Dual Axis-Solar Tracker

Mini Project Report

on
Dual Axis Solar Tracker
In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the award of the degree of
BACHELOR OF TECHNOLOGY
in
Electronics and Communication Engineering

Submitted By
[Link](20r11a04k0)

[Link] Kiran(20r11a04e9)

Under the Guidance of

[Link] Sing
Assistant Professor

Department of Electronics and Communication Engineering

GEETHANJALI COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY
(UGC AUTONOMOUS),

Cheeryal (V), Keesara (M), Medchal District, Hyderabad– 501 301

(Approved by AICTE, Permanently Affiliated to JNTUH, Accredited by NBA, Accredited by NAAC with “A+”
Grade and ISO 9000:2015 Certified)
Mobile:9391199932, Landline:040-31001618, Fax:040-24220320
email:info@[Link]
Web: [Link]

2020-24

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 Dual Axis-Solar Tracker

GEETHANJALI COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY

Department of Electronics and Communication Engineering

CERTIFICATE

This is to certify that the project report titled Dual Axis Solar Tracker is being submitted by [Link] ,
M. Goutham Kiran bearing register numbers 20r11a04k0, 20r11a04le9 respectively, in partial fulfillment
for the award of the Degree of Bachelor of Technology in Electronics and Communication Engineering is
a record of bonafide work carried out under my supervision. The results embodied in this report have not
been submitted to any other University for the award of any degree.

[Link] Singh Dr. M. A. Khadar baba

Assistant professor HOD-ECE

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

We, the students of the Department of ECE, Geethanjali College of Engineering and
Technology, would like to convey heartfelt thanks to Dr. S. Udaya Kumar, Principal of the college for
the wonderful guidance and encouragement given to us to move ahead in the execution of this project.

We express our thanks to Head of the Department, Electronics and Communication Engineering, and
his motivation towards successful completion of the work.

We convey our regards to [Link] Singh (Assistant Professor) for her/his able guidance and the
support extended for the entire team.

With Regards

[Link](20r11a04k0)

[Link] Kiran(20r11a04e9)

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Table of Contents PAGE No

Acknowledgement …………………………………………………… iv

Contents...............................................................................................................................iv

Abbreviations & acronyms............................................................................................vi

List of Figures/Table.........................................................................................................vii
Abstract ………………………………………………………………… iv

Chapter-1 Introduction …………………………………………………………….. 1

1.1 Working principle …………………………………………………… 2
1.1 Basic circuit diagram ……………………………………………….. 3
Chapter-2 Literature Survey …………………………………………. 4
Chapter-3 Mathematical model.......................................................................................5
3.1 Inverse Square law……………………………………………… 5
3.2 Lamberts Cosine law…………………………………………….. 5
Chapter-4 Hardware Model
Block Diagram of Solar Tracker.......................................................................6
Explanation of Block Diagram..........................................................................7
Arduino uno.......................................................................................................8
ATMEGA328 Pin Layout.............................................................................8
Block Diagram Of Avr Architure.....................................................................9
LDR......................................................................................................................12
Servo Moter..........................................................................................................13

Chapter-5 Specification of the Hardware Requirement.......................................................14

Chapter-6 Software Program model

Programming Code..............................................................................................18
LDR programming and graph..........................................................................21

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Chapter-7 Discussion a d Conclusions
About Solar Tracker and Connected load...............................................22
Dual axis movement of solar tracker.....................................................23
Observations and Results.......................................................................24
Chapter-8 Conclusions...............................................................................................25
Chapter-9 References..................................................................................................26

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ABBREVIATIONS & ACRONYMS

SAPHT Solar Assist Plug-In Hybrid Electric Tractor

LDR Light Dependent Resistor

MOSFE Metal Oxide Semiconductor Field Effect Transistor

T
PV Photovoltaic Cell

IDE Integrated Development Environment

DC Direct Current
ADC
Analog-to-Digital Converter
Luminous Flux (Lumens/m²)
LUX
PWM Pulse Width Modulation

ICSP
In-Circuit Serial Programming
USB Universal Serial Bus

CMOS Complementary Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor

RISC Reduced Instruction Set Computer

MIPS Million instructions per second

EEPRO Electrically Erasable programmable Read-Only Memory

M
SRAM Static Random Access Memory

I/O Input/ Output

GND Ground

VCC Supply Voltage

AREF Another RDF Encoding Form

PCINT Pin Change Interrupt Library

RDF Resource Description Framework

AVR Alf and Vegard’s RISC Processor

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List of Figures and Table

Fig No. Name of the figure Pg

No.
1

10

11

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ABSTRACT

The goal of this thesis was to develop a laboratory prototype of a solar tracking system, which is able to
enhance the performance of the photovoltaic modules in a solar energy system. The operating principle of
the device is to keep the photovoltaic modules constantly aligned with the sunbeams, which maximises the
exposure of solar panel to the Sun’s radiation. As a result, more output power can be produced by the solar
panel. The work of the project included hardware design and implementation, together with software
programming for the microcontroller unit of the solar tracker. The system utilised an ATmega328P
microcontroller to control motion of two servo motors, which rotate solar panel in two axes. The amount of
rotation was determined by the microcontroller, based on inputs retrieved from four photo sensors located
next to the solar panel. At the end of the project, a functional solar tracking system was designed and
implemented. It was able to keep the solar panel aligned with the sun, or any light source repetitively.
Design of the solar tracker from this project is also a reference and a starting point for the development of
more advanced systems in the future.

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INTRODUCTION

With the unavoidable shortage of fossil fuel sources in the future, renewable types of energy have become a
topic of interest for researchers, technicians, investors and decision makers all around the world. New types
of energy that are getting attention include hydroelectricity, bioenergy, solar, wind and geothermal
energy,tidal power and wave power. Because of their renewability, they are considered as favourable
replacements for fossil fuel sources. Among those types of energy, solar photovoltaic (PV) energy is one of
the most available resources. This technology has been adopted more widely for residential use nowadays,
thanks toresearch and development activities to improve solar cells’ performance and lower the cost.
According to International Energy Agency (IEA), worldwide PV capacity has grown at 49% per year on
average since early 2000s. Solar PV energy is highly expected to become a majorsource of power in the
future.

However, despite the advantages, solar PV energy is still far from replacing traditional sources on the
market. It is still a challenge to maximise power output of PV systems in areas that don’t receive a large
amount of solar radiation. We still need more advanced technologies from manufacturers to improve the
capability of PV materials, but improvement of system design and module construction is a feasible
approach to make solar PV power more efficient, thus being a reliable choice for customers. Aiming for that
purpose, thisproject had been carried out to support the development of such promising technology.

One of the main methods of increasing efficiency is to maximise the duration of exposure tothe Sun.
Tracking systems help achieve this by keeping PV solar panels aligned at the appropriate angle with the sun
rays at any time. The goal of this project is to build a prototype of light tracking system at smaller scale, but
the design can be applied for any solar energy system in practice. It is also expected from this project a
quantitative measurement of how well tracking system performs compared to system with fixed mounting
method.

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1.1 WORKING PRINCIPLE

 Resistance of LDR depends on intensity of the light and it varies according to it. The higher the
intensity of light, lower will be the LDR resistance and due to this the output voltage lowers when the
light intensity is low, the higher will be the LDR resistance and thus higher output voltage is
obtained.

 The LDR senses the analog input in voltages between 0 to 5 volts and provides a digital number at
the output which generally ranges from 0 to 1023.

 Now this will give feedback to the microcontroller using the Arduino software(IDE).

 The servo motor position can be controlled by this [Link] tracker finally adjusts its position
sensing the maximum intensity of light falling perpendicular to

 The sensitivity of the LDR depends on point source of light. It hardly shows any effect on diffuse
lighting

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BASIC CIRCUIT DIAGRAM

An overview of the required circuit for the Dual-axes solar tracker is shown here.
The 5V supply is fed from an USB 5V dc voltage source through Arduino Board.

Servo X :Rotates solar panel along X direction

Servo Y :Rotates solar panel along Y direction

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Chapter-2 LITERATURE SURVEY

Hossein Mousazadeh et Al.,[ (2011), Journal of Solar Energy Engineering,Vol.133 ] studied and
investigated maximization of collected energy from an on-board PV array, on a solar assist plug-in hybrid
electric tractor (SAPHT). Using four light dependent resistive sensors a sun tracking system on a mobile
structure was constructed and evaluated. The experimental tests using the sun-tracking system showed that
30% more energy was collected in comparison to that of the horizontally fixed mode.. Four LDR sensors
were used to sense the direct beams of the sun. Each pair of LDRs was separated by an obstruction as a
shading device. A microcontroller based electronic drive board was used as an interface between the
hardware and the software. For driving of each motor, a power MOSFET was used to control the actuators.
The experimental results indicated that the designed system was very robust and effective.

K.S. Madhu et al., (2012) International Journal of Scientific & Engineering Research vol. 3, 2229–5518,
states that a single axis tracker tracks the sun east to west, and a two-axis tracker tracks the daily east to west
movement of the sun and the seasonal declination movement of the sun. Concentrate solar power systems
use lenses or mirrors and tracking systems to focus a large area of sunlight into a small beam. PV converts
light into electric current using the photoelectric effect. Solar power is the conversion of sunlight into
electricity. Test results indicate that the increase in power efficiency of tracking solar plate in normal days is
26 to 38% compared to fixed plate. And during cloudy or rainy days it’s varies at any level.

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MATHEMATICAL MODEL
MATHEMATICAL EQUATIONS REQUIRED

INVERSE SQUARE LAW

The illumination upon a surface varies inversely as the square of the distance of the surface
form the source. Thus, if the illumination at a surface 1 metre from the source is I units,
then the illumination at 2 metres will be I/4, at 3 metres will be I/9 and so on.
In fact inverse square law operates only when the light rays are from a point source and are
incident normally upon the surface.
Thus illumination in lamberts/m2 on a normal plane= Candle power/ (Distance in metres)2
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LAMBERT’S COSINE LAW

The illumination received on a surface is proportional to the cosine of the angle between the
direction of the incident light rays and normal to the surface at the point of incidence.
This is mainly due to the reduction of the projected area as the angle of incidence increases.
Thus, the equations are:

Eθ = Ecosθ = 𝐈𝐜𝐨𝐬𝛉
𝑫𝟐
where,
Eθ= illumination on horizontal plane
E= illumination due to light normally incident
θ= the angle of incidence
D= distance from the surface9
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HARDWARE MODEL

BLOCK DIAGRAM OF THE SOLAR TRACKER:

SUN

LDR 1 LDR 2 LDR 3 LDR 4

POWER
PROGRAMABLE MICROCONTROLLER SUPPLY
LOGIC

SERVO MOTOR
SERVO MOTOR
For (y-Rotation)
For (X-Rotation)

SOLAR PANNEL

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EXPLANATION OF THE BLOCK DIAGRAM:

As we see in the block diagram, there are Four Light Dependent Resistors (LDRs) which are placed on
a common plate with a solar panel. Light from a source strikes on them by different amounts. Due to
their inherent property of decreasing resistance with increasing incident light intensity, i.e.
photoconductivity, the value of resistances of all the LDRs is not always same.

Each LDR sends an equivalent signal of their respective resistance value to the Microcontroller which
is configured by required programming logic. The values are compared with each otherby considering
a particular LDR value as a reference.

One of the two dc servo motors is mechanically attached to the driving axle of the other oneso that the
former will move with rotation of the axle of latter one. The axle of the former servomotor is used to
drive a solar panel. These two-servo motors are arranged in such a way that the solar panel can move
along the X-axis as well as the Y-axis.

The microcontroller sends appropriate signals to the servo motors based on the input signals received
from the LDRs. One servo motor is used for tracking along x-axis and the other is fory-axis tracking.

In this way the solar tracking system is designed.

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ARDUINO UNO

The Arduino Uno is a microcontroller board based on the ATmega328. Arduino is an open- source,
prototyping platform and its simplicity makes it ideal for hobbyists to use as well as professionals. The
Arduino Uno has 14 digital input/output pins (of which 6 can be used as PWM outputs), 6 analog
inputs, a 16 MHz crystal oscillator, a USB connection, a power jack,an ICSP header, and a reset
button. It contains everything needed to support the microcontroller; simply connect it to a computer
with a USB cable or power it with a AC-to- DC adapter or battery to get started.

The Arduino Uno differs from all preceding boards in that it does not use the FTDI USB-to- serial
driver chip. Instead, it features the Atmega8U2 microcontroller chip programmed as a USB-to-serial
converter. "Uno" means one in Italian and is named to mark the upcoming release of Arduino 1.0. The
Arduino Uno and version 1.0 will be the reference versions of Arduno, moving forward. The Uno is
the latest in a series of USB Arduino boards, and the reference model for the Arduino platform.

THE ATMEGA328P-PU ATMEL 8 BIT 32K AVR MICROCONTROLLER

The Atmel®picoPower®ATmega328/P is a low-power CMOS 8-bit microcontroller based onthe

AVR® enhanced RISC architecture.
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AVR CPU CORE ARCHITECTURE

The main function of the CPU core is to ensure correct program execution. The CPU musttherefore
be able to access memories, perform calculations, control peripherals, and handleinterrupts.
Flash, EEPROM, and SRAM are all integrated onto a single chip, removing the need for external
memory in most applications. Some devices have a parallel external bus option to allow adding
additional data memory or memory-mapped devices. Almost all devices (exceptthe smallest Tiny
AVR chips) have serial interfaces, which can be used to connect larger serial EEPROMs or flash
chips.

BLOCK DIAGRAM OF AVR ARCHITECTURE

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CPU

The CPU of the AVR microcontroller is same but so simple like the one in a computer. The main
purpose of the CPU is to confirm correct program performance. Therefore, the CPU mustbe able to
access perform calculations, memories, control peripherals & handle interrupts. TheCPUs of Atmel’s
8-bit and 32-bit AVR are based on an innovative “Harvard architecture” thusevery IC has two buses
namely one instruction bus and data bus. The CPU reads executable instructions in instruction bus,
wherein the data bus, is to read or write the corresponding [Link] CPU core of the AVR consists of
the ALU, General Purpose Registers, Program Counter,Instruction Register, Instruction Decoder,
Status Register and Stack Pointer

Flash Program Memory

The program of the AVR microcontroller is stored in non-volatile programmable Flashprogram

memory which is just similar to the flash storage in your SD Card or Mp3 Player. TheFlash program
memory is separated into two units. The first unit is the Application Flash section. It is where the
program of the AVR is stored. The second section is named as the BootFlash section and can be fixed
to perform directly when the device is powered up. One significant fact to note is that the
microcontrollers Flash program memory has a resolution of at least 10,000 writes/erase cycles.

SRAM

The SRAM (Static Random Access Memory) of the AVR microcontroller is just like computerRAM.
While the registers are used to execute calculations, the SRAM is used to supply data through the
runtime. This volatile memory is prearranged in 8-bit registers.

EEPROM

The term EEPROM stands for Electrically Erasable Read-Only Memory is like a nonvolatile memory,
but you can’t run a program from it, but it is used as long time storage. The EEPROMdoesn’t get
removed when the IC loses power. It’s a great place for storing data like device parameters and
configuration of the system at runtime so that it can continue between resets ofthe application
processor. One significant fact to note is that the EEPROM memory of the AVRhas a limited lifetime
of 100,000 writes / EEPROM page – reads are limitless. Keep this in

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mind in your application and try to keep writing to a minimum, so that you only write the small
amount of info required for your application every time you update the EEPROM.

Digital I/O Modules

The digital I/O modules let digital communication or logic communication with the AVR
microcontroller and the exterior world. Communication signals are that of TTL/CMOS logic.

Analog I/O Modules

Analog I/O modules are used to input or output analog information from or to the exterior world.
These modules comprise analog comparators and analog-to-digital converters (ADC).

Interrupt Unit

Interrupts have enabled the microcontroller to monitor particular events in the background while
performing and application program & respond to the occurrence if required pausing theunique
program. This is all synchronized by the interrupt Unit.

Timer

Most AVR microcontrollers have at least one Timer or Counter module which is used to achieve
timing or counting operations in the microcontroller. These comprise time stamping, counting events,
measuring intervals, etc.

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 Dual Axis-Solar Tracker
LDR

 It is a photo-resistor is a device whose resistivity is a function of the incident electromagnetic

radiation. Hence, they are light sensitive devices. They are also called as photo conductors,
photo conductive cells or simply photocells.
 They are made up of semiconductor materials having high resistance.

 LDR works on the principle of photo conductivity.

Photo conductivity is an optical phenomenon in which the material’s conductivity is

increasedwhen light is absorbed by the material.
The most common type of LDR has a resistance that falls with an increase in the light intensity
falling upon the device (as shown in the image above). The resistance of an LDRmay typically
have the following resistances:

Daylight = 5000Ω

Dark = 20000000Ω

Therefore, it is seen that there is a large variation between these figures. If this variation is plotted
on a graph, something similar to the figure given below can be seen.

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SERVO MOTOR

A DC servo motor consists of a small DC motor, feedback potentiometer, gearbox, motor

driveelectronic circuit and electronic feedback control loop. It is more or less similar to the normal DC
[Link] stator of the motor consists of a cylindrical frame and the magnet is attached to the insideof
the frame.
A brush is built with an armature coil that supplies the current to the commutator. At the backof the
shaft, a detector is built into the rotor in order to detect the rotation [Link] this construction, it is
simple to design a controller using simple circuitry because the torque is proportional to the amount of
current flow through the armature.

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SPECIFICATIONS OF THE HARDWARE REQUIREMENT

FEATURES OF ARDUINO UNO

1) Microcontroller: ATMEGA 328P

The Atmel®picoPower®ATmega328/P is a low-power CMOS 8-bit microcontroller based onthe

AVR® enhanced RISC architecture.

FEATURES:

High Performance, Low Power Atmel®AVR® 8-Bit Microcontroller Family

• Advanced RISC Architecture

– 131 Powerful Instructions

– Most Single Clock Cycle Execution

– 32 x 8 General Purpose Working Registers

– Fully Static Operation

– Up to 20 MIPS Throughput at 20MHz

– On-chip 2-cycle Multiplier

• High Endurance Non-volatile Memory Segments

– 32KBytes of In-System Self-Programmable Flash

program Memory

– 1KBytes EEPROM

– 2KBytes Internal SRAM

– Write/Erase Cycles: 10,000 Flash/100,000 EEPROM

– Data Retention: 20 years at 85°C/100 years at 25°C(1)

– Optional Boot Code Section with Independent Lock Bits

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1) Operating Voltage: 5v
2) Input Voltage (recommended): 7-12V
3) Input Voltage (limits): 6-20V
4) Digital I/O Pins: 14 (of which 6 provide PWM output)
5) Analog Input Pins: 6
6) DC Current per I/O Pin: 40 mA
7) DC Current for 3.3V Pin: 50 mA
8) Flash Memory: 32 KB of which 0.5 KB used by bootloader
9) SRAM: 2 KB (ATmega328)
10) EEPROM: 1 KB (ATmega328)
11) Clock Speed: 16 MHz

SOLAR PANEL

1) Maximum Voltage: 4volts (under load)

2) Maximum Voltage: 4.8volts (no load)
3) Rated Current: 100mA
4) Dimension: 6 cm (L) x 6 cm (W) x 0.25 cm (t)
5) Maximum Wattage: 0.5W

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SERVO MOTOR

MODULATION ANALOG
Torque 4.8V :3.17 kg-cm
6.0V :4.10 kg-cm
Speed 4.8V :0.23 sec/60°
6.0V :0.19 sec/60°
Weight 37.2 g
Dimensions 39.9mm x 20.1mm x 36.1 mm
Motor Type 3 pole Ferrite
Gear Type Plastic
Rotation/Support Bushing
Operating angle 45 [Link] side pulse travelling
400 µs
Pulse cycle 30 ms
Pulse width 500-300 µs
Connector Type J

LIGHT DEPENDENT RESISTOR

Photoresistor 5mm GL5516 LDR Photo Resistors Light-Dependent Resistor Model: GL5516

 Size: 5mm x 2mm

 Maximum Voltage: 150 Volt DC
 Maximum Wattage: 90mW
 Operating Temperature: (-30 to +70)°C
 Spectral Peak: 540nm
 Light Resistance (at 10 Lux): 5-10 kΩ
 Dark Resistance: 0.5 MΩ
 Response time: 20ms (Rise), 30ms (Down)
 Resistance Illumination: 4

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ADC CONCEPT IN ARDUINO UNO

Arduino uno board has 6 ADC input ports. Among those any one or all of them can be used as inputs
for analog voltage. The Arduino Uno ADC is of 10 bit resolution (so the integer values from (0-
(2^10) 1023)). This means that it will map input voltages between 0 and 5 voltsinto integer values
between 0 and 1023. So, for every (5/1024= 4.9mV) per unit.

The UNO ADC channels have a default reference value of 5V. This means we can give a maximum
input voltage of 5V for ADC conversion at any input channel. Since some sensorsprovide voltages
from 0-2.5V, with a 5V reference we get lesser accuracy, so we have a instruction that enables us to
change this reference value. So for changing the reference valuewe have (“analogReference();”).

As default we get the maximum board ADC resolution which is 10bits, this resolution can bechanged
by using instruction (“analog read resolution (bits);”).

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 Dual Axis-Solar Tracker
Circuit Diagram

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SOFTWARE PROGRAM

MODEL PROGRAMMING CODE:

#include <Servo.h>

Servo servohori; //horizontal servo(BOTTOM SERVO)

int servoh = 0; //assign servo at 0 degree
int servohLimitHigh = 180; //maximum range of servo is 180 degree(it is variable you can also change)
int servohLimitLow = 10; //minimum range of servo is 10 degree(it is variable you can also change)

Servo servoverti; //vertical servo(TOP SERVO)

int servov = 0;
int servovLimitHigh = 180;
int servovLimitLow = 10;

int ldrtopr = 1; //top right LDR A1 pin

int ldrtopl = 2; //top left LDR A2 pin

int ldrbotr = 0; // bottom right LDR A0 pin

int ldrbotl = 3; // bottom left LDR A3 pin

void setup ()
{
[Link](10); //horizontal servo connected to arduino pin 10
[Link](0);

[Link](9); //vertical servo connected to arduino pin 9

[Link](0);
delay(500); //delay
}

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 Dual Axis-Solar Tracker
void loop()
{
servoh = [Link]();
servov = [Link]();

int topl = analogRead(ldrtopl); //read analog values from top left LDR
int topr = analogRead(ldrtopr); //read analog values from top right LDR
int botl = analogRead(ldrbotl); //read analog values from bottom left LDR
int botr = analogRead(ldrbotr); //read analog values from bottom right LDR

int avgtop = (topl + topr) / 2; //average of top LDRs

int avgbot = (botl + botr) / 2; //average of bottom LDRs
int avgleft = (topl + botl) / 2; //average of left LDRs
int avgright = (topr + botr) / 2; //average of right LDRs

if (avgtop < avgbot)

{
[Link](servov -1);
if (servov > servovLimitHigh)
{
servov = servovLimitHigh;
}
delay(8);
}
else if (avgbot < avgtop)
{
[Link](servov +1);
if (servov < servovLimitLow)
{
servov = servovLimitLow;
}
delay(8);
}
else
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 Dual Axis-Solar Tracker
{
[Link](servov);
}

if (avgleft > avgright)

{
[Link](servoh -1);
if (servoh > servohLimitHigh)
{
servoh = servohLimitHigh;
}
delay(8);
}
else if (avgright > avgleft)
{
[Link](servoh +1);
if (servoh < servohLimitLow)
{
servoh = servohLimitLow;
}
delay(8);
}
else
{
[Link](servoh); // write means run servo
}
delay(50);
}

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LDR PROGRAM AND GRAPH

void setup()

[Link](9600);

void loop()

int sensorValue = analogRead(A0);

[Link](sensorValue); delay(10);

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ABOUT SOLAR PANEL AND CONNECTED LOAD

Solar panel is placed at the top and connected to a load directly. The load may a led ora
voltmeter which could be connected to get the exact voltage which depends on the intensity of
light falling on the panel and the position of the tracker.
Concentrated solar photovoltaics’ and have optics that directly accept sunlight, so solartrackers
must be angled correctly to collect energy. All concentrated solar systems havetrackers because
the systems do not produce energy unless directed correctly toward the sun.
The solar panel is just a mere device to accept the light radiation which is purely controlled by
LDR sensors and the load connected depends upon the rating of the panelused.

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 Dual Axis-Solar Tracker

DUAL AXIS MOVEMENT OF SOLAR TRACKER

The dual axis solar tracker is device which senses the light and positions towards the maximum
intensity of light. It is made in such a way to track the light coming from anydirection.
To simulate the general scenario of the Sun’s movement, the total coverage of the movement of
the tracker is considered as 120˚ in both the directions.
The initial position of both the servo motors are chosen at 90˚i.e, for east-west servo motor as
well as for north-south servo motor.
The position of the tracker ascends or descends only when the threshold value is abovethe
tolerance limit.

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 Dual Axis-Solar Tracker

OBSERVATIONS AND RESULT

In this Dual Axis Solar Tracker, when source light falls on the panel, the panel adjusts its position
according to maximum intensity of light falling perpendicular to it.

The objective of the project is completed. This was achieved through using light sensors that are able
to detect the amount of sunlight that reaches the solar panel. The values obtained by the LDRs are
compared and if there is any significant difference, there is actuation of the panelusing a servo motor
to the point where it is almost perpendicular to the rays of the sun.

This was achieved using a system with three stages or subsystems. Each stage has its own [Link]
stages were;
An input stage that was responsible for converting incident light to a voltage.
A control stage that was responsible for controlling actuation and decision making.
A driver stage with the servo motor. It was responsible for actual movement of the panel.

The input stage is designed with a voltage divider circuit so that it gives desired range of illumination
for bright illumination conditions or when there is dim lighting. The potentiometerwas adjusted to
cater for such changes. The LDRs were found to be most suitable for thisproject because their
resistance varies with light. They are readily available and are costeffective. Temperature sensors
for instance would be costly.

The control stage has a microcontroller that receives voltages from the LDRs and determines the
action to be performed. The microcontroller is programmed to ensure it sends a signal to the servo
motor that moves in accordance with the generated error.

The final stage was the driving circuitry which consisted mainly of the servo motor. The servomotor
had enough torque to drive the panel. Servo motors are noise free and are affordable, making them
the best choice for the project.

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 Dual Axis-Solar Tracker

CONCLUSION

In this 21st century, as we build up our technology, population & growth, the energy consumption per
capita increases exponentially, as well as our energy resources (e.g. fossils fuels) decrease rapidly. So,
for sustainable development, we have to think alternative methods(utilization of renewable energy
sources) in order to fulfil our energy demand.

In this project, Dual Axis Solar Tracker, we’ve developed a demo model of solar tracker to track the
maximum intensity point of light source so that the voltage given at that point by thesolar panel is
maximum. After a lot of trial and errors we’ve successfully completed our projectand we are proud to
invest some effort for our society. Now, like every other experiment, this project has couple of
imperfections.

(i) Our panel senses the light in a sensing zone, beyond which it fails to respond.
(ii) If multiple sources of light (i.e. diffused light source) appear on panel, it calculatesthe
vector sum of light sources & moves the panel in that point.

This project was implemented with minimal resources. The circuitry was kept simple, understandable
and user friendly.

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 Dual Axis-Solar Tracker

REFERENCES

[1] Tsung-Yu Tsai, “Study the Difference of Solar Electricity Generation between the Fixed-Angle and
Dual- Axis Tracker Systems,” Master Thesis, Southern Taiwan University of Sc. and Tech., Tainan City,
Taiwan, R.O.C., 2006.

[2] Viet Hung Pham, “Design and Investigation of a Two-Axis Automatic Solar Tracking System,” Master
Thesis, Southern Taiwan University of Sc. and Tech., Tainan City, Taiwan, R.O.C., 2007.

[3] Jong-Jinn Lay, “Development of a Sun Track Solar Energy System with Artificial Intelligence,” Master
Thesis, National Sun Yat-Sen University, Kaohsiung City, Taiwan, R.O.C., 2007.

[4] Ming-Huang Tsai, “Design and Implementation of a Wireless Monitoring/Control System fot the Dual-
axis Solar Tracking System,” Master Thesis, Kao Yuan University, Kaohsiung City, Taiwan, R.O.C., 2012.

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