13th World Congress in Mechanism and Machine Science, Guanajuato, Mxico, 19-25 June, 2011

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Energy Comparison of PV Systems with Mono- and Bi-axial Pseudo-equatorial Tracking Mechanisms
B.G. Burduhos* M.M. Vtescu R.G. Sulescu I. Tatu Renewable Energy Systems and Recycling Research Centre, Transilvania University of Braov, Romnia

Abstract One way of increasing the solar energy conversion efficiency is the use of mechanical tracking systems; among them the pseudo-equatorial type represents a viable option. This paper aims to formulate the optimal pseudo-equatorial tracking solution that can be implemented in a mountain area, for the particular case Braov-Romania. Modeling and numerical simulations were developed, in the prerequisite of the clear sky, considering adjustable values for the main tracking parameters; the results give answers to the following questions: which pseudo-equatorial tracking solution is best suited for the implementation location: mono- or bi-axial tracking? Which is the most suitable orientation program for the tracking solution?
Keywords: photovoltaic tracking system, orientation efficiency, mono-axial tracking, bi-axial tracking, direct solar radiation

consecutive steps, further denominated as step duration (the sum between the working step and the breaking step duration). Next, the results obtained are implemented in the simulations of a bi-axial solution (Fig. 2a, 3a), able to follow the sun in the conditions of the Braov Romania location, in the clear sky prerequisite. Further, similar simulations are made for a simplified solution of the pseudo-equatorial tracking system: the mono-axial tracking (Fig. 2b, 3b); these results are compared to those previously obtained.

I Introduction An elegant solution for obtaining clean energy from solar radiation is represented by the photovoltaic modules. Because their efficiency is quite low (~15%) [1] and highly affected by the module temperature, different possibilities of increasing it are intensively studied. One of them is the use of tracking systems in order to orientate the PV modules towards the sun. This solution, based on mechanical systems with linkages, cams or gears, is widely approached, both in literature [2, 3] and industry [4, 5, 6]. Still, an obvious problem is that the tracking systems increase the overall cost of the power produced. This is why choosing an optimal tracking system (efficient and with a simple mechanism) is important. For identifying the optimal pseudo-equatorial system for a mountain region, particularly for the BraovRomania location, this paper extends the results previously reported, [7], and analyses the influence of the axes number reduction on the tracking efficiency; the tracking efficiency notion is defined, [8], as the ratio between the solar energy received on the PV module/platform and the available solar energy. To reach this goal, the paper analyzes, using numerical simulations, the influence of the time interval between two
bogdan.burduhos@unitbv.ro maria.vatasescu@unitbv.ro rsaulescu@unitbv.ro nicoleta-irina.tatu@unitbv.ro
*

a)

b) Fig. 1. a) Sunray equatorial angles relative to Earth; b) Kinematic chain of the pseudo-equatorial bi-axial tracking mechanical structure

13th World Congress in Mechanism and Machine Science, Guanajuato, Mxico, 19-25 June, 2011

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a)

Finally, based on this comparison, the conclusions resulted are presented along with implementation recommendations. The results allow to identify answers to the following questions: what solutions of pseudoequatorial tracking is proper for the considered location: mono- or bi-axial tracking? What type of orientation program is best suitable for the selected tracking solution? In this study the diffuse solar radiation is neglected. The paper structure contains the following chapters: a) Modeling of the sunray angles, tracked PV angles and direct solar radiation; b) Duration of the tracking uniform steps; c) Bi-axial tracking analysis; d) Mono-axial tracking analysis; e) Responses comparison between mono- and bi-axial tracking and f) Conclusion. II Sun-ray Angles, PV Angles and Radiation Modeling Modeling the sun ray orientation can use two types of angles (Fig. 1), the equatorial ones when considering the relations between Sun and Earth (-hour angle, declination) or the pseudo-equatorial ones when considering the local observer (, ). Solar tracking systems with equatorial angles have a rather difficult construction; this is why systems which use pseudoequatorial angles are preferred.

F
b) Fig. 2. 3D models for pseudo-equatorial systems of type: a) bi-axial mechanical structure; b) mono-axial mechanical structure.

B
Fa C
Bi Bf

Bf

Bf

Bi

Bi

T A
a) a)

15

Amplification Factor

12 9 6 3 0 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90

Pressure angle [deg]

b) Fig. 3. Relative positions of the pseudo-equatorial tracking open chains to Earth: a) bi-axial chain; b) the mono-axial chain

b) Fig. 4. a) Scheme of the triangle linkage with linear actuator; b) The variation of the amplification factor (Fa / F = 1 / cosB) depending on the B pressure angle 2

13th World Congress in Mechanism and Machine Science, Guanajuato, Mxico, 19-25 June, 2011

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(1) = 15(12 T ) ; 360(n 80 ) = 23,45 sin ; (2) 365 = sin 1 (cos sin ) ; (3) cos cos sin sin cos . (4) = sin 1 cos The following notations are used: T solar time; n number of the day; latitude of the observer. For modeling tracking systems angles the same angles are used but noted with star. For estimating the solar radiation [W/m2] captured by the tracking system the following relations are used: B o = 1367 1 + 0.0334 cos 0.9856 o n 2.72 o ; (5)

TR B = Bo exp ; 0 . 9 + 9 . 4 sin

(6) (7)

= sin 1 (sin sin + cos cos cos ) ;

)]

a)

(8) B* = B cos ; * cos = cos cos cos( *) + sin sin * . (9) Bo (5) represents the extraterrestrial available solar radiation; B (6) represents the radiation that reaches the earths surface as beam radiation [9], with (7) the altitude angle of the sun and TR a local size called turbidity factor, indicating the radiation losses in the atmosphere under clear sky conditions [10]; B* (8) represents the radiation received by the tracked PV module, with (9) the incidence angle between the sun-ray and the normal-to-the-module [12]: (Fig. 9, 12, 14, 17, 22) The relations presented in this chapter will be used to determine the tracking efficiency of the bi- (Fig. 2a, 3a) and mono-axial (Fig. 2b, 3b) systems described in chapter III and IV. Further, examples of mechanisms are presented used for the movement of the pseudo-equatorial tracker. The elevation movement * (with strokes 90) is easily made with linear actuators. Unlike them, the diurnal movements * (with strokes >90) are usually obtained with rotary actuators, which are usually less economically efficient than linear actuators (a gear ratio over 5000 is usually needed). Extending the use of the linear actuators for the diurnal movement * is limited by the fact that a triangle linkage with linear actuator (see Fig. 4a) reduces the angular stroke to about 120-130, due to excessive increase of the pressure angle [3] (Fig. 4b). This problem can be partially solved by using a composed linkage consisting of two simple linkages which are serially connected: a triangle linkage with linear actuator (Fig. 4) and a four-bar planar linkage which amplifies the output angle of the first linkage up to 180 or more (see Fig. 5). III Duration of the Tracking Steps The tracking of PV modules towards the sun can be developed either continuously or stepwise [13]. Ideally, it is obvious that a continuous movement is preferred with a tracking efficiency very close to 100%, due to the continuous small incidence angle. Unfortunately such a movement is technically very difficult because of the very high transmission ratio. This means that orientation is recommended to be made stepwise. Also, two types of step-orientations can be considered: with equal and with non-equal step duration (the sum between the working and the breaking duration of each step). Because the

b) Fig. 5. Example of a complex linkage fitted with linear actuator used to drive the diurnal move * with large angular stroke (180): a) linkage kinematical scheme; b) 3D linkage scheme

13th World Congress in Mechanism and Machine Science, Guanajuato, Mxico, 19-25 June, 2011

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exemplified for 2 step durations (0.5h and 2h). The solar radiation response for the same day is presented in Fig. 9.

Fig. 6. The four yearly seasons (with the correspondent days) established using a step approximation of the yearly declination angle variation (steps are left-right and up-down symmetrical to )

Fig. 8. The continuous variation of the solar angles (, ) compared to the step of the PV tracking angles with constant duration of 0.5h: *_0.5h, *_0.5h and 2h: *_2h, *_2h, on the Summer Solstice

Fig. 7. Daily variations of the pseudo-equatorial angles, on the Spring Equinox day: Spr.Eq., Spr.Eq.; the Summer Solstice day: Sum.S., Sum.S., the Winter Solstice day: Win.S., Win.S.

a)

available solar radiation amount (Fig. 9) varies with the moment of the day and the PV module efficiency decreases during noon because of its increased temperature, steps with the same duration are preferred and further analyzed. The problem which should be further solved in this chapter is the finding of the optimal step duration. This duration has to assure a simultaneous fulfillment, at the highest level, of the following requirements: A sufficient high tracking efficiency throughout the year; A relative reduced number of steps, which minimizes the stress during the start-stops of the electrical motors. The problem is going to be solved considering a biaxial tracking system with 4 different (*, *) orientation programs, one for every season in the year; the season division is presented in Fig. 6. The Fig. 7 presents, for demonstration purposes the variation of the two local sun angles during the most relevant days of the year (equinoxes and solstices). Considering this diagram, in Fig. 8 the step approximations during the summer solstice are
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b) Fig. 9. a) Variation of the available beam solar radiation B and of the received beam solar radiation on a PV surface tracked according to the pseudo-equatorial step tracking programs described in Fig. 8: B_BiAx_0,5h and B_BiAx_2h, on the Summer Solstice day; b) Detailed view on the maximum zone of the graph

Fig. 10. The annual tracking efficiency variation depending on the tracking step duration

13th World Congress in Mechanism and Machine Science, Guanajuato, Mxico, 19-25 June, 2011

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Similar approximations and simulations can also be developed for different breaking intervals. The resulted annual tracking efficiencies are graphically described by the curve in Fig. 10. Based on this diagram, the fixed step duration is considered of 1h. This value insures a high enough tracking efficiency and a small stress on the electric motors. An example of the 1h-step orientation programs is presented in Fig. 11a, 11b, during the summer solstice and the equinox days.

b) Fig. 12. The variations of the available beam solar radiation (B) and of the received beam solar radiation on a bi-axial, pseudo-equatorial tracked PV surface (B_BiAx) on the: a) Summer Solstice day: B_Summ.S., B_BiAx_Sum.S.; b) Spring Equinox day: B_Spr.Eq., B_BiAx_Spr.Eq.; c) Winter Solstice day: B_Win.S., B_BiAx_Win.S.

a)

Using diagrams similar to those presented in Fig. 11 and by means of equations (5), , (9) the available and incident solar radiation can be determined; their variation during the most relevant 3 days of an year is presented in Fig. 12. From this diagrams it is obvious that the incident radiation curve closely follows the available radiation and that the chosen 1h-step orientation program has a good accuracy. IV Bi-axial Tracking Case In this chapter two types of 1h-step programs of a pseudo-equatorial bi-axial tracking system are described, along with their incident radiation response, using Fig. 13, 14 and respectively Fig. 16, 17. The difference between them consists in the variation type of the two movements. Consequently we have in Fig. 13 an orientation program with the following characteristics: The diurnal movement * has only 4 different orientation programs, one for every season of the year. These programs are obtained by approximating (see Fig. 15a, 15b, 15c) in 1h-steps the mean variation of the sun-ray angle (see the step-wise black * curve in Fig. 13). For example, in Fig. 15a the curve during day 125 is equally distanced from the extreme summer season curves on the summer solstice day and on the summer season limiting days 106 and 237; During every day of the year the program of * is obtained by approximating in 1h-steps the variation of during that day. Unlike this program, in Fig. 15 an orientation is presented with movements chosen in an exactly opposite manner to the ones previously described. The new characteristics are: The diurnal movement * has during every day of the year a program which is obtained by approximating in 1h-steps the variation of during that day;
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b) Fig. 11 The 1h step tracking program for the bi-axial pseudo-equatorial tracking system on the: a) Summer Solstice day; b) Spring Equinox day

a)

13th World Congress in Mechanism and Machine Science, Guanajuato, Mxico, 19-25 June, 2011

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The movement * has 4 different seasonal orientation programs. These are obtained by approximating in 1h-steps the mean variation of the sun-ray angle (see the blue step-wise * curve in Fig. 15). For both programs types, numerical simulations have been conducted during the extreme days of the summer interval, to evaluate their influence on the incident direct solar radiation (Fig. 14, 17). From a comparative analysis of the curves presented in Fig. 14b and Fig. 17b it results that a seasonal variation of * has a larger negative impact on the tracking efficiency of a bi-axial tracking system.

Fig. 15.a. Variations of the daily sun angle on the summer season limiting days 106 and 237, on the summer solstice day and on the seasonal referential day 125; the optimum summer season hourly tracking program, set on summer season referential day 125 (*_125)

Fig. 13. Bi-axial, pseudo-equatorial tracking, having a seasonal * and a daily * program, exemplified on the summer seasons limiting day (106) and on the Summer Solstice day (172)

Fig. 15.b. Variations of the daily sun angles on the winter season limiting days 281 and 60, on the winter solstice day and on the seasonal referential day 310; the optimum winter season hourly tracking program, set on winter season referential day 310 (*_310)

a)

b) Fig. 14. The available (B) and the received (B*) beam solar radiation on a bi-axial, pseudo equatorial tracked PV surface (B_BiAx), according to the program described in Fig. 13 6

Fig. 15.c. Variations of the daily sun angles on the spring season limiting days 61 and 105 and on the spring equinox day, which is also the seasonal referential day; the optimum winter season hourly tracking program, set on spring season referential day (*_Spr.Eq.)

13th World Congress in Mechanism and Machine Science, Guanajuato, Mxico, 19-25 June, 2011

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Fig. 16. Bi-axial, pseudo-equatorial tracking, having a daily * and a seasonal * program, exemplified on the summer seasons limiting day (106) and on the Summer Solstice day (172)

Fig. 18. Variations of the sun angles ( and ), the constant PV elevation (* = 21, 30, 40, 50, 60) and the PV diurnal angle * on summer season limit day 106, when using daily tracking program on *

a)

Fig. 19. Variations of the sun angles ( and ) on summer season limit day 106 and on the summer solstice day, the constant PV elevation (* = 21, 30, 40, 50, 60) and the PV diurnal angle *, when imposing a seasonal tracking program on *

b) Fig. 17. The available (B) and the received (B*) beam solar radiation on a bi-axial, pseudo equatorial tracked PV surface (B_BiAx), according to the program described in Fig. 15

The annual numerical values of the tracking efficiency obtained using the two previously described programs and their graphical representation are further presented, in chapter VI (Fig. 27 and Fig. 28). V Mono-axial Tracking Case In this chapter, based on numerical simulations, the influence of 3 orientation programs for a mono-axial tracking system on the tracking efficiency is analyzed. The mono-axial tracking system is obtained by simplifying the bi-axial construction and maintaining the
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Fig. 20. Variations of the sun angles ( and ) on the spring season limiting days 61 and 105, the constant PV elevation (* = 21, 30, 40, 50, 60) and the PV diurnal angle *_Spr.Eq. when imposing a seasonal tracking program on *

13th World Congress in Mechanism and Machine Science, Guanajuato, Mxico, 19-25 June, 2011

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* axis at a fixed position. Fixing the * movement is considered to be even less efficient in terms of tracking, as described in [10]. The main differences between the three considered mono-axial orientation programs are: In the first case a daily tracking program for * is imposed (see Fig. 18); In the second case a seasonal tracking program for * is imposed (see Fig. 19 summer season and Fig. 20 spring season and Fig. 15a, 15b, 15c) In the last case an annual tracking program for * is imposed using Fig. 21. Using the three proposed programs, simulations were conducted to evaluate the available and received beam solar radiation. For the case of daily * orientation programs, during the spring season an example is presented in Fig. 22.

Fig. 23. The tracking efficiency curves of the pseudo-equatorial, monoaxial PV system having a daily * program and a constant PV elevation (* = 21- 60) on the spring season referential days: equinox and season limiting days: 61 and 105

Fig. 24. The seasonal tracking efficiency curves of the pseudoequatorial, mono-axial PV system having a daily * program and a constant PV elevation (* = 21-60), in Brasov ( = 45.65 N) Fig. 21. Variations of the daily angles and * during the Equinoxes, the Summer Solstice, the Winter Solstice and the year referential day 125

Fig. 22. Variations of the available (B) and received (B*) beam solar radiation on a mono-axial, pseudo-equatorial tracked PV surface during the spring season limiting days: 61 and 105, using a daily * program and a constant PV elevation (* = 21, 30, 40, 50, 60)

In all the three cases the optimal fixed value of the angle * needs to be established. Its value was determined using numerical simulation using diagrams like those presented in Fig. 23, 24, 25. The Fig. 23 presents the tracking efficiency variation during extreme and equinox days of the spring season when using a daily * tracking program. Using the same program type for the rest of the seasons the diagram from Fig. 24 is obtained, based on which Fig. 25 results. From the analysis of Fig. 25 it results that for every type of * program the optimal * angle is 42. Another important parameter which needs to be evaluated is the optimal angular stroke of the * movement. This is being established using Fig. 26, where 4 different angular stokes are considered (160, 140, 120 and 90). From the analysis of this diagram, at the previously fixed elevation angle *=42, two angular strokes can be considered optimal: first the value 140 because there is merely a difference between the efficiencies in the 140 and 160 cases. The 120 stroke can also be considered optimal because a simpler mechanism is needed and the difference between the efficiencies is negligible (~0.6%).

13th World Congress in Mechanism and Machine Science, Guanajuato, Mxico, 19-25 June, 2011

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Fig. 25. The annual tracking efficiency for the mono-axial, pseudoequatorial PV system with daily * program, with seasonal * program and with annual * program, for constant PV elevation (* = 21- 60)

Fig. 27. The annual tracking efficiencies for 6 types of bi-axial, pseudoequatorial PV systems (1. with both * and * daily programs; 2. with daily * program and seasonal * program; 3. with seasonal * program and daily * program; 4. with both * and * seasonal programs; 5. with annual * program and daily * program; 6. with annual * program and seasonal * program) and the annual tracking efficiencies for 3 types of mono-axial, pseudo-equatorial PV systems, having the optimum * = 42 (with: 1. daily * program; 2. seasonal * program; 3. annual * program)

Fig. 26. The annual tracking efficiency for the mono-axial, pseudoequatorial PV system tracked according to the annual *program, for 4 different * strokes: *=160; *=140; *=120 and *= 90

VI Responses Comparison of Mono- and Bi-axial Tracking The results obtained in the previous chapters made it possible to compare the annual tracking efficiencies obtained with 6 bi-axial and 3 mono-axial tracking systems. From the analysis of Fig. 27 the following statements can be made: The mono-axial systems are with ~3% less efficient than the bi-axial ones; The systems with seasonal * program are with ~1% less efficient than the ones with daily * program; The influence of the * program has a very low influence on the annual tracking efficiency of the corresponded system.
Fig. 28. The annual tracking efficiency variations depending on the diurnal stroke * for three different * programs in the case of: the biaxial tracking with daily * program, the bi-axial tracking with seasonal * program and the mono-axial tracking

Further in Fig. 28 the tracking efficiencies are presented, correlated again to the angular stroke of the diurnal movement *. The results are 3 sets of curves (Fig. 28), every set representing a different program type for the elevation movement *: the top curves represent the efficiency results in the case of a daily * program; the middle set of curves and the curves from the bottom of Fig. 28 represent the efficiency in the cases of seasonal and annual (fixed at 42) * programs.

13th World Congress in Mechanism and Machine Science, Guanajuato, Mxico, 19-25 June, 2011

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VII. Conclusions The main conclusions which can be stated after analyzing these results are: The small efficiency increase, of ~1%, between biaxial systems with seasonal * and daily orientation program makes the seasonal solution more feasible due to the simplification of the software component which drives the positioning motors; For the same reason, when comparing biaxial systems with a daily, seasonal or annual * program where the efficiency difference is even less observable, the annual * program is preferred; From the comparison of the bi-axial tracking systems with different orientation programs it becomes obvious that a seasonal variation of * has a larger negative impact on the tracking efficiency than the seasonal variation of *; In the case of mono-axial tracking systems the optimal fixed elevation angle *=42 was determined; From the comparison of mono- and bi-axial tracking systems the following can be stated: the most economic system is the mono-axial one because for only a ~3% efficiency loss it greatly simplifies the mechanical construction of the PV tracking system; Considering the previous conclusions, in the meteorological and geographical conditions of a mountain region (particularly Brasov, Romania), a pseudo-equatorial system with an annual * program and a fixed * angle is preferred; The optimal angular stroke of the diurnal movement *, in the analyzed conditions, is considered to be 140. For higher values, the tracking efficiency increase is insignificant; All the results and conclusions presented in this paper are valid in the conditions of a cloudless sky; for real conditions, most statements are valid with one exception: the fixed angle * will have lower values. This aspect will be further investigated in the future studies. Acknowledgement This paper is supported by the Sectoral Operational Programme Human Resources Development (SOP HRD), Post Doctoral School, financed from the European Social Fund and by the Romanian Government under the contract number POSDRU 59323. References
[1] Barnett Allen, Kirkpatrick Douglas, Christiana Honsberg, Very High Efficiency Solar Cell Modules, Progress in PhotoVoltaics, 17(1), ISSN: 1062-7995, 2009, pg. 75-83. [2] Helwa, N., Bahgat, A., El Shafee, A., El Shennawy, E., Maximum Collectable Solar Energy by Different Solar Tracking Systems, Energy Sources 22 (2000), 23-34. [3] Mazen, Abu-Khadera, Omar, Badranb, Salah, Abdallah, Evaluating multi-axes sun-tracking system at different modes of operation in Jordan, Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 12 (2008), 864873. [4] www.solar-trackers.com [5] www.degerenergie.de [6] www.dobontech.com [7] Vtescu, M.., Ion Via, Du, A., Diaconescu, D, Hermenean I., Tohoneanu, D., Comparative Analysis of New Bi-Axial Solar Tracking Systems, Proceedings of the Ecologic Vehicles Renewable Energies, Monaco, 2010. [8] Burduhos, B., Optimization of Pseudo-Equatorial Tracking Mechanisms Used for Increasing the Conversion Efficiency of Individual Photovoltaic Modules, PhD. Thesis, Braov, (2009). [9] Meliss, M., Regenerative Energiequellen Praktikum, Berlin Heidelberg, Springer, 1997. [10] Vtescu, M.M., Diaconescu, D, Du, A., Burduhos B.G., Pollution Evaluation Based On Turbidity Analysis, Environmental Engineering and Management Journal, (in print). [11] Burduhos B., Via I., Diaconescu D., Saulescu, R.: The Influence of the Orientation Axis Number on the Efficiency of a PseudoEquatorial Tracker in Brasov Romania, 25th EU PVSEC 25th European Photovoltaic Solar Energy Conference and Exhibition, Valencia Spain, 5-12 September 2010, pg. 4491-4496. [12] Diaconescu, D., Via, I., Burduhos, B., Dinicu, V., The Incidence Angles of the Trackers Used for the PV Panels Orientation. Part I: Equatorial Trackers, ICEEMS - International Conference on Economic Engineering and Manufacturing Systems, RECENT Journal, Vol. 8 nr. 3a(21a) (2007), 281-286 [13] Diaconescu D., Visa I., Burduhos B., Saulescu R.: On the Steps Optimization of a Pseudo-Equatorially Tracked PV Panel, 23rd EU PVSEC - 23rd European Photovoltaic Solar Energy Conference and Exhibition, Valencia Spain, 1-5 September 2008, ISBN 3936338 24-8, pg. 3160-3164.

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