Solar tracking

ABSTRACT

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

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.

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

Made by Array Technologies (as Wattsun), SolarTrax, and Small Power Systems

Power by electricity (usually directly from panels)Optical Light SensorTimer

Block Diagram

INTERFACE

SENSOR 2

COMPARATOR

MICRO CONTROLLER

SENSOR 1

BATTERY

LIGHTING SYSTEM

WATER PUMP

STEPPER MOTOR

BRUSH

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.

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

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

Hardware UsedSolar PanelMicro ControllerSensorsComparatorBatteryStepper MotorBrush

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.

COMPARATORIn 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).

MICRO CONTROLLERA 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

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.

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.

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.

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.

Components SpecificationsBATTERY12VStandby use 13.5-13.8 VCycle 14.4-15.0 VInitial current less than 0.39A

DC Motor12V

ROUGH ESTIMATION OF COST

Battery 12v Rs 1000Model Rs 3000 Microcontroller Rs 2700Comparator Rs 1600Water pump Rs 700LDRs Rs 1400Lightening system Rs 1900

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.

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.

DISADVANTAGE

Morning wake up Slow to reactSluggish in cold weatherMore expensive to shipProne to wind gusts

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.

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

THANK YOU …