Automatic Sun Tracking System for

Street light applications

By
M R Rahul Raj
 Aim of the Project
 Implementation of the automatic street light application
by using solar panel using efficient power management
concept.

 Solar energy is the most readily available source of

energy. It is free. It is also the most important of the
non-conventional sources of energy because it is non-
polluting.

 By using PSoC microcontroller we can control the

system to capture the maximum energy from sun light
in day time.
 Basic Principle of Design
 Solar photo voltaic (SPV). Can be used to generate electricity form the
sun.

 Silicon solar cells play an important role in generation of electricity.

 While the output of solar cells depends on the intensity of sunlight and
the angle of incidence. The solar panels must remain in front of sun
during the whole day.

 But due to rotation of earth those panels can’t maintain their position
always in front of sun. This problem results in decrease of their
efficiency.

 Thus to get a constant output, we are implementing an automated

system which should be capable to constantly rotate the solar panel.
 Existing Methods
 Microcontroller based systems can be existing but they
don’t have Automatic Sun Tracking System by getting the
maximum power in the day time.

 By using the PSoC Microcontroller we are overcome the

above problem and make the system intelligently according
to our requirements with a less complexity .
 Proposed Solution
 Using PSoC microcontroller we can implement the intelligent
system.

 The unique feature of this system is that instead of taking the earth
as its reference, it takes the sun as a guiding source. By using RTC
constantly monitor the sunlight and rotate the panel towards the
direction where the intensity of sunlight is maximum.

 The hardware complexity is also simple and we can reduce cost

 Specifications
 PSoC CY8C29466 24PXI Powerful Harvard
Architecture Processor and M8C Processor Speeds
to 24 MHz
 In-System Serial Programming (ISSP)
 Low Power at High Speed
 3.0V to 5.25V Operating Voltage.
 Solar Panel Specifications:
 5 watts power
 16 V output voltage
 300 mA current
Automatic Sun Tracking System using PSoC

Basic Block Diagram

RTC PSoC LCD Display

Sensor unit

Geared Voltage
+5 V motor Driver sensor
Light
Sensor
Solar Mechanical
Battery Panel arrangement
TOOLS
 Hardware Tools
 PSoC Microcontroller unit

 Solar panel

 Geared motor

 Mechanical item to drive the solar panels

 LCD Display.
 Software Tools
 PSOC Designer IDE for PSoC microcontroller
Programming.
 PSoC Mixed-Signal Array
Microcontroller
 The PSoC Mixed-Signal Array microcontroller are
designed to replace multiple traditional MCU-based
system components with one, low cost single-chip
programmable device.
 PSoC devices include configurable blocks of analog
and digital logic, as well as programmable
interconnects.
 The basic function of PSoC Microcontroller is read
the time from RTC according to that time it set the
angle of the solar panel.
 To that it can drive the steeper motor according to
where the maximum energy we are getting Also
send the data for displaying purpose to LCD
PSoC= Programmable System-on-Chip
 Solar Panel
 Solar photo voltaic (SPV). Can be used to generate electricity form
the sun.
 Silicon solar cells play an important role in generation of electricity.
 Solar cells Characteristics.
 Isc-short circuit current.

 Voc-open circuit voltage.

 Peak power.

Isc
How solar cells Generate electricity
 From Cells to Modules
 The open circuit voltage of a single
solar cell is approx 0.5V.

 Much higher voltage is required for

practical application.

 Solar cells are connected in series to

increase its open circuit voltage.
 RTC (Real Time Clock )
 Real time clock counts seconds, minutes, hours, date
of the month, month, day of the week, and year with
leap year compensation valid up to 2100

 Consumes less than 500nA in battery backup mode

with oscillator running

 The date and time collected PSoC Microcontroller

using 2-wire serial interface (I2C Protocol) for
attendance purpose.
 LCD Display
 This module used for display the present status of
the system.
 This is interface to 4 bit mode with PSoC
microcontroller
 Applications
 Street light applications with out using
normal power supplies.

 In Remote areas implementing a small

power systems units at each home.

 Using this system to getting hot water

 Advantages
 The advantage of this unit is that to run the system
it does not need computer
 Solar cells directly convert the solar radiation into
electricity using photovoltaic effect without going
through a thermal process.
 During the winter the sun has a low position ,
tracking angle from sunrise to sunset is shortened.
 The plant will not driven up to the final position
but just to that position at which really sets,
therefore saving of power.
 Depending on the radiation intensity, it may sinks
under a predefined value for instance at dusk ,
when the sky is cloudy, tracking is interrupted.
 Limitations
 Using this system at a time we can controls only
one solar panel.

 Higher hardware expenditure

Thank You