Solar Tracking System

SOLAR TRACKING SYSTEM

Under the Supervision of Mr. Kuldeep Singh

By:- Arun Singh Suhail Khan Rahul

Ramakrishnan E.C.,4th Year

CONTENTS

1. Introduction.

2. Technology used.

3. Components.

4. Circuit diagram

5. Applications.

6. Advantages.

7. Conclusion.

INTRODUCTION

Extracting useable electricity from the sun was made possible by the discovery of the photoelectric mechanism and subsequent development of the solar cell.

A semi conductive material that converts visible light into a direct current by using solar arrays, a series of solar cells electrically connected, a DC voltage is generated which can be physically used on a load.

Titanium oxide cells, with a peak laboratory efficiency of 32% and average efficiency of 15-20% are used in solar cellls.

Light gathering is dependent on the angle of incidence of the light source providing power (i.e. the sun) .

Diagram depicting Solar Tracking System

TECHNOLOGY USED

This project shows the potential system benefits of simple tracking solar system using a stepper motor and light sensor.

This method is increasing power collection efficiency by developing a device that tracks the sun to keep the panel at a right angle to its rays.

A solar tracking system is designed, implemented and experimentally tested.

COMPONENTS

The major components used in this project are

Microcontroller.

Motor driver.

DC Motor .

LDR.

MICROCONTROLLER

The microcontroller used here is a common 8 bit Atmel microcontroller AT89s8253.

It is a low-power, high-performance CMOS 8-bit microcontroller.

MOTOR DRIVERHere we used L293D to drive the motors, whatever signals it receives from the microcontroller on the basis of that it will drive the motors.

An H-bridge is an electronic circuit which enables a voltage to be applied across a load in either direction.

These circuits are often used in robotics and other applications to allow DC motors to run forwards and backwards.

H-bridges are available as integrated circuits, or can be built from discrete components.

DC MOTORA current-carrying conductor generates a magnetic field; when this is then placed in an external magnetic field, it will experience a force proportional to the current in the conductor, and to the strength of the external magnetic field.

LDRA photo resistor or light dependent resistor (LDR) is a resistor whose resistance decreases with increasing incident light intensity.

A photo resistor is made of a high resistance semiconductor.

If light falling on the device is of high enough frequency, photons absorbed by the semiconductor give bound electrons enough energy to jump into the conduction band.

The resulting free electron (and its whole partner) conduct electricity, thereby lowering resistance.

CIRCUIT DIAGRAM

APPLICATIONS

Solar lighting. 

Solar vehicles.

Solar chemical [Solar chemical processes use solar energy to drive chemical reactions.].

Electrical generation [Sunlight can be converted into electricity].

Cooking.

Water treatment [Solar distillation can be used to make saline or brackish water potable.].

Heating, cooling and ventilation.

ADVANTAGES

The main reason to use a solar tracker is to reduce the cost of the energy you want to capture.

They are beneficial because the sun’s position within the sky will change gradually over the course of a day.

A tracker produces more power over a longer time than a stationary array with the same number of modules.

Gain varies significantly with latitude, climate, and the type of tracker you choose—as well as the orientation of a stationary installation in the same location.

CONCLUSION

This presentation serves as a means of controlling a sun tracking array with an embedded microprocessor system. Specifically, it demonstrates a working software solution for maximizing solar cell output by positioning a solar array at the point of maximum light intensity. This project presents a method of searching for and tracking the sun and resetting itself for a new day.

THANK YOU!!!