Single Axis Solar Tracker for Maximizing Power Production and Sunlight Overlapping Removal on the Sensors of Tracker

Abstract

This paper presents the design and execution of a solar tracker system devoted to photovoltaic (PV) conversion panels. The proposed single-axis solar tracker is shifted automatically based on the sunlight detector or tracking sensor. This system also removes incident sunlight overlapping from sensors that are inside the sunlight tracking system. The Light Dependent Resistor (LDR) is used as a sensor to sense the intensity of light accurately. The sensors are placed at a certain distance from each other in the tracker system to avoid sunlight overlapping for maximum power production. The total system is designed by using a microcontroller (PIC16F877A) as a brain to control the whole system. The solar panel converts sunlight into electricity. The PV panel is fixed with a vertical axis of the tracker. This microcontroller will compare the data and rotate a solar panel via a stepper motor in the right direction to collect maximum photon energy from sunlight. From the experimental results, it can be determined that the automatic (PV solar tracker) sun tracking system is 72.45% more efficient than fixed panels, where the output power of the fixed panel and automatically adjusted panel are 8.289 watts and 14.287 watts, respectively.