Solar Tracking

System

IIT Kharagpur

Team Members:
Section: 2 Group-ID: 8
1. Lakshya Agrawal (22CS30036)
2. Sumit Kumar (22CS30056)
3. Omkar Vijay Bhandare
(22CS30016)
4. Neeraj (22CY10036)

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 Solar Tracking System

Abstract
As renewable energy is becoming more and more popular these days, so it
is important to develop efficient systems to convert renewable energy to useful
for of energy. As solar energy is most abundant of all the renewable energy
sources, we require to increase the efficiency of the solar energy conversion by
the Solar Panel.
Through our project, we have demonstrated that if the incident solar
radiations are perpendicular to the solar panel throughout the day then maximum
energy can be trapped. For achieving this, we have used two LDR (Light dependent
Resistor) on either side of the solar panel and a servo motor to rotate the panel
according to the direction of the sun rays.

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Background And Motivations
PV generator converts sunlight energy into DC power output which can be utilized in
various ways, depending on the application.

For PV modules that collect solar energy on the Earth’s surface level, the incoming
solar radiation consists of three main components: -

• Direct beam that reaches straight to the Earth’s surface without scattering
• Diffuse radiation that scatters when passing through the atmosphere of the
Earth
• Albedo radiation that is reflected from the Earth’s surface

Of the first two components, direct beam holds about 80% to 90% of the solar energy
in ideal condition (clear sky). It is the major source of energy for the operation of PV
generator. For maximum collection of solar energy, solar panels need to maintain
alignment with the Sun’s direct beams as long as possible. This concept is
quantitatively explained by measuring the incident angle between the direct beams
and the panels i. For the same amount of incoming direct beams, the effective area of
solar panel that collects this radiation is proportional to the cosine of i. As a result, the
power P collected by solar panels can be calculated using (equation 1):

𝑃 = 𝑃𝑚𝑎𝑥 ∗ 𝑐𝑜𝑠(𝑖)

where Pmax is the maximum power collected when solar panel is correctly aligned.
From equation (1) we can calculate the loss of power a (equation 2):

𝑃𝑚𝑎𝑥 − 𝑃𝑚𝑎𝑥 ∗ 𝑐𝑜𝑠(𝑖)

𝑎 = = 1 − 𝑐𝑜𝑠(𝑖).
𝑃𝑚𝑎𝑥

Equation (2) tells that the more misaligned angle is; the more sunlight energy is lost.
This connection is illustrated in figure

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As discussed above, fix mount options have many drawbacks for the performance of a
solar PV system. Solar trackers are able to solve the core problem by minimizing the
misaligned angle between sunlight’s direct beams and the panels. Using different
means of mechanical modules, solar trackers can rotate the panels to the optimized
position throughout the whole operation of the system.

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Issues with the current solution
o Solar trackers are slightly more expensive than their stationary counterparts,
as they are regarded as complex systems with moving parts.
o Trackers require more maintenance than fixed systems. The type and quality
of solar tracking system governs how much maintenance the system requires
and how often.
o All tracking systems need a great deal of site preparation. Additional
trenching for wiring and grading is required too.
o Financing tracking projects is seen as a more complex and high-risk venture
from a financier’s viewpoint.
o Solar trackers are not conducive with snowy weather and are only suited in
hot climates. Contrast this with fixed systems that are more weather friendly
than tracking systems.
o Fixed tracking systems are field compatible systems that can accommodate up
to 20% slopes in the E/W direction. While tracking systems typically bear less
slope accommodation usually around 10% in the N/S direction.

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Objective of the Project
The objective of our project is to orient a solar PV panel towards the sun so the panels
can get the maximum possible sunlight using a solar tracking mechanism.

Work Done
Circuit Diagram of the solar tracker

The Solar tracking panel consists of 2 LDRs, solar panel and a servo motor and Arduino
UNO with Atmega Micro controller. The 2 light dependent resistors are arranged on
the edges of the solar panel. LDR produces low resistance when light falls on them.
Panel is arranged in such a way that light on two LDRs is compared and panel is rotated
towards LDR which have high intensity using the servo motors connected to the panel.
When the intensity of the light falling on the right LDR is more, panel slowly moves
towards right and if intensity on the left LDR is more, panel slowly moves towards the
left. In the noon time, Sun is ahead and intensity of light on both the panels is same. In
such cases, panel is constant and there is no rotation.

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Code of the Project
#include <Servo.h> //includes the servo library

Servo myservo;

#define ldr1 A1 // set ldr 1 Analog input pin of East ldr as an integer
#define ldr2 A0 // set ldr 2 Analog input pin of West ldr as an integer

int pos = 90; // initial position of the Horizontal movement controlling servo motor
int tolerance = 20; // allowable tolerance setting - so solar servo motor isn't
constantly in motion

void setup(){
myservo.attach(9); // attaches the servo on digital pin 2 to the horizontal movement
servo motor
pinMode(ldr1, INPUT); //set East ldr pin as an input
pinMode(ldr2, INPUT); //set West ldr pin as an input
myservo.write(pos); // write the starting position of the horizontal movement servo
motor

delay(1000); // 1 second delay to allow the solar panel to move to its staring
position before comencing solar tracking
}

void loop(){
int val1 = analogRead(ldr1); // read the value of ldr 1
int val2 = analogRead(ldr2); // read the value of ldr 2

if((abs(val1 - val2) <= tolerance) || (abs(val2 - val1) <= tolerance)) {

//no servo motor horizontal movement will take place if the ldr value is within the
allowable tolerance
}else {
if(val1 > val2) // if ldr1 senses more light than ldr2
{
pos = pos+1; // decrement the 90 degree poistion of the horizontal servo motor - this
will move the panel position Eastward
}
if(val1 < val2) // if ldr2 senses more light than ldr1
{
pos = pos-1; // increment the 90 degree position of the horizontal motor - this will
move the panel position Westward
}
}

if(pos > 180) {pos = 180;} // reset the horizontal postion of the motor to 180 if it
tries to move past this point
if(pos < 0) {pos = 0;} // reset the horizontal position of the motor to 0 if it tries
to move past this point
myservo.write(pos); // write the starting position to the horizontal motor
delay(20);
}
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Circuit diagram in the TinkerCAD using Arduino UNO

Learning from the Project

Through this project, we learnt how the simple electronic components can be used to
generate real-life problems solving systems. While doing the project, many times we
did wrong connections due to which the tracking system was not working. To solve this
problem, we reassemble the system but this time we make sure to using different
color jumper wires and to make the connections according to the circuit diagram. We
realized how the semi-conductor materials are used in modern electronics like LDRs,
Arduino UNO (micro controller), etc. Through this project, we also learn how to code
the desired commands to be executed through the Arduino UNO. And most important
of all, we learn how the team work can reduce a big and heavy project into small tasks
which can be performed efficiently and quickly.

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Conclusion
• The invention of Solar Tracking System helps us to improve the performance of
PV solar system in a simple way.
• Used relative method of sunlight strength
• Improved the utilization rate of the solar energy and efficiency of the
photovoltaic power generation system.

References
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_tracker
https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/38140448.pdf
https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/engineering/solar-tracking-system
https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/engineering/solar-tracking-system
https://sinovoltaics.com/learning-center/csp/solar-tracker/