Deep Learning Techniques for Photovoltaic Solar Tracking Systems: A Systematic Literature Review

Abstract

Abstract Although photovoltaic (PV) panels are extensively used to convert solar energy into electric energy, the continuous change in the sun's angle with reference to the earth's surface limits their capacity to collect sufficient energy. To improve efficiency, solar trackers are used to constantly adjust the PV panels towards the sun to maximize energy capture. There has been an increase in the use of deep learning (DL) in solar tracking systems as it has proven to be one of the most efficient techniques owing to its success in related fields. Although there are several studies on different designs of solar tracking systems, a synthesis of the state-of-art knowledge is lacking in the literature. Therefore, this study carried out a review of the DL methods used in solar tracking systems. Specifically, dataset usage, preprocessing methods, feature engineering methods, DL algorithms and the performance metrics used in the identified studies. The review considered the studies published from 2012 to 2022. In the initial search, 5,724 articles were selected from 7 digital libraries. Only 37 academic papers were included in the review based on the inclusion criteria. The results revealed that deep hybrid learning models were the most popular among researchers. Further, the study identified research challenges and future directions relating to the availability of DL-based PV solar tracking with respect to datasets, image data, data normalization, data decomposition, and feature engineering methods. This work will be resourceful to current and future researchers in addressing the trends and challenges related to the application of DL in PV solar trackers.