Design and Simulation of Self-Aligning Solar Panel

Abstract: Non renewable energy sources like fossil fuels are soon being depleted and in future we will be faced with its extinction. Alternative energy sources which are renewable and available in abundant quantity are required. Sun's insulation fits both the criteria. Hence there are emerging technologies focused on harvesting solar power. The purpose of this projectis to make a self-aligning platform for solar panels for better utilization of the renewable solar energy source that's available. Many of the solar panels throughout the planet are positioned with the fixed angles. To maximize the utilization of the solar array we use a solar tracker which orients itself along the direction of the daylight. The solar tracker positions the panel in a hemispherical rotation to track the movement of the sun and thus increase the total electricity generation. In this project we will simulate and implement the most suitable and efficient control algorithm on the self-aligning solar tracker which can rotate in azimuth and elevation direction. PID Controller will be used to control the mechanism of solar panel. The tracking mechanism of the sun requires light dependent resistor (LDR) as a sensor to sense the maximum light availability. The software used is MATLAB Simulation.

Keywords: Solar Panel, Solar Tracker, PID Controller, LDR Sensors