Efficient autonomous solar energy harvesting system utilizing dynamic offset feed mirrored parabolic dish integrated solar panel

Abstract

This paper presents the design and performance analysis of an efficient solar energy harvesting single axis sun tracking system employing dynamic offset parabolic mirrored reflector dish to increase the efficiency of solar energy harvesting system. The performance of proposed solar energy harvesting system has been analyzed by comparing the output of proposed system with static solar panel and solar panel with static mirrored reflector system. It has been observed that proposed system is capable of harvesting more energy than static solar panel system and solar panel with static offset mirrored parabolic dish. The parabolic mirrored reflector dish is capable of reflecting the light radiations and focusing the reflected light at its focal point where solar panel has been placed to harvest the light energy efficiently. The clocked tracking system has been used to rotate the dish in the direction of motion of sun. The Arduino UNO controller has been employed to rotate the dish by step angle of 6.25 degree at periodic interval of 30 minutes during daytime between 6 AM to 6 PM. The energy harvesting system is autonomously operating the motor driven dish by harnessing a portion of harvested solar energy which is stored in rechargeable lead acid battery. The proposed solar energy harvesting system is capable of generating average output voltage of 7.822 volts and 6.144 mA. The proposed system is 81 percent more efficient than static solar panel system and 48.26 percent more efficient than solar panel with static reflector system. The proposed energy harvesting system can be efficiently employed for various applications like water heating, etc.