Transcript SOLAR TRACKER PROJECT - Eastern Mediterranean University

SOLAR TRACKER PROJECT
INTRODUCTION:
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Solar tracker is a system that is used to track
sun light to increase the efficiency of electricity
gained from solar cells.
The advantages of solar trackers are;
1) The efficiency is increase by using solar
tracker
2) The space requirement for a solar park is
reduced, and system kept the same amount of
output
3) The return of the investment timeline is
reduced
Types of Solar Trackers
MECHATRONICS COMPONENTS PART OF A
SOLAR TRACKER
MECHANICAL COMPONENTS
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BODY
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SHAFT AND TUBE
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GEARS
ELECTRONICAL COMPONENTS
• ACTUATORS ( MOTORS)
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Mechatronics Components available when the project was
introduced to us:
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Mechanical component:
Body Frame
Shaft and Tube
Gear
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Electrical component:
Sensors
Motors
Solar Panel
Missing Components and items
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Controller
Battery Charger
Effective Power to run the system
Components and parts we Removed:
 12v relay: because arduino can only
supply 5v output
 12v Stepper motor: A stepper motor
needs to have an external controller to
feed its coils (3,4,... coils) one at a time
or using a special sequence. It moves in
steps. Instead of using Stepper motor it is
more effective to use DC motor and relay.
A DC motor can be operated by just
supplying a DC voltage to it.
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Components and things we added:
Controller (arduino)
5v Relay
We built a Battery Charger
Body Cover
12v DC motor
EXPLAINATION OF COMPONENTS THEIR
FUNCTION AND HOW THEY WORK
Mechanical component:
Body: This gives shape to the System, and
hold other components such as the
actuators, solar panel and tube in place
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SHAFT AND TUBE
Tube: is the apparatus that delivers the horizontal rotation
to the solar panel.
 Shaft: is the apparatus that delivers the vertical rotation to
the solar panel
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GEARS:
THE GEAR IS CONNECTED TO THE SHAFT WHICH IS CONNECTED TO
THE 24V MOTOR.
THIS GEAR MOVES THE SOLAR PANEL IN VERTICAL ROTATION.
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ELECTRONICAL COMPONENT
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LDR sensors (light dependent
resistor)
◦ Its resistance decreases when light impinges on
it.
◦ There are 4 LDR sensors on solar cell. 2 of them
are at the cross-corners, one is at the bottom
and last one is at the top of solar cell.
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CONTROLLER
Arduino Uno
An Arduino board consists of an Atmel 8-bit
AVR microcontroller with complementary
components that facilitate programming and
incorporation into other circuits
Sensor
Arduino
Uno
If ( Upper
sensor value is
lower then the
down sensor
value )
Motor 1
moves Solar
Panel Down
If ( Down sensor
value is lower
then the Upper
sensor value )
Motor 1
moves Solar
Panel down
If ( Left sensor
value is lower
then the Right
sensor value )
If ( Left sensor
value is lower
then the Right
sensor value )
Motor 2
moves Solar
Panel Right
Motor 2
moves Solar
Panel Left
Arduino Software Codes
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ACTUATOR ( MOTORS )
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Motors are used to rotate the panel on two
axes and keep the solar panel on position,
this solar tracker uses two DC motors. One
is 12v the other is 24v
12v
24v
NO MOVEMENT
5v
0v
MOVES THE MOTOR IN CW DIRECTION
0v
5v
MOVES THE MOTOR IN CCW DIRECTION
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Conclusion and future advancement:
The project is used to track maximum sun
power, we used to DC motor and an
arduino controller.
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In the future this project can be improved
by installing an LCD display to display the
light photon and it can also be used to
record to daily photon value which can be
used for research purposes.