Solar Panel Tracking Research Articles

Computer Aided Design and Development of a New Solar Panel Tracking System

Computer Aided Design and Development of a New Solar Panel Tracking System

Design of Automatic Sunlight Tracking Solar Panel System Based on Single Chip Microcomputer

Solar energy is a kind of renewable energy, it‘s abundant, clean and environmental protection. In the current theme that calls for saving energy and reducing pollution, it’s undoubtedly of great significance to make full use of solar energy. In order to effectively use solar energy, we developed an automatic sunlight tracking solar panel system based on single chip microcomputer. We use MC9S12XS128 single chip microcomputer as the main control chip, and acquire signal with the sensor composed of photoconductive resistances. According to the signal collected by sensors, the control signal drives step motor to rotate, so that the system can follow the sun, ensuring that solar panel is always vertical to the sunlight, so it can absorb and convert solar energy to the maximum extent.

Design and construction of a microcontroller based single axis solar tracker

Solar energy is rapidly gaining popularity as an important means of expanding renewable energy resources. As such, it is vital that those in engineering fields understand the technologies associated with this area. This paper presents the design and construction of a microcontroller-based solar panel tracking system. Solar tracking allows more energy to be produced because the solar array is able to remain aligned to the sun. A working system will ultimately be demonstrated to validate the design. Problems and possible improvements will also be presented.Key Words: Solar, Tracking, Microcontroller, photocells, drivers, single axis.

An Online, Interactive Renewable Energy Laboratory

An undergraduate introductory science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) class can be a jarring disappointment to new students expecting to work with cutting-edge, realworld technology. Their cell phones are often more technically advanced and real-world than the tools used in a class lab. Not surprisingly, many complain that the STEM labs are dull and antiquated. To address these issues, the authors have created an online lab where students can interact via the Internet with tracking solar panels and solar power measurement tools at the University of California, Santa Cruz (UCSC) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Renewable Energy (RE) Lab in Mountain View, CA. The authors evaluate the impact of using real-life, real-time, real-world solar data on student learning. In identical pre- and post-lab quizzes taken before and after students performed the lab, two thirds of errors made on the pre-quiz were corrected on the post-quiz.

Recent developments in a mechatronics-oriented design project laboratory

This article describes a senior-level undergraduate course in mechatronics/design for mechanical engineers at Polytechnic University in Brooklyn, NY, and presents an overview of the projects developed as part thereof. It is a two-semester course sequence, mandatory for all undergraduate students. Teams are typically formed by groups of three students, and a project is assigned to them at the beginning of the academic year. The assigned projects are related to the design and control of mechanical systems. The teams have a limited budget to complete the project, and can use the available resources at the Instrumentation Laboratory. The projects involve significant effort in microprocessor interfacing, signal processing, and power control for actuators. The anticipated theoretical results are analyzed and compared to the obtained experimental data. The teams submit five bimonthly reports and make a final presentation. The outcome of the best projects has been presented in regional conferences and published in several journals. The projects presented in the paper concern AGVs, heating and ventilation, process temperature control, DC motors, gear transmissions, and solar panel tracking.