Solar energy is rapidly gaining notoriety as an important means of expanding renewable energy resources. As such, it is vital that those in engineering fields understand the technologies associated with this area. My project will include the design and construction of a microcontroller-based solar panel tracking system. Solar tracking allows more energy to be produced because the solar array is able to remain aligned to the sun. This system builds upon topics learned in this course. A working system will ultimately be demonstrated to validate the design. Problems and possible improvements will also be presented.
Introduction
Renewable energy solutions are becoming increasingly popular. Photovoltaic (solar) systems are but one example. Maximizing power output from a solar system is desirable to increase efficiency. In order to maximize power output from the solar panels, one needs to keep the panels aligned with the sun. As such, a means of tracking the sun is required. This is a far more cost effective solution than purchasing additional solar panels. It has been estimated that the yield from solar panels can be increased by 30 to 60 percent by utilizing a tracking system instead of a stationary array . This project develops an automatic tracking system which will keep the solar panels aligned with the sun in order to maximize efficiency.
This paper begins with presenting background theory in light sensors and stepper motors as they apply to the project. The paper continues with specific design methodologies pertaining to photocells, stepper motors and drivers, microcontroller selection, voltage regulation, physical construction, and a software/system operation explanation. The paper concludes with a discussion of design results and future work.
Background Information
This section presents background information on the main subsystems of the project. Specifically, this section discusses photocell and stepper motor theory in order to provide a better understanding as to how they relate to the solar tracker.
Project Design Methodology
This section will discuss the methodology involved in the design of the solar tracker. The project was divided into parts to make the design process modular. The project consists of reading a series of light sensor values, comparing them, and then positioning a motor to align with the greatest value which corresponds to the sun’s position. Follow-on.
Microcontroller
Since the project’s focus is on embedded software control, the microcontroller is the heart of the system. The microcontroller selected for this project had to be able to convert the analog photocell voltage into digital values and also provide four output channels to control motor rotation. The PIC16F877 was selected as it satisfies these requirements in addition to already being provided with the class lab kit. Specifically, it possesses the following three features to satisfy the specific project goals sections discuss hardware and software design considerations.
- 10 bit multi-channel analog-to-digital converter
- 5 input/output ports
- 256 x 8 bytes of data EEPROM memory
Future Work
The goals of this project were purposely kept within what was believed to be attainable within the allotted timeline. As such, many improvements can be made upon this initial design. That being said, it is felt that this design represents a functioning miniature scale model which could be replicated to a much larger scale. The following recommendations are provided as ideas for future expansion of this project:
• Remedy the motor binding problems due to the photosensor leads. This could be done with some sort of slip ring mechanism, smaller gauge wire, a larger motor with more torque, or a combination of some or all of these ideas.
• Increase the sensitivity and accuracy of tracking by using a different light sensor. A phototransistor with an amplification circuit would provide improved resolution and better tracking accuracy/precision.
• Use a UCN5804 Darlington transistor array to reduce the number of discrete components used.
• Utilize a dual-axis design versus a single-axis to increase tracking accuracy.
Everything Related Solar tracker: Circuitry diagram , Micro controller program, seminar report etc.
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