Dual Axis Solar Tracker

Hello friends, I hope you all will be fine. Today I share with you a dual axis solar tracker it is final year project. I discuss with you a new idea dual axis solar tracker. In previous post we discuss about stepper motor control using Microcontroller and Keypad.

A solar tracker is a generic term used to describe devices that orient various payloads toward the sun. Payloads can be photovoltaic panels, reflectors, lenses or other optical devices. In standard photovoltaic applications trackers are used to minimize the angle of incidence between the incoming light and a photovoltaic panel. This increases the amount of energy produced from a fixed amount of installed power generating capacity.
In concentrated photovoltaic (CPV) and concentrated solar thermal (CSP) applications trackers are used to enable the optical components in the CPV and CSP systems. The optics in concentrated solar applications accepts the direct component of sunlight and therefore must be oriented appropriately to collect energy. Tracking systems are found in all concentrator applications because systems do not produce energy unless oriented toward the sunlight.

A solar tracker is a mechanical device that works by following the sun on its path during the day. There are two different types of mechanisms that are most commonly used – active trackers and passive trackers.[13]

Active trackers: Active trackers are directed toward the sun by electrical circuitry in the form of light-sensing photo sensors. Motors and gear trains are then employed to direct the tracker as commanded by the photo sensors to the sun’s direction. Active trackers contain electrical components and hence use a small amount of power. Passive trackers: Passive Trackers use a hydraulic mechanism that responds to the heat of the sun. A low boiling point compressed gas fluid is driven to one side or the other by the sun’s heat, creating gas pressure and thereby moving the mechanism along. Passive trackers generally do not consume any power. Typically, active trackers are more accurate then passive trackers, and hence favoured for uses where a pinpoint degree of accuracy is required, for instance where concentrating solar collectors are used. For solar PV applications the accuracy of passive trackers is more than sufficient.

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