Excel. Arduino
Uno board is utilized to implement all
software requirements of the system.

Fig. 1. Schematic of the proposed test bench

Mechanical design

As shown in Fig. 2, the computer-aided

design (CAD) 3D model of the solar tracker
is designed in CATIA. It is composed of the
PV panel, the left-right and up-down
servomotors, and four LDR sensors. For the
horizontal axis, a bearing is fixed in parallel
with the up-down servomotor for better
flexibility. The solar tracker is designed to
have two degrees of freedom, from east to
west by the left-right servomotor and from
south to north by the up-down servomotor.
The LDR sensors are placed in the four
corners of the PV panel and are put in dark
tubes with a small hole on the top to detect
the illumination of the sun. These dark
tubes are also considered a concentrator of
radiation and are used to increase the solar
tracker robustness.

Fig. 2. CAD 3D model of the solar tracker in CATIA

Hardware system

Fig. 3 presents the electronic circuit of the

proposed testbench. For automatic mode,
the microcontroller converts the analogs
values of LDRsensors (pins A0 to A3) into
digitals. Then it controls two
servomotors(up-down and left-right) using
two Pulse-Width Modulation (PWM) signals
(pins 5and 6) to track the sun. The rotation
movements occur in two axes, in azimuth
from east to west according to the daily
sun's path and in elevation from south to
north according to the seasonal sun's path.
For manual mode, a potentiometer (pin A4)
is used to control the movement of the two
servo motors, a push-button (pin 11) is
deployed to connect the potentiometer
either to up-down servomotor or left-right
servomotor. Besides, another pushbutton
(pin 12) is used to switch between the two
modes. Furthermore, the PV voltage is
measured through the analog pin A5 of the
Arduino, then the PV current is calculated
since the resistor of the load is already
known. Next, the PV current, voltage and
power versus time and the actual mode are
sent to the computer to present them in
real-time on MS Excel.

Fig. 3. Electronic circuit of the solar tracker with manual

and automatic modes

The LDR sensor circuitry is designed as a

voltage divider circuit. The variation in the
light intensity is proportional to the
variation of the divider output voltage. The
top of the potential divider is 5 V, the
ground is at 0 V, and the output of the
voltage divider is connected to an analog
input ( A 0 for instance) of the
microcontroller. Subsequently, the Analog
to Digital Converter(ADC) of the
microcontroller converts the analog value
read by A 0 into a digital value between 0
and 1023 because the ADC is coded in 10
bits, and according to this value, it is
possible to know the level of light. The value
of resistors used in voltage dividers is 330 Ω.

Two 180 degrees servomotors are used. A

servomotor (MG996R) to control the solar
tracker according to the vertical axis, which
is the left-right servomotor. And a micro
servo motor (SG90) to control the solar
tracker according to the horizontal axis,
which is the up-down servomotor. The
advantage of the servomotor is that we can
control its stop, run, the direction of
rotation and speed using a single low
current wire connected directly to an output
of the microcontroller without needing any
drivers. The used servo motors are
controlled by the Arduino UNO board via 3-
wire electrical cable as shown in Fig. 3, two
wires for supply and one wire for PWM to
control its positions.

The embedded software design

The embedded software is the piece that

will be embedded in the hardware (Arduino
Uno) to control and monitor the solar
tracker test bench. The embedded software
is designed to cover the following
requirements:

1. The test bench has two modes: manual

and automatic. A pushbutton is connected
to pin 12 to switch between the two modes.

2. If the manual mode is active, the

potentiometer can control servomotors
either from east to west for left-right motor
or from south to north for the up-down
motor. A push-button is connected to pin 11
to switch the potentiometer between the
two motors, either it controls the left-right
servomotor or up-down servo motor.

3. If the automatic mode is active, the

algorithm presented in Fig. 4 will be
executed. The latter uses the analog values
returned by LDR sensors. For instance,
considering azimuth or vertical axis, the
average values from two right LDRs and two
left LDRs are compared and if the left set of
LDRs receives more light, the solar tracker
will move in that direction through the left-
right servomotor. The latter will continue to
rotate until the difference result is in the
range [−10, 10]. This range is used to
stabilize the controller and once the solar
tracker is perpendicular to the sun, no
further control is made. On the other hand,
if the right set of LDRs receive more light,
the solar tracker moves in that direction
through the left-right servomotor and will
continue to rotate until the difference result
is in the range [−10, 10]. The same way is
used for the elevation axis. Moreover, we
also determined the average radiation
between the four LDR sensors and if this
value is less than a little value (8: a value
which has been adjusted and tested
practically and is returned when the
irradiation is null). That is to say, the night
has come. In this case, the solar tracker
must return to the sun’s rising position. For
example, if the sun’s rising position can be
reached by setting 0 degrees in the left-right
servomotor, and 30 degrees in the up-down
servomotor. This can easily be done through
the C function “servox. write(angle)”
provided by Arduino IDE.

4. The PV voltage acquired through the

analog pin A5 must be treated and used to
compute the PV current and power. Then all
these data and the actual mode must be
sent through a USB cable to the computer
and then present them in MS Excel.
 Fig. 4. The algorithm for automatic mode of the solar
tracker

The PLX-DAQ Excel Macro is used for data

acquisition from the Arduino
microcontroller to an Excel Spreadsheet. We
only need to download it. After installation,
a folder named "PLX-DAQ" will automatically
be created on the PC in which a shortcut
named "PLX-DAQ Spreadsheet" is inside.
Then, to establish the communication
between the board and Excel, we just need
to open the Spreadsheet and defining the
connections settings (Baud rate and port) in
the PLX-DAQ window (Fig. 5). Thereafter,
after clicking on "connect" the output data
will be collected and displayed in real-time
on the Excel Spreadsheet

Fig. 5. PLX-DAQ Spreadsheet window

The prototype

Figure 6 shows the solar tracker in detached

and assembled states. As presented, the
entire structure has been manufactured
using wooden plates, and it is clear that the
all mentioned components have been used
to build the solar tracker with manual and
automatic modes (LDR sensors, Arduino
Uno, Servo motors, potentiometer,
pushbuttons, and the small PV panel).

Fig. 6. Composition of the solar tracker

Figure 7 shows the entire test bench, solar

tracker with virtual instrumentation, and an
artificial lamp that can expose light to test
the solar tracker. The solar tracker and the
computer are connected through a USB
cable. Once the PV voltage is acquired, the
controller treats this information and uses it
to compute the PV current and power. Then,
all these data are sent to the computer to
present them in MSExcel. From Figs. 5 and
6, it is clear that the proposed test bench is
small, flexible and easy to use. It can enable
students, researchers and engineers to
apply their algorithms in an easy way before
proceeding with the implementation of a
large solar tracking device.

Fig. 7. The entire test bench with virtual instrumentation

Code
 Embedded Software arduino

os solar tracker test

bench

1 //Servo motor library

2 #include <Servo.h>
3 //Initialize variables
4 int mode = 0;
5 int axe = 0;
6 int buttonState1 = 0;
7 int buttonState2 = 0;
8 int prevButtonState1 = 0;
9 int prevButtonState2 = 0;
10
11 int ldrtopr= 0;
// top-right LDR
12 int ldrtopl = 1; //
top-left LDR
13 int ldrbotr = 2; //

Embedded Software arduino

os solar tracker test

bench
 1 //Servo motor library
2 #include <Servo.h>
3 //Initialize variables
4 int
5 mode = 0;
6 int axe = 0;
7 int buttonState1 = 0;
8 int buttonState2
9 = 0;
10 int prevButtonState1 = 0;
11 int prevButtonState2 = 0;
12
13 int ldrtopr=
14 0; // top-right
LDR

Downloadable files
Electronic circuit of the solar
tracker with manual and
automatic modes

Electronic circuit of the sola

r tracker with manual and …
utomatic modes

Comments

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mak127learner
 mak127learner
5 months ago

So a project which has never really

been tested. Understand the idea of
a work in progress and accept the
work already done but please don't
pass it off as a working model.

Munrap
7 months ago

Good project which I have used to

create an effective solar tracker to
take into schools as my role as a
STEM Ambassador. My positive
comments are
1. I have mounted my panel using
separate bearings rather than using
the servo bearing which is not
designed for this
2. There is an error in the code for
the servo movement left-right and
up-down, but easily corrected
3. I found the need to calibrate the
LDR;s so they give the same reading
for same amount of light
4. I have used a digital voltmeter to
show output from the solar cell.
Thanks
John Parnum

tman666
10 months ago

Are the 3d print (stl)files for the

setup available ?
 sfegdffgsdr
a year ago

will auto mode work without P2 EVO

ghostdemus
2 years ago

My code works, but it is in

Portuguese

#include <Servo.h>

// Inicialização de variáveis
int modo = 0; // 0 para manual, 1
para automático
int eixo = 0; // 0 para esquerda-
direita, 1 para cima-baixo
int estadoBotaoModo = 0;
int estadoBotaoEixo = 0;
int estadoBotaoAnteriorModo = 0;
int estadoBotaoAnteriorEixo = 0;

// Definição dos pinos dos LDRs

int ldrSuperiorDireito = A0;
int ldrSuperiorEsquerdo = A1;
int ldrInferiorDireito = A2;
int ldrInferiorEsquerdo = A3;

// Leituras dos LDRs

int superiorEsquerdo = 0;
int superiorDireito = 0;
int inferiorEsquerdo = 0;
int inferiorDireito = 0;

// Declaração dos dois servos

Servo servoCimaBaixo;
Servo servoEsquerdaDireita;

int valorLimite = 10; // Sensibilidade

da medição

void setup() {
[Link](9600);
[Link]("CLEARDATA");
[Link]("LABEL,t,voltage,curren
t,power,Mode");

pinMode(12, INPUT_PULLUP); //
Botão de Modo (com pull-up interno)
pinMode(11, INPUT_PULLUP); //
Botão de Eixo (com pull-up interno)
pinMode(A4, INPUT); //
Potenciômetro para controle manual

[Link](5); // Servo
para movimento cima-baixo
[Link](6); //
Servo para movimento esquerda-
direita

[Link]("Setup completo");
}

void loop() {
float volt = analogRead(A5) * 5.0 /
1023;
float tensao = 2 * volt; // Tensão=
(R1/(R1+R2))*Tensão,
R1=R2=10Ohms => tensao=2*volt
float corrente = tensao / 20; //
I=tensao/(R1+R2)
float potencia = tensao * corrente;

[Link]("DATA,TIME,"); //
Comando PLX-DAQ
[Link](tensao);
[Link](",");
[Link](corrente);
[Link](",");
[Link](potencia);
[Link](",");

// Tratamento do botão de modo

estadoBotaoModo = digitalRead(12);
if (estadoBotaoModo !=
estadoBotaoAnteriorModo) {
if (estadoBotaoModo == LOW) { //
LOW porque o pull-up inverte a
lógica
modo = 1 - modo; // Alterna o modo
entre 0 e 1
[Link]("Modo alterado para: ");
[Link](modo == 0 ? "Manual" :
"Automático");
}
}
estadoBotaoAnteriorModo =
estadoBotaoModo;
delay(50); // Atraso para debouncing

if (modo == 0) {
[Link]('M');
rastreadorSolarManual();
} else {
[Link]('A');
rastreadorSolarAutomatico();
}
}

void rastreadorSolarAutomatico() {
// Captura dos valores analógicos de
cada LDR
superiorDireito =
analogRead(ldrSuperiorDireito);
superiorEsquerdo =
analogRead(ldrSuperiorEsquerdo);
inferiorDireito =
analogRead(ldrInferiorDireito);
inferiorEsquerdo =
analogRead(ldrInferiorEsquerdo);

// Calculando a média
int mediaSuperior = (superiorDireito
+ superiorEsquerdo) / 2;
int mediaInferior = (inferiorDireito +
inferiorEsquerdo) / 2;
int mediaEsquerda =
(superiorEsquerdo +
inferiorEsquerdo) / 2;
int mediaDireita = (superiorDireito +
inferiorDireito) / 2;

// Calculando as diferenças
int diferencaElevacao =
mediaSuperior - mediaInferior;
int diferencaAzimute = mediaDireita
- mediaEsquerda;

// Movimento esquerda-direita do
rastreador solar
if (abs(diferencaAzimute) >=
valorLimite) {
if (diferencaAzimute > 0 &&
[Link]() < 180) {
[Link](servoEsq
[Link]() + 2);
}
if (diferencaAzimute < 0 &&
[Link]() > 0) {
[Link](servoEsq
[Link]() - 2);
}
}

// Movimento cima-baixo do
rastreador solar
if (abs(diferencaElevacao) >=
valorLimite) {
if (diferencaElevacao > 0 &&
[Link]() < 180) {
[Link](servoCimaBaix
[Link]() + 2);
}
if (diferencaElevacao < 0 &&
[Link]() > 0) {
[Link](servoCimaBaix
[Link]() - 2);
}
}
}

void rastreadorSolarManual() {
// Tratamento do botão de eixo
estadoBotaoEixo = digitalRead(11);
if (estadoBotaoEixo !=
estadoBotaoAnteriorEixo) {
if (estadoBotaoEixo == LOW) { //
LOW porque o pull-up inverte a
lógica
eixo = 1 - eixo; // Alterna o eixo entre
0e1
[Link]("Eixo alterado para: ");
[Link](eixo == 0 ? "Esquerda-
Direita" : "Cima-Baixo");
}
}
estadoBotaoAnteriorEixo =
estadoBotaoEixo;
delay(50); // Atraso para debouncing

if (eixo == 0) { // Controle esquerda-

direita
int valorPot = analogRead(A4);
int posicaoServo = map(valorPot, 0,
1023, 0, 180);
[Link](posicaoS
ervo);
[Link]("Posição Esquerda-
Direita: ");
[Link](posicaoServo);
} else { // Controle cima-baixo
int valorPot = analogRead(A4);
int posicaoServo = map(valorPot, 0,
1023, 0, 180);
[Link](posicaoServo);
[Link]("Posição Cima-Baixo: ");
[Link](posicaoServo);
}
}

anotheryou123
2 years ago

hi, im having a problem with servo

motor not rotating with the old
coding.... can anyone update me
about the coding

chanthulax_20
2 years ago

CAN WE USE 6V 1W SOLAR PANEL

chanthulax_20
2 years ago

CAN WE USE 6V 1W SOLAR PANEL

dwhou
2 years ago
Hi, I've been learning arduino
recently and I think your project is
very good, can you send me the
project to learn it please? My email is
davidhou267@[Link]

wmattis
2 years ago

Tracking system as shown here has

no chance of tracking a distant light
source like the sun. The shadow cast
by a cylinder that SURROUNDS each
LDR will be the same on ALL FOUR
sensors, and no differential will ever
be generated. The CORRECT tracking
sensor will have the LDRs arranged
in a quad surrounding the cylinder
or in the four corners of a divider.
The operating theory is to have the
shadow caused by a misalignment to
shade one or two of the LDRs,
maybe even three, but never all four.
Figure 7A and 7B in the author's
paper will work. Figure 7C and figure
8 will not.

borromeo
2 years ago

hi i am new here how to run the

code if the code are running? can
you tell me? cuz its say it has an
error

nikhil_09
 nikhil_09

2 years ago

Hi , servos are not rotating brother

can u please let me know the
problem plz.

loernr53
3 years ago

That was so amazingly.

[Link]

Anonymous
user
3 years ago

Hello
i want do it for 5kw solar panels
introducing electricity
please help me
for design
i after coding it work automatic or
always need connection with pc or
laptop
please send me a simple plan for
assembling the device

Anonymous
user
3 years ago

Always need a pc
 Anonymous
user
3 years ago

Hi,
Thanks for sharing information
about this project.
I did similar circuit and coding but if
switch button is not connected then
servo becomes unstable and move
randomly.
Do you know any fix for this?

Anonymous
user
3 years ago
Nicely done! I used your design to
make a DAST using a full-size solar
panel. I placed the LDRs (centered
and carefully aligned) in tubes
mounted on the four corners of the
PV panel, and each tube is oriented
perpendicular to the face of the
panel. After testing the tracker
outside in the sun I must agree with
others who have commented on this
project that the LDR arrangement
does not work. I read your paper
posted on the Wiley Online Library
and I don’t see anything in the paper
that would explain how one LDR
would receive more or less light than
the other three LDRs. If we (myself
and the other skeptics) are missing
something, please explain how you
designed the LDRs so that they all do
not receive the same amount of light
all the time. If the sun goes behind a
tree, for example, this design could
not “reacquire” the sun once it
reappears.

Other than the LDR arrangement,

this is a wonderful project!

Anonymous
user
3 years ago

I need this solar project for my

College project submission how can
we contact with you my G-MAIL is
pittalapavan96@[Link]...
pittalapavan96@[Link]...

Anonymous
user
3 years ago

Please explain how the voltage is

calculated in this project?

Aboubakr_Elhammoumi

3 years ago

The used PV panel generates

a voltage up to 5.5 V or more.
Therefore, in this project, a
voltage divider circuit, which
also acts as a load, is realized
to adapt this voltage to the
Arduino analog input which is
limited to 5 V.
But, you can simply use a
voltage sensor to acquire the
PV voltage.

Anonymous
user
3 years ago

Hello, Thanks for the work.

But, the pin 13 is not connected, so
line 133
buttonState2 = digitalRead(13);

seems impossible.

Aboubakr_Elhammoumi

3 years ago

You are right! it should be 11

instead of 13 as shown in the
electronic circuit

Anonymous
user
3 years ago

Nice project, well-executed, well-

presented.

I made a tracker last year, using

code remarkably similar to your
automatic tracker function. Worked
well on the bench using a lamp to
test, and also worked well outdoors
in bright sun. However, I found that
using a fixed threshold or a
threshold derived from averaging
the four LDR readings made tracking
ineffective in any condition but full
sun.

This year I've rebuilt the hardware

(larger solar panel, more robust
frame, with linear actuators) and am
rewriting the code to use a fifth LDR
for ambient light to set the
threshold. We'll see how that works.

Aboubakr_Elhammoumi

3 years ago

Good idea! Hope it works

well with you...
Note: a large hysteresis band
can reduce the tracking
accuracy, therefore, it should
be chosen carefully!

elmandrine
3 years ago

can you share you project

with us?
schematic and code?

godra
3 years ago

Do you mind share your code

with us. I'm no so good in
coding but this looks like a
good project to try make but
if the code don't work will be
hell of a build. I will be
pleased to try your code.
 Anonymous
user
3 years ago

Great project. Thanks for sharing. I

am writing you from Republic of
Congo, I need some clarifications
about the Parallax PLX-DAQ. I need
to know where do you install it in the
Schematics?
Do I need to buy only the Propeller 2
Evaluation Board (Rev C) or I also
need some complementary driver
for the connection to arduino or PC.

Thanks.

Aboubakr_Elhammoumi

3 years ago

Parallax Data Acquisition tool

(PLX-DAQ) software add-in
for Microsoft Excel acquires
up to 26 channels of data
from microcontrollers and
drops the numbers into
columns as they arrive. PLX-
DAQ provides easy
spreadsheet analysis of data
collected in the field,
laboratory analysis of
sensors and real-time
equipment monitoring.
You can download it from
this link
[Link]
ckage/plx-daq/

Aboubakr_Elhammoumi

3 years ago

The PLX-DAQ Excel Macro is

used for data acquisition
from the Arduino
microcontroller to an Excel
Spreadsheet. We only need
to download it. After
installation, a folder named
"PLX-DAQ" will automatically
be created on the PC in
which a shortcut named
"PLX-DAQ Spreadsheet" is
inside. Then, to establish the
communication between the
board and Excel, we just
need to open the
Spreadsheet and defining the
connections settings (Baud
rate and port) in the PLX-DAQ
window (Fig. 5). Thereafter,
after clicking on "connect"
the output data will be
collected and displayed in
real-time on the Excel
Spreadsheet.

Anonymous
 Anonymous
user
3 years ago

How did you wire the solar panel to

the arduino? Did you just weld a
cable to the negative and plug it in?
I'm trying to build a similar project
for my school, thanks.

Anonymous
user
3 years ago

I think your must redesign your light

sensor for exampel like giannis or
brown dog project. For long distance
source light. Your sensor will get
same intensity of light. When your
try with spot light. Your position of
solar panel not precise to direction
of light. In theory giannis way and
brown dog way. When source of light
move, four sensor will get
differences intensity of light. And
your servo can move to the direction
of light or until your four sensor got
same intensity. Sorry

Aboubakr_Elhammoumi

3 years ago

No! the sensors will not get

the same light intensity!
Why? I invite you to read
 Why? I invite you to read
carefully our paper from this
link:
[Link]
m/doi/full/10.1002/ese3.236 ,
and you will get all the
answers you need. Good
reading!
Besides, this solar tracker
has been tested in a real
environment (exposed to the
sun, long-distance source
light!!) and it can instantly
track the sun's movement.

Anonymous
user
3 years ago

Great idea and great project but I

have some concerns about the way
you test your project and real-life
situation. First of all since all the LDR
sensors are pointing the same
direction you will always read the
same values from them all the time,
because when you use a small light
source the light comes from that
source has different angles but the
sun is so big that light comes from
sun is so big that light comes from
the sun has no different angles and
they are considered parallel.
LDR sensors should point different
angles and they should not be on
the moving part. So you can position
the sun no matter where it is, sun
set or sun down...

Aboubakr_Elhammoumi

3 years ago

The LDR sensors are placed

in the four corners of the PV
panel and are put in dark
tubes with a small hole on
the top to detect the
illumination of the sun. The
shading resulting from the
dark tubes will create a light
intensity differential on LDR
sensors, i.e. sensors point
different angles. The dark
tubes are also considered a
concentrator of radiation and
are used to increase the solar
tracker robustness.
The solar tracker above has
been tested under a real
environment (exposed to the
sun) and it is able to instantly
track the sun movement.

Anonymous
user
3 years ago
 3 years ago

Congratulations, your project is

really interesting!
Could you provide more details
about how you attached the SG90 to
your rotating horizontal platform?
Thank you very much!

Aboubakr_Elhammoumi

3 years ago

Refer to the paper in this link

and see Figure 1 "Rear View"
[Link]
m/doi/full/10.1002/ese3.236

Anonymous
user
3 years ago

Guys i am a final year ec student i

have been preparing for cs/it
entrance exams so i don't get
enough time to make this easy
project on my own and now i have
one week to submit this project so
PLEASE can someone of you mail me
the finished files for this project at
yasheshpatel1626@[Link] this is
a humble request
WISH YOU ALL LIFE FULL OF
HAPPINESS AND GREAT SUCESSS!!!
 Anonymous
user
3 years ago

please help me guys i need

you

Anonymous
user
3 years ago

Nice [Link] can I di it without

the automatic mode

Anonymous

user
3 years ago

Any one can share circuit diagram

for solar tracker using arduino

Anonymous
user
3 years ago

where can I get the library file for the

code

Anonymous
user
3 years ago
 3 years ago

Agradezco mucho compartir este

gran proyecto, lo montare y
comentare ....

Anonymous
user
3 years ago

hello, i tried to simulate the project

with tinker cad but it doesn't
respond to change light of ldr and
potintiometer.
where's the problem?
if you have the project on tinkercad
please send me the link.

Anonymous
user
3 years ago

Do you have a full video instructions

on how to assemble the
components?

Anonymous
user
3 years ago

Does this program works in larger

solar panel with 25KG rated servo
motor?

jackfaye
 jackfaye
3 years ago

Hi, this project looks insane, I may

just be an eejit but where is the 3d
model?

Anonymous
user
4 years ago

How did you wire the solar panel to

the arduino? Did you just weld a
cable to the negative and plug it in?
I'm trying to build a similar project
for my school, thanks.

Anonymous

user
4 years ago

Great project. Thanks for sharing. I

am writing you from Republic of
Congo, I need some clarifications
about the Parallax PLX-DAQ. I need
to know where do you install it in the
Schematics?
Do I need to buy only the Propeller 2
Evaluation Board (Rev C) or I also
need some complementary driver
for the connection to arduino or PC.

Thanks.
Aboubakr_Elhammoumi

3 years ago

The PLX-DAQ Excel Macro is

used for data acquisition
from the Arduino
microcontroller to an Excel
Spreadsheet. We only need
to download it. After
installation, a folder named
"PLX-DAQ" will automatically
be created on the PC in
which a shortcut named
"PLX-DAQ Spreadsheet" is
inside. Then, to establish the
communication between the
board and Excel, we just
need to open the
Spreadsheet and defining the
connections settings (Baud
rate and port) in the PLX-DAQ
window (Fig. 5). Thereafter,
after clicking on "connect"
the output data will be
collected and displayed in
real-time on the Excel
Spreadsheet.
Aboubakr_Elhammoumi

3 years ago

Parallax Data Acquisition tool

(PLX-DAQ) software add-in
for Microsoft Excel acquires
up to 26 channels of data
from microcontrollers and
drops the numbers into
columns as they arrive. PLX-
DAQ provides easy
spreadsheet analysis of data
collected in the field,
laboratory analysis of
sensors and real-time
equipment monitoring.

You can download it from

this link
[Link]
ckage/plx-daq/
 Anonymous
user
4 years ago

Please explain how the voltage is

calculated in this project?

Aboubakr_Elhammoumi

3 years ago

The used PV panel generates

a voltage up to 5.5 V or more.
Therefore, in this project, a
voltage divider circuit, which
also acts as a load, is realized
to adapt this voltage to the
Arduino analog input which is
limited to 5 V.
But, you can simply use a
voltage sensor to acquire the
PV voltage.

YasheshPatel26
4 years ago
Guys i am a final year ec student i
have been preparing for cs/it
entrance exams so i don't get
enough time to make this easy
project on my own and now i have
one week to submit this project so
PLEASE can someone of you mail me
the finished files for this project at
yasheshpatel1626@[Link] this is
a humble request
WISH YOU ALL LIFE FULL OF
HAPPINESS AND GREAT SUCESSS!!!

YasheshPatel26

3 years ago

please help me guys i need

you

Anonymous
user
4 years ago

Hello
i want do it for 5kw solar panels
introducing electricity
please help me
for design
i after coding it work automatic or
always need connection with pc or
laptop
please send me a simple plan for
assembling the device
 Anonymous
user
3 years ago

Always need a pc

Anonymous
user
4 years ago

Nice [Link] can I di it without

the automatic mode

Anonymous
user
4 years ago
Nicely done! I used your design to
make a DAST using a full-size solar
panel. I placed the LDRs (centered
and carefully aligned) in tubes
mounted on the four corners of the
PV panel, and each tube is oriented
perpendicular to the face of the
panel. After testing the tracker
outside in the sun I must agree with
others who have commented on this
project that the LDR arrangement
does not work. I read your paper
posted on the Wiley Online Library
and I don’t see anything in the paper
that would explain how one LDR
would receive more or less light than
the other three LDRs. If we (myself
and the other skeptics) are missing
something, please explain how you
designed the LDRs so that they all do
not receive the same amount of light
all the time. If the sun goes behind a
tree, for example, this design could
not “reacquire” the sun once it
reappears.

Other than the LDR arrangement,

this is a wonderful project!

Anonymous
user
4 years ago
I need this solar project for my
College project submission how can
we contact with you my G-MAIL is
pittalapavan96@[Link]...

hadypranoto
4 years ago

I think your must redesign your light

sensor for exampel like giannis or
brown dog project. For long distance
source light. Your sensor will get
same intensity of light. When your
try with spot light. Your position of
solar panel not precise to direction
of light. In theory giannis way and
brown dog way. When source of light
move, four sensor will get
differences intensity of light. And
your servo can move to the direction
of light or until your four sensor got
same intensity. Sorry

Aboubakr_Elhammoumi

3 years ago

No! the sensors will not get

the same light intensity!
Why? I invite you to read
carefully our paper from this
link:
[Link]
m/doi/full/10.1002/ese3.236 ,
and you will get all the
answers you need. Good
 answers you need. Good
reading!
Besides, this solar tracker
has been tested in a real
environment (exposed to the
sun, long-distance source
light!!) and it can instantly
track the sun's movement.

Anonymous
user
4 years ago

Any one can share circuit diagram

for solar tracker using arduino

elmandrine
5 years ago

hello, i tried to simulate the project

with tinker cad but it doesn't
respond to change light of ldr and
potintiometer.
where's the problem?
if you have the project on tinkercad
please send me the link.

Anonymous
user
5 years ago

where can I get the library file for the

code
 Anonymous
user
5 years ago

Hi,
Thanks for sharing information
about this project.
I did similar circuit and coding but if
switch button is not connected then
servo becomes unstable and move
randomly.
Do you know any fix for this?

tamer79
5 years ago

Congratulations, your project is

really interesting!
Could you provide more details
about how you attached the SG90 to
your rotating horizontal platform?
Thank you very much!

Aboubakr_Elhammoumi

3 years ago

Refer to the paper in this link

and see Figure 1 "Rear View"
[Link]
m/doi/full/10.1002/ese3.236
 Anonymous
user
5 years ago

Hello, Thanks for the work.

But, the pin 13 is not connected, so
line 133

buttonState2 = digitalRead(13);

seems impossible.

Aboubakr_Elhammoumi

3 years ago

You are right! it should be 11

instead of 13 as shown in the
electronic circuit

Anonymous
user
5 years ago

Nice project, well-executed, well-

presented.

I made a tracker last year, using

code remarkably similar to your
automatic tracker function. Worked
well on the bench using a lamp to
test, and also worked well outdoors
in bright sun. However, I found that
using a fixed threshold or a
threshold derived from averaging
threshold derived from averaging
the four LDR readings made tracking
ineffective in any condition but full
sun.

This year I've rebuilt the hardware

(larger solar panel, more robust
frame, with linear actuators) and am
rewriting the code to use a fifth LDR
for ambient light to set the
threshold. We'll see how that works.

Anonymous
user
3 years ago

can you share you project

with us?
schematic and code?

wosscoe
3 years ago

Me too. I want to code a

system to control dc motors
north south up and down

Anonymous
user

5 years ago

Agradezco mucho compartir este

gran proyecto, lo montare y
comentare ....
comentare ....

hasangunel
6 years ago

Great idea and great project but I

have some concerns about the way
you test your project and real-life
situation. First of all since all the LDR
sensors are pointing the same
direction you will always read the
same values from them all the time,
because when you use a small light
source the light comes from that
source has different angles but the
sun is so big that light comes from
the sun has no different angles and
they are considered parallel.
LDR sensors should point different
angles and they should not be on
the moving part. So you can position
the sun no matter where it is, sun
set or sun down...

Aboubakr_Elhammoumi

3 years ago

The LDR sensors are placed

in the four corners of the PV
panel and are put in dark
tubes with a small hole on
the top to detect the
illumination of the sun. The
shading resulting from the
dark tubes will create a light
intensity differential on LDR
sensors, i.e. sensors point
different angles. The dark
tubes are also considered a
concentrator of radiation and
are used to increase the solar
tracker robustness.
The solar tracker above has
been tested under a real
environment (exposed to the
sun) and it is able to instantly
track the sun movement.