Self Powered Automatic Dual Axis Tracking and Positioning System Design

With the expanding demand of energy worldwide, an extreme shortage and inflation of the non- renewable energy resources will be observed in near future. Therefore, before the crucial stage comes up, all the countries of the world are trying their level best to replace fossil fuels with renewable energy resources as the main sources of generating electricity. Solar energy is one of the most effectual resources of renewable energy, which can play a significant role to solve energy crisis. By tracking the movement of sun, photovoltaic panel can be positioned in such a way that it can collect maximum amount of solar radiation. Trackers generate more electricity than conventional static solar panels due to increased direct exposure to solar rays and can be up to 25% more efficient than their static counterparts. While tracking sun, the dual axis solar trackers provide better efficiency as they allow for two degrees of flexibility, offering a much wider range of motion. This paper presents the design and construction of a self-powered automatic dual axis solar tracking and positioning system. It can execute both front tracking and back tracking operation without any manual help and provide a high degree of accuracy without any requirement of GPS or computers. The design requires no supplemental power supply which means it will be self-powered which will reduce any extra operational costs. A small prototype is also constructed to implement the design methodology presented here.