Dual Axis Solar Tracking System Research Articles

Solar PV tracking system using arithmetic optimization with dual axis and sensor

Presently, PV system is considered the best renewable energy source for electricity production. In order to maximize energy output in photovoltaic systems, a system for tracking the sun's position and adjusting panel positions was created. Despite the fact that several models for tracking solar radiation have been suggested to improve energy production, it faces challenges in continuous tracking and power consumption. This paper proposes a novel sensor-based solar tracking system with numerical optimization to increase photovoltaic systems' energy output. The initial model was for a two-axis tracking system based on sensors. Solar panel and sun positions are detected by this system using ultraviolet and microelectromechanical sun sensors. To improve tracking movements and photovoltaic energy production, we recommend using solar sensors to construct a novel two-axis solar tracking device. This technology benefits from increased solar radiation and solar energy harvesting capabilities. The main disadvantage of dual-axis active solar tracking systems is that the drive mechanism frequently uses up the output power of the solar panels. As a result, the net power gain of the solar panel is less than its maximum. Further, a control system was developed with proportional integral derivative (PID) controller and arithmetic optimization (AO) to adjust the panel position relative to suns movement. The AO technique tunes the PID controller gains until it reaches its desired level to enhance the production of power. With the use of sensors, the tracking system can use mathematical optimization algorithms and the sun's position to minimize power consumption while still maintaining optimal solar panel positioning. The developed model was designed in the MATLAB software and the outcomes are analyzed. The paper also presents an energy analysis of the system, which evaluates the energy input, output and overall system efficiency. We recommend using solar sensors to create a unique dual-axis solar tracking system. This technology benefits from increased solar radiation and solar energy harvesting capabilities.

Fabrication, Design, and Analysis of Dual Axis Solar Tracking System

Energy crisis is one of the prime issues in the third world developing country like Bangladesh. There is an enormous gap between generation and demand of electrical energy. Nearly 50% of the population of the country is extremely isolated from this blessing. Renewable energy is the only answer to solve this issue. Solar energy is one of the most effective resources of renewable energy which could play a significant role in solving this crisis. This research presents a performance analysis of the dual axis solar tracking system using Arduino. The main objective of this research is whether a static solar panel is better than a solar tracker or not. This work is divided into two parts, hardware, and software system. In the hardware part, four light dependent resistors (LDR) is used to detect the utmost light source from the sun. Two servo motors conjointly used to move the solar panel to maximum light source location perceived by the LDRs. In the software part, the code is written by using C programming language and has targeted to the Arduino UNO controller. The outcome of the solar tracker system has analyzed and compared with the fixed or static solar panel found better performance in terms of voltage, current and power. Therefore, the solar tracker has proved more practical for capturing the maximum sunlight supply for star harvesting applications. The result showed dual- axis solar tracking system produced extra 10.53-watt power compared with fixed and single axis solar tracking system. Key Words: Solar Pannel, Servo Motor, LDR

Influence of a Dual Axis IoT- Based Off-Grid Solar Tracking System and Wheatstone Bridge on Efficient Energy Harvesting and Management

Influence of a Dual Axis IoT- Based Off-Grid Solar Tracking System and Wheatstone Bridge on Efficient Energy Harvesting and Management

Dual axis solar tracking system for agriculture applications using machine learning

The three most basic amenities required for human survival are food, shelter and clothing. In today's tech-savvy generation, these have experienced a great deal of scientific advancement. Unfortunately, agriculture is still more man power-oriented. So they have to rely on the hit and trial method to learn from experience which leads to waste of time. In proposed work includes an automated system using dual axis solar tracking system and gives crop recommendation for different types of soil to yield maximum. The suggested system is a dual-axis solar tracker based on machine learning that is intended to considerably increase the effectiveness of energy harvesting. The approach makes use of the logistic regression algorithm (LR) to do this. This novel strategy tries to maximize the solar panel's ability to produce energy, leading to increased energy yields. The quality of soil is predicted by using suitable sensors for crop recommendation. The data’s are temperature, humidity, pH of soil, nitrogen, phosphorous & potassium in soil and rainfall in soil are considered. For crop recommendation six algorithms- SVM, KNN, Native Bays, Logistic Regression, Decision Tree classifier, Random Forest Classifier are applied and tested. It is found that random forest classifier gave us excellent results.

Machine learning assisted prediction of solar to liquid fuel production: a case study

In this era of heightened environmental awareness, the global community faces the critical challenge of climate change. Renewable energy (RE) emerges as a vital contender to mitigate global warming and meet increasing energy needs. Nonetheless, the fluctuating nature of renewable energy sources underscores the necessity for efficient conversion and storage strategies. This pioneering research focuses on the transformation of solar energy (SE) into liquid fuels, with a specific emphasis on formic acid (FA) as a case study, done in Binh Thuan, Vietnam. The paper unveils a technology designed to convert solar energy into formic acid, ensuring its stability and storage at ambient conditions. It involves detailed simulations to quantify the daily and monthly electricity output from photovoltaic (PV) systems and the corresponding mass of formic acid producible through solar energy. The simulation of a dual-axis solar tracking system for the PV panels, intended to maximize solar energy capture, is one of the project's illustrations. The elevation and azimuth angles, which are two essential tracking system parameters, are extensively studied in the present research. The project makes use of machine learning algorithms in the field of predictive modeling, specifically Artificial Neural Networks (ANN) and Support Vector Machines (SVM). These tools play a crucial role in modeling PV power output and formic acid production while accounting for a variety of influencing factors. A comparative study shows that SVM outperforms ANN in accurately predicting the production of FA and PV power generation, both of which are the major goals. This model is a predictive tool that can be used to forecast these goals based on certain causal variables. Overall, it is observed that the maximum power produced with 2-axis solar tracker was achieved in February as 2355 kW resulting in the highest formic acid production of 2.25 ×106 grams. The study's broad ramifications demonstrate solar liquid fuel technology's potential as a long-term fix in the field of renewable energy. In addition to advancing the field of renewable energy storage, the study represents a major step toward tackling the global challenge of climate change.

Azimuth Angle and Magnetic Declination to Maximize Solar Panel Efficiency (Solar Tracking System)

This study presents the idea of power production through the solar which depends on the light intensity that falls on the solar panel. This project utilizes dual axis solar tracking system based on intensity of light using Arduino UNO. The hardware implementation includes an Arduino UNO and four LDR sensor for sensing the maximum intensity of light. Two DC motors are used, one motor is used for horizontal rotation and the second motor is used for the vertical rotation. This system includes the implementation of MPPT. It controls the charge and stores it in a battery. Battery provides 12V to inverter where DC voltages convert into AC voltages. SPWM inverter is designed over push pull topology. In conclusion, the proposed system operates on low input power and delivers high efficiency in output.

Design of a dual axis solar tracking system with strong wind protection system

The article discusses a model of a two-axis solar tracker with a control algorithm that provides a system of protection from strong winds, increasing the performance and reliability of a two-axis solar tracker, paying special attention to optimizing the controller board and software. The article also discusses formulas for determining the location of the sun, which can be used in the control algorithm of a solar two-axis tracker, which takes into account both daily and seasonal movements. As well as auxiliary trigonometric functions in the standard library of the programming language. Experimental studies have been conducted to confirm the need to equip a photovoltaic module with a solar tracker to obtain maximum energy efficiency.

Fuzzy Logic Control System for Optimizing Dual-Axis Solar Panel Tracking

The utilization of solar energy through solar panels has gained considerable attention in renewable energy applications. However, the effectiveness of energy conversion is hindered by the misalignment of solar panels with the incident sunlight. To address this issue, a dual-axis solar tracker system is proposed to automatically adjust the orientation of solar panels, enhancing energy generation efficiency. This research introduces a novel approach using a fuzzy logic control system to regulate the movement of stepper motors responsible for adjusting the solar panel positions. The system relies on input data from Light-Dependent Resistor (LDR) sensors to detect the sunlight’s position. Additionally, voltage, current, and angle sensors are integrated to accurately determine the solar panels angular position. The fuzzy logic control system employs the Mamdani method with Mean of Maximum (MOM) defuzzification. A comprehensive analysis of the systems performance was conducted, demonstrating that the manual calculations yielded 0.87 and 0.59 micro steps, while the Fuzzy Inference System (FIS) produced 0.35 and 0.26 micro steps. These results were verified through the serial monitor in the Arduino Integrated Development Environment (IDE). This research focuses on the development of a microcontroller-based two-axis solar panel control system using fuzzy logic. The system’s primary objective is to maximize solar energy utilization by ensuring that solar panels consistently align with the direction of sunlight, both vertically and horizontally. The proposed system offers an effective means of enhancing the efficiency of solar panel energy generation by continuously optimizing their alignment with the incident sunlight.

Model Prototype of a Solar Tracking System Supplying Electrical Power for Sensors Used in a Natural Disaster Monitoring System

Sun is the universe main source of energy. This energy can be converted to useful electrical energy by the utilization of solar panels or photovoltaic (PV) during the daytime with the presence of suitable sun irradiation level. It is important that during the energy conversion process, suitable methods are employed to extract as much energy as possible from the PV panels. Some issues affecting PV performance are the accuracy of the panel’s orientation and tilt angle with respect to the sun position. This causes PV to operate with lower efficiency, thus generating low output power compared to its rated capacity. One of the approaches to this issue is to constantly maintain a perpendicular profile of PV panels towards the sun direction as to capture the sun energy as much as possible, thus increases the PV efficiency. To do so, the conversion system needs a tracking mechanism to help the solar panel to constantly follow the sun’s direction, enhancing the achievement of higher PV efficiency. For this reason, a model prototype has been designed and developed which consists of a dual-axis solar tracking system, with two axis movement direction from east to west and north to south by utilizing the Light Dependent Resistors (LDRs) sensors. This tracking system is developed using Arduino UNO as the microcontroller that allows the PV panel to move optimally towards the high intensity of sunlight via four LDRs and two servo motors. To analyze the PV tracker’s performance, a monitoring system is implemented using ThingSpeak platform as the Internet of Things (IoT) platform interfacing with the controller Node MCU ESP8266. This monitoring system records the data of the PV energy parameters from the sensors’ output employed in this prototype. To assess the system efficacy, the dual-axis tracking system is compared with the single-axis tracking system. The result showed that the dual-axis tracker has efficiencies of 68.46% which is higher compared to that’s of the single-axis tracker. Implementation of the real-time monitoring system has shown a practical and handy way to analyze and monitor the solar tracking system’s performance.

A dual-axis solar tracking system with minimized tracking error through optimization technique

A dual-axis solar tracking system with minimized tracking error through optimization technique

Dual Axis Solar Tracking System with Weather Sensor

Dual Axis Solar Tracking System with Weather Sensor

Experimental Investigation of a Small-Scale Parabolic Trough Concentrated Solar Power ‎Systems

Large-scale systems have a lower levelized cost of electricity than small-scale concentrated solar power systems. Thus, the purpose of the present study is to evaluate the potential of using standalone small-‎scale ‎concentrated ‎solar power collectors in order to generate process ‎heat ‎at ‎a ‎moderate ‎temperature, which directly utilizes thermal energy without the need to generate electricity. ‎A ‎parabolic trough ‎collector (3.6m2) ‎was ‎designed ‎and ‎manufactured, including a dual-axis solar tracking system with and without an insulating function. An ‎insulating ‎cavity ‎was incorporated to ‎minimize the heat ‎losses collected by the absorbed ‎tube. ‎The experiments ‎were ‎carried out during a time of high winds and unfavorable weather ‎in ‎Sabratha City. The findings of the experiments demonstrated that the produced temperature and the collected heat energy progressively increase until they reach their maximum value, and then gradually decrease. The maximum water ‎temperature ‎was 96ºC at ‎a ‎flow rate ‎of ‎‎0.5L/min, and ‎the highest amount of ‎heat energy was 550W/m². ‎Wind speed showed an important impact on the produced temperature; therefore, various comparative experiments were carried out in the same climate condition; ‎the experiment with the insulating function ‎presented the least heat loss, and it takes a higher edge of 11% in terms of efficiency. ‎In addition, the water temperature rose to 120°C where steam was generated at a zero flow rate, while the oil ‎reached 194ºC. In addition, a mathematical model was also implemented to theoretically study energy balance; with little expected discrepancy, its predictions and the experimental results agreed. In conclusion, the results presented reasonable markers of interest despite the poor environmental conditions during the experiments.‎

Initial Design of Dual Axis Solar Tracking System with the Addition of Camera and Cooling System

Solar panels have been widely used to determine solar energy as an electrical energy generator. However, the installation of solar panels is still static, so it cannot follow the sun's movement optimally. Solar panels with dual-axis tracking have a wide range in the tracking process. The range that can be tracked by dual-axis tracking is azimuth angle and altitude, while single-axis tracking can only choose one side of the angle. In this study, the initial design of the dual-axis solar tracking system was made with cameras and cooling systems combined with heatsinks and tubular pipes. The design made is in the form of a CAD design using SolidWorks software, and the design made will be used for subsequent research, In this solar panel, the fill factor results are 0.634, and the efficiency of solar panels is 17.53% with the addition of a cooling system which can reduce the temperature of solar panels is expected to be higher efficiency. The study results were obtained in the design of a solar tracker with the addition of a cooling system that will later reduce the temperature and increase the efficiency of solar panel about 0.38% every 1℃ decreases of temperature.

Design and Implementation of a Dual-Axis Solar Tracking System

A dual-axis solar tracking system with a novel and simple structure was designed and constructed, as documented in this paper. The photoelectric method was utilized to perform the tracking. The solar radiation values of the designed system and a fixed panel system were theoretically estimated and compared, showing that the proposed system is more efficient in collecting solar energy than a fixed solar panel with a 30° tilted fixed surface facing south. The experimental results verified the validity of the prediction as well as the efficiency of the proposed solar tracking system. In a comparison of the data obtained from the measurements, 24.6% more energy was seen to have been obtained in the dual-axis solar tracking system compared to the fixed system. This study possesses potential value in small- and medium-sized photovoltaic applications.

Dual-axis solar tracking system with different control strategies for improved energy efficiency

Photovoltaic (PV) systems are rapidly increasing worldwide but are often installed as fixed flat-plate systems with predefined angles. This paper focuses on constructing a closed-loop solar tracking system (STS) to accurately measure the sun's location in real time, enabling solar panels to collect maximum solar radiation. A sensor-based feedback controller compares sunlight intensity to a threshold, driving a motor to rotate the dual-axis tracking motor and turn the PV panel toward the sun. The system, consisting of an electrical and mechanical system, was designed using the SIMULINK platform and SOLIDWORKS platform for real-life solar tracker systems. Simulation results show that the tracker stand construction in the SP-13 program for three 335-watt PV panels has sufficient strength against normal and critical wind speeds. These findings will greatly benefit the development of a dual-axis real-time sun tracker PV system.

An Intelligent Dual-Axis Solar Tracking System for Remote Weather Monitoring in the Agricultural Field

Agriculture is a critical domain, where technology can have a significant impact on increasing yields, improving crop quality, and reducing environmental impact. The use of renewable energy sources such as solar power in agriculture has gained momentum in recent years due to the potential to reduce the carbon footprint of farming operations. In addition to providing a source of clean energy, solar tracking systems can also be used for remote weather monitoring in the agricultural field. The ability to collect real-time data on weather parameters such as temperature, humidity, and rainfall can help farmers make informed decisions on irrigation, pest control, and other crop management practices. The main idea of this study is to present a system that can improve the efficiency of solar panels to provide constant power to the sensor in the agricultural field and transfer real-time data to the app. This research presents a mechanism to improve the arrangement of a photovoltaic (PV) array with solar power and to produce maximum energy. The proposed system changes its direction in two axes (azimuth and elevation) by detecting the difference between the position of the sun and the panel to track the sun using a light-dependent resistor. A testbed with a hardware experimental setup is designed to test the system’s capability to track according to the position of the sun effectively. In the end, real-time data are displayed using the Android app, and the weather data are transferred to the app using a GSM/WiFi module. This research improves the existing system, and results showed that the relative increase in power generation was up to 52%. Using intelligent artificial intelligence techniques with the QoS algorithm, the quality of service produced by the existing system is improved.

Performance Analysis of Solar Tracking Systems by Five-Position Angles with a Single Axis and Dual Axis

This research presents an analysis of the five-position angle in both single-axis (one-axis tracking) and dual-axis (two-axis tracking) solar tracking systems. The study compares these tracking systems, where four solar panels move simultaneously, with a fixed solar panel system. The findings revealed that the five-position angle Sun-tracking technique resulted in lower energy consumption by the tracking mechanism than in the case of an all-time solar tracking system. The key component of the implemented system is a light-dependent resistor (LDR) sensor for controlling the motion of the motor for five positions on the vertical axis and horizontal axis, processed by a microcontroller to ensure the necessary solar tracking always moves in a perpendicular direction. According to the results, the voltage, current, and power increased with both one-axis and two-axis tracking compared to those of the fixed solar panel system under the same conditions. However, when evaluating the total energy with numerical integration methods, one-axis and two-axis provided 183.12 Wh and 199.79 Wh, respectively. Consequently, the energy production of the one-axis tracking system and the one-axis tracking system was found to be 16.71% and 24.97%, respectively, when compared to the fixed-axis system. Thus, the five-position angles of the sun-tracking technique resulted in lower energy consumption than is the case of an all-time solar tracking system.

Design, implementation and performance assessment of a low-cost dual-axis solar tracker

As the demand for energy increases and the cost of non-renewable resources continues to rise, many nations are working to find alternative sources of electricity before a crisis arises. This effort is focused on transitioning away from conventional energy sources and towards non-conventional ones. Energy from the sun is clean and available in natural quantities, which can reduce our dependence on fossil fuels on a large scale along with providing low-carbon solutions. By tracking the sun’s radiations, the photovoltaic (PV) panels could be directed in such a way that they collect high levels of sunlight. This article presents the design and performance assessment of a low-cost dual-axis solar tracking system based on Arduino. The main objective of this study is to show that the proposed solar-tracking system performs better a non-tracking system. A light sensor and two servo motors are also employed to move the solar panel toward a high-intensity light source. The software domain code was created using the C programming language using the Arduino IDE, which interacts with the Arduino board and its other connected devices. The performance of the prototype was assessed and compared to that of a stationary solar panel of the same rating. In this paper, the authors have highlighted the necessary techniques to build a low-cost solar tracker for extracting maximum photovoltaic energy using real-time data. In terms of power output, the results reveal that the tracking system surpasses the fixed solar panel, indicating increased performance at a reasonable cost. Therefore, the solar tracker has been proven to be very effective in capturing significant solar energy for solar harvesting applications.

A prototype sensorless dual axis solar tracker system based on Arduino programming technique

The research works on designing and manufacturing a device that can generate clean energy, taking into account the geographical location of Iraq, and be economical and cheap, this manufactured device addresses the permanent problems that this type of device encounters. Therefore, a solar tracker has been manufactured that tracks the sun’s rays, to reduce the number of solar panels used, and is an environmentally friendly generator, it works without the LDR photosensors. The work was done on different days, a sunny day, a partially cloudy day, and a cloudy day. Through the work, it was practically observed that the device responded to work and reduced the problem of dispersion, as it was directed by programming from the microcontroller, not by the sensors, from the obtained results, it was noted that the generation losses in the three days under study sequentially are (10.9%, 9%, 4.9% ) and the results are very acceptable, and the anticipated outcome was attained.

Techno-economic investigation of an environmentally friendly small-scale solar tracker-based PV/wind/Battery hybrid system for off-grid rural electrification in the mount bamboutos, Cameroon

The present work demonstrates the techno-economic analysis of an environmentally friendly small-scale PV/Wind/Battery hybrid system for off-grid rural electrification in the city of Mbouda. The major contributions of this work are fourfold: (i) PV/Wind/Battery hybrid system is proposed for the very first time in this locality; (ii) six PV tracking techniques namely: horizontal axis (monthly adjustment), horizontal axis (weekly adjustment), horizontal axis (daily adjustment), horizontal axis (continuous adjustment), vertical axis (continuous adjustment) and dual-axis tracker are implemented in the present hybrid system; (iii) the impact of ambient air temperature on the PV power production is evaluated; (iv) the influence of three different hub heights (17 m, 50 m, 150 m) on the wind turbine power output is investigated. The electric load for the basic needs of a community of 152 consumers (households, hospitals, schools, businesses) such as; lighting, radio, television, phone charger, water heater, electric iron, and laptop, is estimated. HOMER Pro is used for the optimization and sensitivity analysis of the proposed hybrid system. The solutions obtained in the present work showed that compared to the PV power generated by fixed solar panels, the dual-axis solar tracker system was the system that offered the maximum power production (about 7.02%–30.73% more power). In addition, compared to the PV penetration of fixed solar panels, the dual solar tracker also offered the maximum PV penetration (about 7.64%–31.50% more PV penetration). It was also concluded that increasing the hub height (from 17 m to 150 m), significantly increased the wind power generation and penetration. Concerning the economic aspect of the work, it was noticed that the dual-axis solar tracking system presented the lowest levelized cost of energy (LCOE) and net present cost (NPC) when compared with the other aforementioned solar tracking systems. The results also indicated that taking into account the ambient air temperature, impacted the PV and wind power productions. The analysis of emissions allowed us to confirm that the system was environmentally friendly since no greenhouse gas was produced.