Comparative Performance Analysis of Solar Tracking System Types at Different Latitudes

Abstract

The increase of solar radiation collected by solar energy convertors is a major challenge in design process of photovoltaic or solar-thermal applications. A valuable approach refers to the use of solar tracking systems that support a large range of tracking performance according to their types, solar tracking algorithm or implementation location. The paper focuses on a comparative study, under the assumption of direct solar radiation only, of solar energy receiving share achieved by four tracking system types and various tracking algorithms used at different latitudes from the northern hemisphere. The simulation results showed a close connection of the tracking system type with the latitude, as well as high performance in collecting the solar energy of dual-axis and single-axis diurnal type tracking with optimized unequal steps.