DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTATION OF DUAL-AXIS SOLAR TRACKING SYSTEM

Abstract: Photovoltaic panels are used to collect solar energy and convert it into electrical energy. But these photovoltaic panels are inefficient as they are fixed only at a particular angle. This inefficiency can be decreased by designing a solar tracking system which changes its position automatically in accordance with the sun's movement. To track the sun in two directions that is elevation and azimuth, a dual-axis tracking system is developed to capture the maximum sun rays by tracking the movement of the sun in four different directions. One axis is azimuth which allows the solar panel to move left and right. The other axis is elevation and allows the panel to turn up and down. The aim of this paper is to present tracking system consists of Arduino controller, two motors (dc motor_linear) with gearbox arrangement on a mechanical structure to move the solar panel so that sun's beam is able to remain aligned with the solar panel, four sensors, which are mounted on the sides of the photo module by these sensors the solar tracking system becomes more sensitive and it allows to determining a more accurate location of the sun and PV panel as a solar collector. The results showed that the dual-axis solar tracking system is highly efficient for electrical energy output when compared with fixed solar system.

Keywords: Solar Tracking, Dual-Axis, Solar panel, Sensors and Arduino.