solar tracking

2. ABSTRACT
The implementation and working of 360Degree
sun tracking system with panel cleaning to increase the
output power.

3. INTRODUCTION
In this project we are acquiring the data from the light intensity
senses. Which are then fed to the comparators, and then they are
fed to the Microcontroller.
 The software is developed in the Microcontroller such that It
collects the data from the comparators and then drives the stepper
motor either in the clock wise or in the anti clock wise direction.

4.  Made by Zomeworks and UniRac
 Powered by a balancing material, usually Freon, shaded
from and heated by sun
 Panels turn as vapor shifts from side to side

5.  Made by Array
Technologies (as Wattsun),
SolarTrax, and Small
Power Systems
 Power by electricity
(usually directly from
panels)
Optical Light Sensor
Timer

6. Block Diagram
LIGHTING
SYSTEM
INTERFACE
SENSOR 2
COMPA
RATOR
MICRO
CONTROLLER
SENSOR 1
BATTERY
WATER
PUMP
STEPPER
MOTOR
BRUSH

7. Description
 Here, depending on the light that falls on both the sensors, there
will be a slight potential difference and this causes the
Microcontroller to drive the stepper motor till both the sensors
gets the same light intensity and at this point of time the motor
stops and thus indicates the correct location required by the
software.
 When light falls on the sensor Sensors sensed the intensity of light
and make stepper motor to trace the light source.
 In this two LDR's, micro controller, one comparator and stepper
motor is used.

8. The solar PV modules are generally employed in dusty
environments.
the dust gets accumulated on the front surface of the module and
blocks the incident light from the sun.
 It reduces the power generation capacity of the module. The
power output reduces as much as by 50% if the module is not
cleaned for a month.
In order to regularly clean the dust, a sun tracking-cum-cleaning
system has been designed

9. What is a Solar Cell?
A structure that converts solar energy directly to
DC electric energy.
It supplies a voltage and a current to a resistive load
(light, battery, motor).
It is like a battery because it supplies DC power. 9

10. Hardware Used
Solar Panel
Micro Controller
Sensors
Comparator
Battery
Stepper Motor
Brush

11. L LIGHT DEPENDENT RESISTOR
LDRs or Light Dependent Resistors are very useful
especially in light/dark sensor circuits. Normally the
resistance of an LDR is very high, sometimes as high as 1000
000 ohms, but when they are illuminated with light
resistance drops dramatically.
The general purpose photoconductive cell is also known as
LDR – light dependent resistor. It is a type of semiconductor
and its conductivity changes with proportional change in the
intensity of light.

12. COMPARATOR
In electronics, a comparator is a device that compares two
voltages or currents and switches its output to indicate which
is larger. They are commonly used in devices such as analog-to-
digital converters (ADCs).

13. MICRO CONTROLLER
A microcontroller is a small computer on a single
integrated circuit containing a processor core, memory, and
programmable input/output peripherals. Program memory
in the form of ROM is also often included on chip, as well as
a typically small amount of RAM. Microcontrollers are
designed for embedded applications, in contrast to the
microprocessors used in personal computers or other general
purpose applications

14. Application
of microcontroller
Microcontrollers are used in automatically controlled
products and devices, such as automobile engine control
systems, implantable medical devices, remote controls,office
machines, appliances, power tools, toys and other embedded
systems.

15. STEPPER MOTOR
A stepper motor (or step motor) is a brushless DC
electric motor that divides a full rotation into a number of
equal steps. The motor's position can then be commanded to
move and hold at one of these steps without any feedback
sensor (an open-loop controller), as long as the motor is
carefully sized to the application.

16. BATTERY
A battery is a device consisting of one or more
electrochemical cells that convert stored chemical energy
into electrical energy.
There are two types of batteries: primary batteries
(disposable batteries), which are designed to be used once
and discarded, and secondary batteries (rechargeable
batteries), which are designed to be recharged and used
multiple times.

17. Batteries come in many sizes, from miniature cells used to
power hearing aids and wristwatches to battery banks the
size of rooms that provide standby power for telephone
exchanges and computer data centers.

18. Components Specifications
BATTERY
12V
Standby use 13.5-13.8 V
Cycle 14.4-15.0 V
Initial current less than 0.39A
DC Motor
12V

19. ROUGH ESTIMATION OF COST
Battery 12v Rs 1000
Model Rs 3000
Microcontroller Rs 2700
Comparator Rs 1600
Water pump Rs 700
LDRs Rs 1400
Lightening system Rs 1900

20. SAILENT FEATURES
Solar tracking system, when available, for production maximization .
Performance calculation of the different stages.
ABB patented Switching System for optimizing inverter efficiency.
Integration of plant security and surveillance system.
Production automatic reporting system.

21. ADVANTAGES:
Makes the maximum utilization of solar energy.
Device to track the light source.
Works at good speed and consumes less energy.
Easy to construct and install
It is widely used by the power companies, solar monitoring
stations, high voltage labs and in the R & D industries etc.

22. DISADVANTAGE
Morning wake up
Slow to react
Sluggish in cold weather
More expensive to ship
Prone to wind gusts

23. Conclusion:
The presented tracking-cum-cleaning scheme provides about
30% more energy output as compared to the flat PV module (module
kept stationary on ground) and about 15% more energy output as
compared to PV module with single axis tracking.

24. REFERENCES
• Review of the Maximum Power Point Tracking Algorithms for
Stand-Alone Photovoltaic Systems’, Solar Energy Materials
& Solar Cells
• ‘Analysis, Simulation and Evaluation of Maximum Power
Point Tracking (MPPT)
• F. Boehinger, ‘Self Adaptive DC Converter for Solar
Spacecraft Power Supply’, IEEE PDF file

25. THANK YOU …