AUTOMATIC SOLAR TRACKING SYSTEM

Major project

NM INSTITUTE OF ENGINEERING & TECHNOLOGY

BHUBANESWAR-751019, ODISHA
DEPARTMENT OF ELECTRICAL & ELECTRONICS ENGINEERING
 CERTIFICATE

This is to certify that project report entitled

“AUTOMATIC SOLAR TRACKING SYSTEM” is submitted by
ITISHREE NAYAK (Regd no.-1201288096), is a bonafide work
carried out in the partial fulfilment of the requirement for the
award of degree of B.Tech in Electrical and Electronics
Engineering under Biju Patnaik University of Technology, Odisha
during the academic year 2016.

Mrs. Swati Samantray Prof. Prajnadipta Sahoo

Project guide HOD, EEE Department

EXTERNAL EXAMINER
Z

vi
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

We express our deep sense of gratitude to Almighty for His

blessing without which completion of this project would not be
possible. Our project would not have been successful without the
assistance and blessing of number of people. We would like to
acknowledge the help rendered by each of them.

At the outset, we would like to thank our

Director, Prof. P.K. Swain and our HOD, Professor. Prajnadipta
Sahoo, Electrical and Electronics Department, for their precious
suggestion in preparing and successfully completing the project
report on “AUTOMATIC SOLAR TRACKING SYSTEM”.

We wish to express our profound sense of gratitude and

sincere thanks to our project guide Mrs. Swati Samantray
(Assistant professor, EEE), who gave expert guidance, support,
encouragement and valuable suggestions throughout the project
work. We also owe thanks to all faculty members of EEE
department for their unfailing co-operation and encouragement
throughout entire project preparation and till the presentation
process.

DECLARATION
vi
I, hereby declare that matter embodied in this final year (8 th
semester) project report entitled “AUTOMATIC SOLAR TRACKING
SYSTEM” is original.

I further declare that the report for the B. Tech, final (major
project) does not contain any part of work which has already been
submitted for the award of B. Tech degree in this or any other
university.

NAME:-ITISHREE NAYAK

REGD. NO.:-1201288096

CONTENTS PAGE NO.

vi
 1. ABSTRACT 1

2. INTRODUCTION TO EMBEDDED SYSTEMS

3. BLOCK DIAGRAM

4. HARDWARE REQUIREMENTS

4.1 TRANSFORMERS

4.2 VOLTAGE REGULATOR (LM7805)

4.3 RECTIFIER

4.4 FILTER

4.5 MICROCONTROLLER

4.6 RELAY

4.7 PUSH BUTTONS

4.8 LCD

4.9 LED

4.10 1N4007

4.11 RESISTOR

4.12 CAPACITOR

4.13 LDR

4.14 IR

5. SOFTWARE REQUIREMENTS

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6. SCHEMATIC DIAGRAM 66

6.1 DESCRIPTION 67

10. HARDWARE TESTING 88

10.1 CONTINUITY TEST 88

10.2 POWER ON TEST 89

11. RESULTS 69

12. CONCLUSION 93

13. BIBLIOGRAPHY 94

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LIST OF FIGURES PAGE NO.

3(a) EMBEDDED DESIGN CALLS

3(b) EMBEDDED DESIGN CYCLE

4.1 BLOCK DIAGRAM OF THE PROJECT

4.1 A TYPICAL TRANSFORMER

4.2(a) BLOCK DIAGRAM OF VOLTAGE

REGULATOR

4.2(c) RATING OF VOLTAGE REGULATOR

4.2(c) PERFORMANCE CHARACTERISTICS

OF VOLTAGE REGULATOR

4.5(a) BLOCK DIAGRAM OF AT89S52

4.5(c) OSCILLATOR CONNECTIONS

4.5(d) EXTERNAL CLOCK DRIVE CONFIG.

4.6(a) RELAY

4.6(b) INTERNAL CIRCUIT OF RELAY

4.6(c) ULN2003

4.7(a) PUSH ON BUTTON

4.7(b) TABLE FOR TYPES OF PUSH BUTTONS

4.8 LCD

6 SCHEMATIC DIAGRAM

0
 ABSTRACT
Solar power generation had been employed as renewable energy for
years ago. The main objective of this project is to develop a
microcontroller-based solar panel tracking system which will control
the position of the solar panel in accordance with the motion of sun in
order to maximize the power output. This project is designed with
Solar power generation had been employed as renewable energy for
solar panel, LDR(Light Dependent Register ), ADC, ATmega16
microcontroller, stepper motor and its driving circuit. When the
intensity of light decreases the system automatically changes its
direction to get maximum intensity of light aligned perpendicular to
the solar panel to optimize output. LDR act as a sensor that keeps on
changing the orientation of the panel.

1
 PHOTOVOLTAIC CELL

Photovoltaic effect:-

The physical phenomena responsible for converting light into

electricity is called Photovoltaic effect-was first observed by a French
physicist, Edmund Becquerel.

Photovoltaic concept:-

 The photovoltaic effect used in solar cells allows direct

conversion of light energy from the sun’s ray into electricity, by
way of generation, and transportation inside semiconducting
material, of positive and negative charges, through the action
of light.
 This material features two regions, one exhibiting an excess of
electrons and the other electron deficit, respectively referred
to as n-doped and p-doped.
 When the former is brought into contact with the latter, excess
electrons from the n-material defused into p-material and
hence the initially n-doped region becomes positively charged
and the p-doped region negatively charged establishing an
electric field between them, tending to force electrons back
into n-region, and holes back into the p-region.
 When the junction is illuminated, photons having an energy
equal to, or higher than, the width of forbidden band, or band
gap, yield their energy to the atoms, each photons causing an
electron to move from the valence band to the conduction
band, giving rise to an electron-hole pair.
 There should a load be positioned at the cell’s terminals,
electrons from n-region will migrate back to the holes in p-

2
region, by way of outside connection, giving rise to a potential
difference and hence electric current passes.

3
HOW DOES SOLAR PANEL WORKS:-
1. Rays of sunlight hit the solar panel (also known as a
photovoltaic/ (PV) cells) and are absorbed by semi-conducting
materials such as silicon.
2. Electrons are knocked loose from their atoms, which allow them
to flow through the material to produce electricity. This process
whereby light (photo) is converted into electricity (voltage) is
called the photovoltaic (PV) effect.
3. An array of solar panels converts solar energy into DC (direct
current) electricity.
4. The DC electricity then enters an inverter.
5. The inverter turns DC electricity into 120-volt AC (alternating
current) electricity needed by home appliances.
6. The AC power enters the utility panel in the house.
7. The electricity (load) is then distributed to appliances or lights
in the house.
8. When more solar energy is generated that what you're using - it
can be stored in a battery as DC electricity. The battery will
continue to supply your home with electricity in the event of a
power blackout or at night time.
9. When the battery is full the excess electricity can be exported
back into the utility grid, if your system is connected to it.
10. Utility supplied electricity can also be drawn from the grid
when not enough solar energy is produced and no excess energy
is stored in the battery, i.e. at night or on cloudy days.

4
11. The flow of electricity in and out of the utility grid is
measured by a utility meter, which spins backwards (when you
are producing more energy that you need) and forward (when
you require additional electricity from the utility company). The
two are offset ensuring that you only pay for the additional
energy you use from the utility company. Any surplus energy is
sold back to the utility company. This system is referred to as
"net-metering".
 Solar Energy is measured in kilowatt-hour. 1 kilowatt =
1000 watts.
 1 kilowatt-hour (kWh) = the amount of electricity required
to burn a 100 watt light bulb for 10 hours.
 According to the US Department of Energy, an average
American household used approximately 866-kilowatt
hours per month in 1999 costing them $70.68.
 About 30% of our total energy consumption is used to heat
water.

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 SOLAR TRACKER
NEED OF TRACKERS:-

 The sunlight has two components “direct beam” and

“diffused beam”. 90% of the solar energy is carried out by
the diffused beam.
 The energy contributed by the direct beam drops of with
the cosine of angle between the incoming light and panel
according to the table below:

I Lost = 1 - cos(i) i hours[7] Lost

0° 0% 15° 1 3.4%

1° 0.015% 30° 2 13.4%

3° 0.14% 45° 3 30%

8° 1% 60° 4 >50%[8]

23.4°[9] 8.3% 75° 5 >75%[8]

 Thus even a small misalignment can cause an appreciable

power loss and reduced efficiency. Hence trackers are used
to minimize the angle of incidence between incoming
sunlight and solar panel throughout the day.
TYPES OF TRACKERS:-

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 Trackers are classified according to the number and orientation of
trackers axis. These are of two types:
1. Single axis tracker
2. Dual axis tracker

Single axis tracker:-

Single axis trackers have one degree of freedom that acts as an axis
of rotation. The axis of rotation of single axis trackers is typically
aligned along a true North meridian. It is possible to align them in any
cardinal direction with advanced tracking algorithms. There are
several common implementations of single axis trackers. These
include horizontal single axis trackers (HSAT), horizontal single axis
tracker with tilted modules (HTSAT), vertical single axis trackers
(VSAT), tilted single axis trackers (TSAT) and polar aligned single
axis trackers (PSAT). The orientation of the module with respect to
the tracker axis is important when modelling performance

Dual axis tracking:-

Dual axis trackers have two degrees of freedom that act as axes of
rotation. These axes are typically normal to one another. The axis that
is fixed with respect to the ground can be considered a primary axis.

7
The axis that is referenced to the primary axis can be considered a
secondary axis. There are several common implementations of dual
axis trackers. They are classified by the orientation of their primary
axes with respect to the ground. Two common implementations are
tip-tilt dual axis trackers (TTDAT) and azimuth-altitude dual axis
trackers (AADAT). Dual axis trackers allow for optimum solar energy
levels due to their ability to follow the Sun vertically and
horizontally.

VARIOUS TRACKING METHODS:-

1. Controller
The Controller continually measures intensity and angle of the
incoming light and moves the solar module installation into the most
advantageous position.
2. Real-time Sensor
Sensors provide reference values that are evaluated by an
algorithm to track the module surface over the course of the day and
this optimizes the accuracy.
3. Linear Actuator
To control the vertical (elevation) angle of the tracker. Stokes
of the Actuator can be changeable according to the tracking angles.
4. Slew Drive
To control the horizontal (azimuth) angle of trackers. The drive
has a high torque transmission with max load capacity and extended
life.

8
DRIVE TYPE:
1. Active tracker
Active tracker use motors and gear trains to the direct tracker
as commanded by a controller responding to the solar
direction. Light sensing trackers typically have two photo
sensor, such as photodiodes, configured differentially so that
they output a null when a receiving same light flux.
Mechanically, they should be unidirectional and are aimed 90
degree apart. This will cause steepest part of the cosine
transfer functions to balance it which translates onto maximum
sensitivity.
2. Passive tracker
It uses a low boiling point compress gas fluid that is driven to
one side or the other (by solar heat creating gas pressure) to
cause the tracker to move in response to an imbalance. It is
suitable for common PV panel types only.
3. Chronological tracker
A chronological tracker counteracts the Earth’s rotation by
turning at the same speed as the Earth relative to the Sun,
around an axis parallel to the Earth’s, but in the direction
opposite to the Earth’s rotation.
4. Manual tracking
In some developing nation, drives have been replaced by
operator who adjust the tracker

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 HARDWARE REQUIREMENTS

HARDWARE COMPONENTS:

1. TRANSFORMER (230 – 12 V AC)

2. VOLTAGE REGULATOR (LM 7805)
3. RECTIFIER
4. FILTER
5. MICROCONTROLLER
6. ULN2003
7. RELAY
8. PUSH BUTTONS
9. LCD
10. LED
11. 1N4007
12. RESISTOR
13. CAPACITOR
14. LDR
15. STEPPER MOTOR

10
 TRANSFORMER

Transformers convert AC electricity from one voltage to another

with a little loss of power. Step-up transformers increase voltage,
step-down transformers reduce voltage. Most power supplies use a
step-down transformer to reduce the dangerously high voltage to a
safer low voltage.

FIG 4.1: A TYPICAL TRANSFORMER

The input coil is called the primary and the output coil is called
the secondary. There is no electrical connection between the two
coils; instead they are linked by an alternating magnetic field created
in the soft-iron core of the transformer. The two lines in the middle of
the circuit symbol represent the core. Transformers waste very little
power so the power out is (almost) equal to the power in. Note that as
voltage is stepped down and current is stepped up.
The ratio of the number of turns on each coil, called the turn’s
ratio, determines the ratio of the voltages. A step-down transformer
has a large number of turns on its primary (input) coil which is

11
connected to the high voltage mains supply, and a small number of
turns on its secondary (output) coil to give a low output voltage.
TURNS RATIO = (Vp / Vs) = ( Np / Ns )
Where,
Vp = primary (input) voltage.
Vs = secondary (output) voltage
Np = number of turns on primary coil
Ns = number of turns on secondary coil
Ip = primary (input) current
Is = secondary (output) current.

VOLTAGE REGULATOR 7805

Features
• Output Current up to 1A.
• Output Voltages of 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 12, 15, 18, 24V.
• Thermal Overload Protection.
• Short Circuit Protection.
• Output Transistor Safe Operating Area Protection.

12
Description:
The LM78XX/LM78XXA series of three-terminal positive
regulators are available in the TO-220/D-PAK package and with
several fixed output voltages, making them useful in a Wide range of
applications. Each type employs internal current limiting, thermal
shutdown and safe operating area protection, making it essentially
indestructible. If adequate heat sinking is provided, they can deliver
over 1A output Current. Although designed primarily as fixed voltage
regulators, these devices can be used with external components to
obtain adjustable voltages and currents.

13
 RECTIFIER

A rectifier is an electrical device that converts alternating

current (AC), which periodically reverses direction, to direct current
(DC), current that flows in only one direction, a process known as
rectification. Rectifiers have many uses including as components of
power supplies and as detectors of radio signals. Rectifiers may be
made of solid state diodes, vacuum tube diodes, mercury arc valves,
and other components. The output from the transformer is fed to the
rectifier. It converts A.C. into pulsating D.C. The rectifier may be a
half wave or a full wave rectifier. In this project, a bridge rectifier is
used because of its merits like good stability and full wave
rectification. In positive half cycle only two diodes (1 set of parallel
diodes) will conduct, in negative half cycle remaining two diodes will
conduct and they will conduct only in forward bias only.

14
 FILTER

Capacitive filter is used in this project. It removes the ripples

from the output of rectifier and smoothens the D.C. Output received
from this filter is constant until the mains voltage and load is
maintained constant. However, if either of the two is varied, D.C.
voltage received at this point changes. Therefore a regulator is applied
at the output stage.
The simple capacitor filter is the most basic type of power
supply filter. The use of this filter is very limited. It is sometimes used
on extremely high-voltage, low-current power supplies for cathode-
ray and similar electron tubes that require very little load current from
the supply. This filter is also used in circuits where the power-supply
ripple frequency is not critical and can be relatively high. Below
figure can show how the capacitor charges and discharges.

15
 MICROCONTROLLER
ATmega16:

Introduction:

A microcontroller often serves as the “brain” of a mechatronic

system. Like a mini, self contained computer, it can be programmed
to interact with both the hardware of the system and the user. Even
the most basic microcontroller can perform simple math operations,
control digital outputs, and monitor digital inputs. As the computer

16
industry has evolved, so has the technology associated with
microcontrollers. Newer microcontrollers are much faster, have more
memory, and have a host of input and output features that dwarf the
ability of earlier models. Most modern controllers have analog-to-
digital converters, high-speed timers and counters, interrupt
capabilities, outputs that can be pulse-width modulated, serial
communication ports, etc.

The high-performance, low-power Atmel 8-bit AVR RISC-based

microcontroller combines 16KB of programmable flash memory,
1KB SRAM, 512B EEPROM, an 8-channel 10-bit A/D converter, and
a JTAG interface for on-chip debugging. The device supports
throughput of 16 MIPS at 16 MHz and operates between 4.5-5.5
volts.

LDR

A Light Dependent Resistor (LDR) is a resistor that changes its value

according to the light falling on it. It is made of high resistance
semiconductor. If light falling on the device is of high in a frequency,
photons observe by the semiconductor give bound electrons enough
energy to jump into the conduction band. The resulting free
electrons conducts electricity. Thereby lowering resistance. Thus
LDR is very useful in light sensor circuit.

17
 STEPPER MOTOR
A stepper with exact linear speed controller is used to drive the solar
tracker to the best angle exposer of light. The stepper motor is an
electromagnetic device that converts digital pulses into mechanical
shaft rotation.

Features:-
 Linear speed control
 Control of acceleration, Deceleration, maximum speed and
number of steps to move.
 Low cost, High speed, high torque at low speed.
 Driven by one timer interrupt
 Full or half stepping driving mode.
 Supports all AVR devices with 16 bit timer.

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 SOFTWARE REQUIREMENT

 AVR Studio
 WIN AVR
 SINAPROG Hex Downloader

PROGRAMME CODE

#include<reg52.h>
#define DS1307_ID 0XA0
#define SEC 0x00
#define MIN 0x01
#define HOUR 0x02
#define DATE 0x04
#define MONTH 0x05
#define YEAR 0x06
#define I2C_DELAY 0x0F /* For delay i2c bus */
sbit SDA = P3^4;
sbit SCL = P3^3;
sbit orange = P2^0;

19
sbit red = P2^2;
sbit brown = P2^1;
sbit yellow = P2^3;
unsigned char
Key,i,key1,hours,minutes,seconds,date,month,year,Temp;
unsigned char Temp_buf[2];
unsigned char

M1_hours,M2_hours,M3_hours,M1_minutes,M2_minutes,M3_minut
es;
unsigned char sec1,min1,hour1,date1,month1,year1;
void delay();
void Init_LCD();
void delay2();
void BusyCheck();
void LCDCMD(unsigned char CMD);
void LCDData(unsigned char Data);
void LCDString(unsigned char *str);
void read_rtc();
void DS1307_setdate(unsigned char dd, unsigned char mm, unsigned
char yy);
void DS1307_settime(unsigned char hh, unsigned char mm, unsigned
char ss);
unsigned char DS1307_get(unsigned char addr);
void send2lcd(unsigned char value);

20
void compare();
void main(void)
{

DS1307_settime(0x06,0x00,0x00); /* Set Time (hh:mm:ss) */

while(1)
{
/* Get Date & Time */

sec1 = DS1307_get(SEC);
min1 = DS1307_get(MIN);
hour1 = DS1307_get(HOUR);
compare();
}

}
void compare()
{
if((min1 == 0x01)||(min1 == 0x05)||(min1 == 0x09)||(min1
== 0x13)||(min1 == 0x17))
{
orange = 1;
red = 0;
brown = 0;
yellow = 0;
21
 delay2();
}
if((min1 == 0x02)||(min1 == 0x06)||(min1 == 0x10)||(min1
== 0x14)||(min1 == 0x18))
{
orange = 0;
red = 1;
brown = 0;
yellow = 0;
delay2();
}
if((min1 == 0x03)||(min1 == 0x07)||(min1 == 0x11)||(min1
== 0x15)||(min1 == 0x19))
{
orange = 0;
red = 0;
brown = 1;
yellow = 1;
delay2();
}
if((min1 == 0x04)||(min1 == 0x08)||(min1 == 0x12)||(min1
== 0x16)||(min1 == 0x20))
{
orange = 0;
red = 0;

22
 brown = 0;
yellow = 1;
delay2();
}
if((min1 == 0x21)||(min1 == 0x25)||(min1 == 0x29)||(min1
== 0x33)||(min1 == 0x37))
{
orange = 1;
red = 0;
brown = 0;
yellow = 0;
delay2();
}
if((min1 == 0x22)||(min1 == 0x26)||(min1 == 0x30)||(min1
== 0x34)||(min1 == 0x38))
{
orange = 0;
red = 1;
brown = 0;
yellow = 0;
delay2();
}
if((min1 == 0x23)||(min1 == 0x27)||(min1 == 0x31)||(min1
== 0x35)||(min1 == 0x39))
{

23
 orange = 0;
red = 0;
brown = 1;
yellow = 0;
delay2();
}
if((min1 == 0x24)||(min1 == 0x28)||(min1 == 0x32)||(min1
== 0x36)||(min1 == 0x40))
{
orange = 0;
red = 1;
brown = 0;
yellow = 1;
delay2();
}
if((min1 == 0x41)||(min1 == 0x45)||(min1 == 0x49)||(min1
== 0x53)||(min1 == 0x57))
{
orange = 1;
red = 0;
brown = 0;
yellow = 0;
delay2();
}

24
 if((min1 == 0x42)||(min1 == 0x46)||(min1 == 0x50)||(min1
== 0x54)||(min1 == 0x58))
{
orange = 0;
red = 1;
brown = 0;
yellow = 1;
delay2();
}
if((min1 == 0x43)||(min1 == 0x47)||(min1 == 0x51)||(min1
== 0x55)||(min1 == 0x59))
{
orange = 0;
red = 0;
brown = 1;
yellow = 0;
delay2();
}
if((min1 == 0x44)||(min1 == 0x48)||(min1 == 0x52)||(min1
== 0x56))
{
orange = 0;
red = 0;
brown = 0;
yellow = 1;

25
 delay2();
}
}
void delay2()
{
unsigned int k,i;
for(k=0;k<2;k++)
for(i=0;i<=22000;i++);
}
void I2C_delay(void)
{
unsigned char i;
for(i=0;i<I2C_DELAY;i++);
}
void I2C_clock(void)
{
I2C_delay();
SCL = 1; /* Start clock */
I2C_delay();
SCL = 0; /* Clear SCL */
}
void I2C_start(void)
{
if(SCL)
SCL = 0; /* Clear SCL */

26
 SDA = 1; /* Set SDA */
SCL = 1; /* Set SCL */
I2C_delay();
SDA = 0; /* Clear SDA */
I2C_delay();
SCL = 0; /* Clear SCL */
}
void I2C_stop(void)
{
if(SCL)
SCL = 0; /* Clear SCL */
SDA = 0; /* Clear SDA */
I2C_delay();
SCL = 1; /* Set SCL */
I2C_delay();
SDA = 1; /* Set SDA */
}
bit I2C_write(unsigned char dat)
{
bit data_bit;
unsigned char i;
for(i=0;i<8;i++) /* For loop 8 time(send data 1 byte) */
{
data_bit = dat & 0x80; /* Filter MSB bit keep to data_bit
*/

27
 SDA = data_bit; /* Send data_bit to SDA */
I2C_clock(); /* Call for send data to i2c bus */
dat = dat>>1;
}
SDA = 1; /* Set SDA */
I2C_delay();
SCL = 1; /* Set SCL */
I2C_delay();
data_bit = SDA; /* Check acknowledge */
SCL = 0; /* Clear SCL */
I2C_delay();

return data_bit; /* If send_bit = 0 i2c is valid */

}
unsigned char I2C_read(void)
{
bit rd_bit;
unsigned char i, dat;
dat = 0x00;
for(i=0;i<8;i++) /* For loop read data 1 byte */
{
I2C_delay();
SCL = 1; /* Set SCL */
I2C_delay();
rd_bit = SDA; /* Keep for check acknowledge */

28
 dat = dat>>1;
dat = dat | rd_bit; /* Keep bit data in dat */
SCL = 0; /* Clear SCL */
}
return dat;
}
unsigned char DS1307_get(unsigned char addr)
{
unsigned char ret;
I2C_start(); /* Start i2c bus */
I2C_write(DS1307_ID); /* Connect to DS1307 */
I2C_write(addr); /* Request RAM address on
DS1307 */
I2C_start(); /* Start i2c bus */
I2C_write(DS1307_ID+1); /* Connect to DS1307 for Read */
ret = I2C_read(); /* Receive data */
I2C_stop(); /* Stop i2c bus */
return ret;
}
void DS1307_settime(unsigned char hh, unsigned char mm, unsigned
char ss)
{
I2C_start();
I2C_write(DS1307_ID); /* connect to DS1307 */
I2C_write(0x00); /* Request RAM address at 00H */

29
 I2C_write(ss); /* Write sec on RAM address 00H */
I2C_write(mm); /* Write min on RAM address 01H */
I2C_write(hh); /* Write hour on RAM address 02H */
I2C_stop(); /* Stop i2c bus */
}
BLOCK DIAGRAM

30
SCHEMATIC DIAGRAM

31
 SCHEMATIC DIAGRAM EXPLANATION

POWER SUPPLY:
The circuit uses standard power supply comprising of a step-
down transformer from 230Vto 12V and 4 diodes forming a Bridge
Rectifier that delivers pulsating dc which is then filtered by an
electrolytic capacitor of about 470µF to 1000µF. The filtered dc
being unregulated, IC LM7805 is used to get 5V DC constant at its
pin no 3 irrespective of input DC varying from 9V to 14V. The input
dc shall be varying in the event of input ac at 230volts section varies
in the ratio of V1/V2=N1/N2.
The regulated 5V DC is further filtered by a small electrolytic
capacitor of 10µF for any noise so generated by the circuit. One LED
is connected of this 5V point in series with a resistor of 330Ω to the
ground i.e., negative voltage to indicate 5V power supply availability.
The 12V point is used for other applications as on when required.

32
RESET:
Pin no 9 is provided with an RESET arrangement by a
combination of an electrolytic capacitor and a register forming RC
time constant. At the time of switch on, the capacitor gets charged,
after charging it behaves as a full short circuit from the positive to the
pin number 9. After the capacitor gets fully charged the current stops
flowing and pin number 9 is pulled down by a 10k resistor to the
ground. This arrangement of reset pin 9 going high initially and then
to logic 0 i.e., low helps the program execution to start from the
beginning. In absence of this the program execution could have taken
place habitually anywhere from the program cycle. A pushbutton
switch is connected across the capacitor so that at any given time as
desired it can be pressed that discharges the capacitor and while
released the capacitor starts charging again and then pin number 9
goes to high and then back to low, to enable the program execution
from the beginning. This operation of high to low of the reset pin
takes place in fraction of a second as decided by the time constant R
and C.
For example: A 10µF capacitor and a 10kΩ resistor would render a
100ms time to pin number 9 from logic high to low, there after the pin
number 9 remains low.

33
 OPERATION EXPLANATION

CONNECTIONS:
The output of power supply which is connected to the 40 th pin of
microcontroller and ground is connected to its 20th pin. Pins 2.0 to 2.3
of port3 of microcontroller are connected to pins1, 2, 3, 4 of
ULN2003. Pins 13, 14, 15, 16 of ULN2003 are given to stepper motor
and solar panel is connected to stepper motor.
WORKING:
The stepper motor is interfaced to the MC through driver IC
ULN2003. 6 connections from the stepper motor are fed from the
output of ULN2003. Sun raises in the morning at 6 AM and sunset at
6PM.so in this 12 hours time period sun rotates 180 0.For
demonstration purpose The program was so written that the stepper
motor completes a 1800 rotation in 24 steps of 5 sec interval. After
that interval again solar panel comes to starting position directly. A
low power solar panel is mounted on to the shaft of the stepper motor
such that the phase of the solar panel faces the sun in 90 0 incidence
throughout the day.

34
 ADVANTAGE AND DISADVANTAGE

ADVANTAGES:-

 Single axis tracker increases annual output by

approximately 30% and dual axis an additional 6%.
 The space requirement for the solar park is reduced and
they keep same output.
 In terms of cost per watt of the completed solar system, it is
usually cheaper to use a solar tracker and less solar panels
where space and planning permits.
 The return of the investment time is reduced.
LIMITATIONS:-

 Increased cost and complexity.

 Dual axis tracker increases the power output 6% more than
single axis tracker. But, the installation cost is more.

35
 CONCLUSION

A cost effective intelligent Sun tracking to extract maximum solar

energy possible was designed, build & tested. The main
advantage of the system is that it is intelligent enough so that the
panels only follow the Sun if that contributes to extra energy
extraction and at the same time the energy consumed by the panel
driving motor less than that extracted.

36
 REFFERENCE
[1] Aryuanto Soetedjo. Modeling of Maximum Power Point
Tracking Controller for Solar Power System.
[2] TELKOMNIKA Indonesian Journal of Electrical Engineering.
2012; 10(3): 419-430.
[3] Yuhong Zhao, Xuecheng Zhao, Yunhui Zhang. MPPT for
Photovoltaic System Using Multi-objective
[4] Improved Particle Swarm Optimization Algorithm
TELKOMNIKA Indonesian Journal of Electrical
Engineering, January 2014; 12(1): 261~ 268.
[5] Syed Arsalan. Sun Tracking System with Microcontroller
8051. International Journal of Scientific &
Engineering Research, June-2013; 4(6).
[6] Md Tanvir Arafat Khan, SM Shahrear Tanzil, Rifat Rahman,
SM Shafiul Alam. Design and
Construction of an Automatic Solar Tracking System. 6th
International Conference on Electrical and
Computer Engineering ICECE. Dhaka, Bangladesh. 2010
[7] MA Panait, T Tudorache. A Simple Neural Network Solar
Tracker for Optimizing Conversion Efficiency
in Off-Grid Solar Generato. Intl. Conf. on Renewable Energy
and Power quality. M.Nagao. 2008; 278.
[8] Han Shunjie, Han Yue. Research and Implementation of the
Dual Mode Solar Automatic Tracking
System. IEEE. 2012.
[9] Yiwang Wang, Jia Song. Design of a Digital Solar Panel
Automatic Tracking Controller for
Photovoltaic Generation System. IEEE. 2012.
[10] Feng-ran Liu, LI Xiao, Wen-jia Li. The Design of Automatic
Tracking System for Solar Cell. IEEE.
2011.

37
[11] Md Ismail Hossain, Shakil Ahamed Khan, Md Shafiullah.
Power Maximization of a Photovoltaic
System Using Automatic Solar Panel Tracking along with Boost
Converter and Charge Controller. 7th
International Conference on Electrical and Computer
Engineering. Dhaka, Bangladesh. 2012.
[12] Zhang Bao-jian, Gao Guo-hong, Zhu Yan-li. Designment of
Automatic Tracking System of Solar
Energy System. 2nd International Conference on Industrial
Mechatronics and Automation. 2010.
[13] Asmarashid Ponniran, Ammar Hashim, Handy Ali Munir. A
Design of Single Axis Sun Tracking
System. The 5th International Power Engineering and
Optimization Conference (PEOCO2011), Shah
Alam, Selangor, Malaysia. 2011.
[14] Tetsumi Harakawa, Takahiro Tujhoto. A Proposal of
Efficiency Improvement with Solar Power
Generation System. IECON'O1: The 27th Annual Conference
of the IEEE Industrial Electronics

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