Single-axis solar tracking system referring to date and time

Abstract

This article is about designing and building a single-axis solar tracking system referring to the sun position database. The objectives are as follows: 1. to design and build a solar tracking system, and, 2. to compare the power produced from the solar tracking system with that from the stationary solar panel. The angle of the solar panel from the solar tracking system is positioned at a constant altitude angle, 15 degrees, facing south, and the moving part was the azimuth, which follows the position of the sun. Latitude and longitude coordinates are identified by an Arduino UNO R3 microcontroller board for processing data, reading coordinates of the sun’s angle degrees from the SD card module, and commanding the servo motor to rotate to adjust the angle of the solar panel in a position perpendicular to the sun. Results from the experiment were collected in October 2020 from 9 AM to 4 PM. The system changed the angle degree every 30 minutes. It is found that the solar tracking system can easily be created and controlled, and can also accurately follow the sun’s position all day long. Moreover, it can generate more electric power than that generated by the stationary solar panel by up to 15%. The system is applicable and can generate more electric power than other tracking systems, although the results were collected during the rainy season when the weather was generally cloudy and rainy throughout the month.