SRI SIDDHARTHA ACADEMY OF HIGHER EDUCATION

(Declared as Deemed to be University under Section 3 of UGC Act, 1956

Accredited by NAAC with ‘A’ Grade)
AGALKOTE, TUMAKURU – 572107
KARNATAKA

MINI PROJECT II (EE6MP1)

REPORT ON

“SINGLE AXIS SOLAR TRACKER BY USING IC”

In partial fulfilment of

BACHELOR OF ENGINEERING

IN

ELECTRICAL AND ELECTRONICS ENGINEERING

Submitted by
HARSHITH .M (21EE409)

MOHAN BABU M.R (21EE419)

SRIDHAR M.G (21EE437)
TEJA KUMAR .R (21EE439)

Under the guidance of

Mr. D.V.VENUGOPAL CHAVAN BE, M.Tech., M.I.S.T.E,
Assistant Professor,

Department of E&EE
SSIT, Tumakuru-572105
DEPARTMENT OF ELECTRICAL AND ELECTRONICS ENGINEERING
SRI SIDDHARTHA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
(A Constituent College of Sri Siddhartha Academy of Higher Education, Tumakuru
Approved by AICTE, Accredited by NBA)
Maraluru, Tumakuru – 572105
2022-2023
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
The satisfaction and euphoria that accompany the successful completion of any task
would be incomplete without mentioning the people who made it possible and their support
had been a constant source of encouragement which crowned my efforts with success.

We are deeply indebted and would like to express our sincere thanks to our beloved
Principal Dr. M.S RAVI PRAKASHA, for providing us an opportunity to do this project.

We express our deep sense of gratitude to Dr. L SANJEEV KUMAR, Professor and
HOD, Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering, Sri Siddhartha Institute of
Technology,Tumakuru, for his guidance, constant encouragement and wholehearted support.

In this regard, it would be futile to scale the fathom of our heartfelt gratitude to our
guide Mr.D.V VENUGOPAL CHAVAN, Assistant Professor, Department of Electrical
and Electronics Engineering, Sri Siddhartha Institute of Technology, Tumakuru, for their
excellent guidance and kind cooperation throughout the project, which has helped us to
complete this seminar satisfactorily.

We would like to express our sincere thanks to all the staff members of Electrical and
Electronics Engineering Department, Sri Siddhartha Institute of Technology for their valuable
guidance and support.
Project Associates

HARSHITH .M (21EE409)
MOHAN BABU M.R (21EE419)
SRIDHAR M.G (21EE437)
TEJA KUMAR .R (21EE439)
 DECLARATION

We hereby declare that the mini project work entitled “SINGLE AXIS SOLAR
TRACKER BY USING IC ” is an original and Bonafide work carried out by us at Sri
Siddhartha Institute of Technology, Tumakuru in partial fulfilment of BACHELOR OF
ENGINEERING IN ELECTRICAL AND ELECTRONICS ENGINEERING of SRI
SIDDHARTHA ACADEMY OF HIGHER EDUCATION, TUMAKURU.
We also declare that, to the best of our knowledge and belief, the work reported herein does
not form part of any other thesis or dissertation on the basis of which a degree award was
conferred on an earlier occasion by any student.

PLACE: Tumakuru
DATE:

Project Associates

HARSHITH M (21EE409)
MOHAN BABU M R (21EE419)
SRIDHAR M G (21EE433)
TEJA KUMAR R (21EE439)
 SRI SIDDHARTHA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
(A Constituent College of Sri Siddhartha Academy of Higher Education, Tumakuru,
Approved by AICTE, accredited by NBA, NAAC ‘A’ Grade)
MARALUR, TUMAKURU – 572105, KARNATAKA

DEPARTMENT OF ELECTRICAL AND ELECTRONICS ENGINEERING

CERTIFICATE
This is to certify that the project entitled “SINGLE AXIS SOLAR TRACKER BY
USING IC ” is a bonafide work carried out by HARSHITH.M, MOHAN BABU M.R,
SRIDHHAR M.G, TEJA KUMAR.R in partial fulfillment for the award of degree of
BACHELOR of ENGINEERING in Electrical & Electronics during the academic year
2022-23.
It is certified that all the corrections/suggestions indicated for internal assessment
have been incorporated in the report. The project report has been approved as it satisfies
the academic requirements in respect of project work prescribed for the degree of
Bachelor of Engineering in Electrical& Electronics.

Signature of the guide Signature of the HOD Signature of the principal

Mr.D.V VENUGOPAL CHAVAN
B.E, M. Tech., .,MISTE.,
ASSISTANT PROFESSOR
DEPT. OF E&EE,
SSIT- TUMAKURU
Dr. L SANJEEV KUMAR Dr. M.S RAVIPRAKASHA
M.Tech, Ph.D. M.Tech.(IIT-M), PH.D. (IIT-M)
HOD, DEPT. OF E&EE, PRINCIPAL, SSIT- TUMAKURU
SSIT- TUMAKURU

Project associates USN No.

1) HARSHITH M (21EE409)
2) MOHAN BABU M R (21EE419)
3) SRIDHAR M G (21EE437)
4) TEJA KUMAR R (21EE439)

External Examiners Signature with Date

1.

2.
 CONTENTS

➢ ABSTRACT

➢ INTRODUCTION

➢ SYSTEM ARCHITECTURE

➢ BLOCK DIAGRAM

➢ METHODOLOGY

➢ CIRCUIT DESIGN

➢ COMPONENTS OF SOLAR TRACKER

➢ OPERATION OF SOLAR TRACKER

➢ ADVANTAGES & DISADVANTAGES

➢ APPLICATIONS

➢ CONCLUSION

➢ REFRENCE
Single Axis Solar Tracker 2022-23

ABSTRACT
As the energy demand and the environmental problems increase, the natural
energy sources have become very important as an alternative to the
conventional energy sources. The renewable energy sector is fast gaining
ground as a new growth area for numerous countries with the vast potential it
presents environmentally and economically. Solar energy plays an important
role as a primary source of energy, especially for rural area. This project aims at
the development of process to track the sun and attain maximum efficiency
using 555 IC and LDR Sensor for real time monitoring. The project is divided
into two stages, which are hardware and software development. In hardware
development, two light dependent resistor (LDR) has been used for capturing
maximum light source. Servo motor has been used to move the solar panel at
maximum light source location sensing by LDR. The performance of the system
has been tested and compared with static solar panel. This project describes the
design of a low cost, solar tracking system. In this project a single axis solar
tracking system has been developed by which more energy from the sun can be
harnessed. In this project, an , 555IC , has been used as the main controlling
unit. To detect the position of the sun on the sky, two LDRs have been used and
to rotate the orientation of the Solar PV panel a servo motor has been used. The
sensors and servo motor have properly been interfaced . The servo motor has
been mechanically coupled with the PV panel. The whole system has been
assembled together and its performance has been tested. This tracker changes
the direction of the solar panel based on the direction of the sun facing to the
panel successfully. Single axis solar tracker tracks the sun on daily basis and
makes the solar panel more efficient.

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INTRODUCTION

The conversion of solar light into electrical energy represents one of the most
promising and challenging
energetic technologies, in continuous development, being clean, and reliable,
with very low maintenance
costs and minimal ecological impact. A photovoltaic panel is a device used to
capture the suns radiation.
These panels consist of an array of solar cells. The solar cells are made up of
silicon (sand). They are then connected to complete a photovoltaic (solar) panel.
When the sun rays are incident on the solar cells, due to the photovoltaic effect,
light energy from the sun is used to convert it to electrical energy. We know that
most of the energy gets absorbed, when the panels surface is perpendicular to
the sun. Stationary mounted PV (photo voltaic) panels are only perpendicular to
sun once a day but the challenge for is to get maximum energy from the source,
so for it we use trackers on which the whole system is mounted. In tracking
system, solar panels move according to the movement of sun throughout the
day. There are three methods of tracking: active, passive, chronological and
manual tracking systems. In active tracking system, the position of the sun is
determined by the sensors. These sensors will trigger the motor to move the
mounting system so that the panels will always face the sun rays perpendicular
to it throughout the day. But in this system it is very difficult for sensors to
determine the position of sun in cloudy days. So it is not a very accurate. In its
Passive tracking systems, which determines the position of the sun by moving
the panels in response to an imbalance pressure between the two points at both
ends of the trackers. The imbalance pressure caused by solar heat creates a gas
pressure on a low boiling point compressed gas fluid that is driven to one side or
the other accordingly, which then moves the system. This method is also not
accurate as the shade /reflectors that are used to reflect early morning sunlight to
“wake up” the panel and tilt it towards the sun can take nearly an hour to do so.
A chronological tracker is a timer-based tracking system whereby the structure
is moved at a fixed rate throughout the day. The theory behind this is that the
sun moves across the sky at a fixed rate. Thus the motor or actuator is
programmed to continuously rotate at a „slow average rate of one revolution per
day (15 degrees per hour). This method of sun-tracking is very accurate.
However, the continuous rotation of the motor or actuator means more power
consumption and tracking the sun. In manual tracking system, drives are
replaced by operators who adjust the trackers.

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Single Axis Solar Tracker 2022-23

SYSTEM ARCHITECTURE

The Fig. 1 shown below the system architecture of the proposed project

The single-axis solar tracking system analysed in this paper consist of a PV

panel rotating around a tilted shaft under the action of a Bidirectional Motor that
is controlled according to the real sun position, by means of two light intensity
sensors. The light sensors consist of two LDRs placed on either estimated side
of the panel separated by an opaque plate. Depending on the intensity of the sun
rays one of the two LDR is shadowed and the other is illuminated. The LDR
present on the side, in which the intensity of the sun rays is higher, will generate
a stronger signal and the other will generate a weaker signal. The difference in
the output voltage between the two LDRs will help in the movement of the PV
panel in the direction in which the intensity of the sun rays is maximum. In this
555IC is used to command the DC motor by giving pulse signal to it. Relay
controls the rotation of the motor either to rotate clockwise or anticlockwise.
Today solar energy is used everywhere around the globe. Solar energy is easily
available and does not require any huge industry to generate electricity directly

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Single Axis Solar Tracker 2022-23
from the sun. Now days solar energy is used in homes, agriculture, industries,
etc. It is renewable and pollution free source of energy.

To convert solar energy into electricity we need photovoltaic cells. The more of
these cells receive direct sunlight, the more energy is produced. These cells are
arranged in a large grid on a panel which is called solar panel. Solar panels
generate maximum energy when sun is directly
above the solar panel or sun rays are perpendicular to the solar panel. So, it
means solar panels only generate electricity with maximum efficiency during
the daytime. And generate less electricity in morning and evening.

But what if we design a system by which solar panel can rotate in such a way so
that the sun rays are always perpendicular to the solar panel throughout the day?
This type of system is known as solar tracker. According to a research, single
axis solar trackers can increase the efficiency by around 30% – 40% of a solar
panel.
In this project we are going to make a single axis solar tracker which can
automatically sense the direction of sunlight and rotate the solar panel
throughout the day such that it is always perpendicular to the sun rays.

Hardware Components:
1. Potentiometer 10 K Ohm [2 units]
2. Light Dependent Resistor (LDR) [2 units]
3. 555 Timer IC [2 units]
4. DC Motor of 10 RPM
5. L293D Motor Driver
6. Solar panel
7. 9V Battery
8. 7805 Voltage Regulator
9. Ceramic Capacitors
10. VTR Switch
11. LED
12. Resistors
13. Wires

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Single Axis Solar Tracker 2022-23

Block Diagram

• The project uses a motor with a very low speed (10 RPM) to rotate the
solar panel along one axis. The direction of rotation is determined by the
LRDs which is placed at both ends of the solar panel along the axis.
Among 2 LDR’s, whichever detects more light, the motor starts rotating
in that direction until both LDR receive same amount of light, which
utilize the maximum solar energy through the solar panel.
• The single-axis solar tracking system consist of a PV panel rotating
around a tilted shaft under the action of a Bidirectional Motor that is
controlled according to the real sun position, estimated by means of two
light intensity sensors.
• Depending on the intensity of the sun rays one of the two LDR is
shadowed, and the other is illuminated. The LDR present on the side, in
which the intensity of the sun rays is higher, will generate a stronger
signal and the other will generate a weaker signal. The difference in the
output voltage between the two LDRs will help in the movement of the
PV panel in the direction in which the intensity of the sun rays is
maximum.

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Single Axis Solar Tracker 2022-23
Working of a Solar Tracker
Let us first understand how a solar energy tracker works!
The solar tracking system is an auto-tracking control system. It includes
components like PV Cells, PLC, signal processing units, sensors,
electromagnetic & mechanical motion control modules, and power supply
systems.
The panel gets activated due to the higher strength of sunlight and conveys it
to the sensors. The sensor output is conveyed to the PLC.
Then, the PLC compares it and generates a corresponding output to rotate the
motor. The motor rotates the panel to orient it toward the sun.

METHODOLOGY

This work describes a new photovoltaic (PV) sun tracker design

methodology that utilizes the advantages that the orientation and
efficiency of the PV panel offer due to the latitude of the installation
zone.
Furthermore, the proposed design methodology is validated
experimentally via the implementation of a solar tracker with dual axes at
a specific location (27.5 latitude). In this case, the methodology enables
the incorporation of a high-availability, low-accuracy, and low-cost
tracking mechanism.
Based on the results, the feasibility of this type of solar tracker for
latitudes close to 30^0 is demonstrated, as this tracking system costs 27%
less than the traditional commercial systems that use slew drives. This
system increases the collection efficiency by 24% with respect to a fixed
device.
The proposed methodology, which is based on an orientation efficiency
chart, can be applied to the construction or control of other types of solar
tracker systems.

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Assembling the Components – Circuit Design

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COMPONENTS OF SOLAR TRACKER

Solar panel

Solar panel:- Solar panels are devices that convert light into electricity.
They are called "solar" panels because most of the time, the most
powerful source of light available is the Sun, called Sol by astronomers.
Some scientists call them photovoltaic which means , basically, "light-
electricity."

A solar panel is a collection of solar cells spread over a large area and can
work together to provide enough power to be useful. The more light that
hits a cell, the more electricity it produces.

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Light Dependent Resistors - A photoresistor (or light-dependent resistor, LDR,

or photo-conductive cell) is a light-controlled variable resistor. The resistance of
a photoresistor decreases with increasing incident light intensity; in other words,
it exhibits photoconductivity. A photo resistor can be applied in light-sensitive
detector circuits, and light-activated and dark-activated switching circuits.
A photo resistor is made of a high resistance semiconductor. In the dark, a photo
resistor can have a resistance as high as several mega ohms (MΩ), while in the
light, a photo resistor can have a resistance as low as a few hundred ohms. If
incident light on a photo resistor exceeds a certain frequency, photons absorbed
by the semiconductor give bound electrons enough energy to jump into
the conduction band. The resulting free electrons (and their hole partners)
conduct electricity, thereby lowering resistance. The resistance range and
sensitivity of a photo resistor can substantially differ among dissimilar devices.
Moreover, unique photo resistors may react substantially differently to photons
within certain wavelength bands.
The solar tracker system will obtain its data from two CDS (Cadmium Sulfide)
photocells, which are type of LDR. The material used in CDS photocell is of
high resistance semiconductor. Therefore, once light falls on its surface, photons
absorbed by the semiconductor will give bound electrons enough energy to
jump in to the conduction band. As the result free electrons conduct electricity
and thus lower the resistance. In case of high intensity, photocell will produce
lowest resistance, the opposite will occur in case of complete darkness.

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Single Axis Solar Tracker 2022-23

light-emitting diode (LED):-

LED is a semiconductor light source that emits light when current flows through
it. When a current flows through the diode, electrons are able to recombine
with electron holes within the device, releasing energy in the form of photons.
This effect is called electroluminescence. The colour of the light (corresponding
to the energy of the photons) is determined by the energy band gap of the
semiconductor. White light is obtained by using multiple semiconductors or a
layer of light-emitting phosphor on the semi conductor device .Parts of a
conventional LED.

Fig :Capacitor Diagram

Capacitor:-A capacitor can store electric energy when it is connected to its

charging circuit. And when it is disconnected from its charging circuit, it
can dissipate that stored energy, so it can be used like a temporary battery.
Capacitors are commonly used in electronic devices to maintain power
supply while batteries are being changed.
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Single Axis Solar Tracker 2022-23

Fig :Resistor Diagram

Resistor:- it is an electrical device may be a passive two-terminal electrical

part that implements resistance as a circuit component. In electronic circuits,
resistors unit of measurement accustomed reduce current flow, alter signal
levels, to divide voltages, bias active components, and terminate transmission
lines, among completely different uses.

Fig :L293D Pin Diagram

L293D IC:- L293D is a typical Motor driver or Motor Driver IC which allows
DC motor to drive on either direction. L293D is a 16-pin IC which can control a
set of two DC motors simultaneously in any direction. It means that you can
control two DC motor with a single L293D IC. Dual H-bridge Motor Driver
integrated circuit (IC). The l293d can drive small and quiet big motors as well,
check the Voltage Specification In a single L293D chip there

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Single Axis Solar Tracker 2022-23

are two h-Bridge circuit inside the IC which can rotate two dc motor
independently. Due its size it is very much used in robotic application for
controlling DC motors. Given below is the pin diagram of a L293D motor
controller.

There are two Enable pins on l293d. Pin 1 and pin 9, for being able to drive the
motor, the pin 1 and 9 need to be high. For driving the motor with left H-
bridge you need to enable pin 1 to high. And for right H-Bridge you need to
make the pin 9 to high. If anyone of the either pin1 or pin9 goes low then the
motor in the corresponding section will suspend working. It’s like a switch.
TIP: you can simply connect the pin16 VCC (5v) to pin 1 and pin 9 to make
them high.

Fig :555 IC Pin Diagram

555 IC:- The 555 timer IC is an integrated circuit chip used in a variety
of timer, pulse generation, and oscillator applications. The 555 can be used to
provide time delays, as an oscillator, and as a flip-flop element. Derivatives
provide two (556) or four (558) timing circuits in one package

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Single Axis Solar Tracker 2022-23

Fig :Dc gear motor Diagram

DC Gear Motor:- gear motor is an all-in-one combination of a motor and

gearbox. The addition of a gear head to a motor reduces the speed while
increasing the torque output. The most important parameters in regards to gear
motors are speed (rpm), torque (lb-in) and efficiency (%). In order to select the
most suitable gear motor for your application you must first compute the load,
speed and torque requirements for your application.

Fig :Battery cap Diagram

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Single Axis Solar Tracker 2022-23
Battery cap:- A battery assembled cap, a cylindrical battery with the cap and a
method for making the same. ... The vent cap is attached to the battery cover by
a hinge connection which allows for play between the vent cap and
the battery cover and which allows for rotation of the vent cap.

Fig :Voltage Regulator Diagram

Voltage Regulator:- A voltage regulator IC maintains the output voltage at a

constant value. 7805 IC, a member of 78xx series of fixed linear
voltage regulators used to maintain such fluctuations, is a popular
voltage regulator integrated circuit (IC). The xx in 78xx indicates the output
voltage it provides. A voltage regulator generates a fixed output voltage of a
preset magnitude that remains constant regardless of changes to its
input voltage or load conditions. There are two types of voltage regulators linear
and switching

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Single Axis Solar Tracker 2022-23

Fig :Switch Diagram

Switch:- A switch, in the context of networking is a high-speed device that

receives incoming data packets and redirects them to their destination on a local
area network (LAN). A LAN switch operates at the data link layer (Layer 2) or
the network layer of the OSI Model and, as such it can support all types of
packet protocols.

Fig :Battery

7. Battery :-
An electric battery is a device consisting of one or more electrochemical
cells with external connections provided to power electrical devices such
as flashlights, and electric cars. When a battery is supplying electric power, its
positive terminal is the cathode and its negative terminal is the anode. The
terminal marked negative is the source of electrons that will flow through an
external electric circuit to thepositive terminal. When a battery is connected to
an external electric load.

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Construction:
Two CDS cells are connected to port RB2 and RB3 of the PIC. the two
photocells are positioned on a small straight piece of wood or plastic. Another
piece is mounted perpendicular to the straight piece, thereby dividing both the
sensors. If both the photocells are equally illuminated by the sun, their
resistance level will be same. As long as the resistance is same, an error margin
of ±10 points, the PIC will analyze this data and thus will not generate any
signal to actuate the motor. if one of the sensor comes under a shadow, then the
PIC will detect this change and thus it will actuate the motor to move the sensor
module to a position where equal light is being illuminated on both of them. The
PIC is programmed so that it can obtain its resistance data from the two LDRs
and to move motor either clock wise or anti clock wise depending on which
LDR is under shadow. The concept of the software design is dependent on the
LDR that is under shadow.

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Operation of the solar tracker

1. When LDR2 receives more light than LDR1, it offers lower resistance than
LDR1, providing a high input to comparators A1 and A2 at pins 4 and 7,
respectively. As a result, output pin 1 of comparator A2 goes high to rotate
motor M1 in one direction (say, anti-clockwise) and turn the solar panel.
When LDR1 receives more light than LDR2, it offers lower resistance than
LDR2, giving a low input to comparators A1 and A2 at pins 4 and 7,
respectively. As the voltage at pin 5 of comparator A1 is now higher than the
voltage at its pin 4, its output pin 2 goes high. As a result, motor M1 rotates in
the opposite direction (say, clock-wise) and the solar panel turns.
2. Solar tracker works by using a 555IC which compares light intensity
illuminated onto the LDRs. The logic that works on the LDR to detect the signal
is based on a resistance capacitor timing circuit, (RC constant) .Once the signal
is fed into the input for RB2 and RB3.

The program compares the two inputs and then the differences are detected and
send an output signal from port RB0 and RB1 to let the motor move clockwise
and counter clock wise respectively.

The signal that is sent from output port RB0 and RB1 is logic level of 1 and 0,
logic 1 is high level and 0 is for low level, when logic high is sent to the base of
the transistor, it energizes and makes a closed circuit, thus a current flows
through the motor, only two transistors can be switched on and off at a time The
materials used in the construction of this prototype include Polyvinyl Chloride
(PVC), one and a half inch pipes, wooden base of Medium-density fiberboard
(MDF), stool which can rotate 360 degrees, automotive motor and bicycle gear
mechanism. The description on how each section of the prototype is built is as
follows: Five pieces of PVC pipe with equal length are connected back to back
onto a T-junction and each junction is connected to L-shaped PVC making a
stable base onto which the motor can be mounted. The length of each PVC pipe
is approximately 0.5 meter. A wooden base is placed on top of the square
shaped design, the motor is then mounted below the wooden board, this way the
motor is upside down thus its gear is facing downward as well. The hydraulics
portion of the revolving office chair is used which can rotate 360 degrees. A
gear is then welded onto the hydraulics part using an electric welding machine.
The chair is mounted onto the wooden base; this base has dimensions of one

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Single Axis Solar Tracker 2022-23
meter by 0.8 meter in length and width respectively. Once the hydraulic portion
is mounted, the PVC base is placed in a position so that the small gear on the
motor is in perfect alignment with the big gear which is mounted on the
hydraulics.
Once the two gears are aligned they are connected by a steel chain. The gear
that is mounted on the motor has 14 teeth and that which is mounted on
hydraulics portion has 30 teeth. These specific teeth are chosen because this
combination produces more torque on less speed thus less current has to be
applied to the motor, this concept is used for both the axes of movement. The
horizontal axis is constructed by using two PVC pipes of size three inches in
diameter, which are cut to length of 0.3 meters in height, the (MDF) wood is
then later cut, 0.4 meter by 0.3 meter in length and width respectively. The PVC
pipes are mounted into the shape of T-junctions. These junctions are then
mounted on the MDF base, a hole is drilled on the PVC pipe at approximately
0.6 meters from the bottom, and another one inch PVC pipe is cut to a length of
0.5 meters, this pipe is inserted inside the three inch pipe, and the solar

panel is mounted on it. Finally the motor and the gear are mounted on the side
and linked using a chain for the horizontal axis and all the LDR‟s are mounted
and wired.

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Single Axis Solar Tracker 2022-23

A solar tracker positions the solar panels at an angle directed to the sun. It is an
advanced sun monitoring system that can rotate the panels to track the
movement of the sun across the sky.
It facilitates the panel system to trap the maximum sunlight and optimise the
energy output. There are considerable advantages to using a solar energy
tracker.

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Single Axis Solar Tracker 2022-23

Advantages of Single Axis Solar Tracker: -

➢ Single-axis trackers usually move from the east to the west and follow
the Sun’s Direction.
➢ Single axis trackers are cheap, very simple in set up and run at low cost.
➢ They are more reliable than dual-axis trackers.
➢ Single axis has higher lifespan than dual-axis trackers.
➢ Single-axis trackers suit companies that want a low-cost option.
➢ Single axis trackers also fit for areas with less sun.
➢ Single axis tracker has a better efficiency related to a solar panel in fixed
form. The Effectiveness of single axis solar tracker over fixed solar
tracking mount panel is 32.17%.

Disadvantages of Single-Axis Solar Tracking System: -

➢ Solar tracker is slightly more expensive than their stationery counter
parks
➢ Tracker requires more maintenance than fixed system
➢ Implementation is costly

Application of Single-Axis Tracking System:

➢ Agriculture fields for water pumping motor Domestic

➢ Appliance for lightning purpose
➢ Solar electric power generation

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CONCLUSION
It has been proved through previous research that solar tracking system
with single-axis freedom can increase energy output by approximately 20%,
whereas the tracking system with double axis freedom can increase the output
by more than 40%. Therefore this work in this paper is to develop and
implement a solar tracking system with both degree of freedom and the
detection of the sunlight using sensors. The control circuit for the solar tracker
is based on a PIC16F84A microcontroller. This PIC is the brain of the entire
tracking system, and it is

programmed to detect the sunlight through sensors and then actuate the motor to
position where maximum sunlight could be illuminated onto the surface of the
solar panel. After many setbacks in testing of the solar tracker, a lot of time is
needed to be set aside for verification and testing due to the unpredictability of
the weather and debugging of errors. This tracking implementation is
successfully achieved with complete design of two degree of freedom using the
PIC microcontroller. Suitable components and gear dc motors are used for the
prototype model, which exhibit a clear, stable and precise movement to face the
sun.

REFRENCE

• https://www.solarpowerworldonline.com/2013/04/how-does-a-solar-tracker-
work/\

• https://www.enfsolar.com/directory/component/tracker

• https://www.britannica.com/science/solar-energy/Electricity-generation

• https://www.solarsquare.in/blog/single-axis-solar-tracking-system

• https://techatronic.com/single-axis-solar-tracker-project-tutorial

Dept. of EEE, SSIT, Tumkur Page: 21