Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews xxx (xxxx) xxx–xxx

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/rser

An imperative role of sun trackers in photovoltaic technology: A review

⁎
Rajesh Singh , Suresh Kumar, Anita Gehlot, Rupendra Pachauri
Electronics Instrumentation and Control Engineering Department, School of Engineering Studies, University of Petroleum and Energy Studies, Dehradun 248007, India

A R T I C L E I N F O A B S T R A C T

Keywords: The efficiency of the photovoltaic (PV) system is directly proportional to the solar energy. The maximum effi-
Sun tracking system ciency from the PV systems can be achieved if the panel is kept perpendicular to the direction of the radiations of
One axis sun. Hence, in order to achieve maximum concentration, radiation and efficiency of the PV cell, tracking of the
Two axis position of the sun with accuracy is extremely important. The various methods of sun tracking system have been
Microcontroller
discussed which includes two axes, one axis, polar axis, open loop, closed loop, hybrid model, azimuth and tilt
PLC
Economic assessment
roll mechanism. The comparison of existing solar tracking systems and methods has also been discussed. In this
paper, various existing solar tracking systems in terms of the controller used like PLC, microcontroller, FPGA to
design the system and their economic assessment have been studied. It is concluded that two axis solar tracking
systems has more power gain with respect to fixed systems. The microcontroller based tracking system with same
size, capacity and location as of PLC based systems are more economic.

1. Introduction literature.

Sun tracking system provides a solution to fixed photovoltaic panels
which lost their productivity when sun is not in the range of optimal
angle. Solar trackers are designed to follow the location of the sun
which results in the 10–25% more output efficiency of the PV panels. It
is observed that the tracking systems are more efficient than fixed
systems of same capacity. Normally fixed PV systems are fixed at the
rooftop of small industries and residence. The advantages of fixed
systems are less complexity and low installation and maintenance cost.
Solar trackers are complex and expensive and more maintenance is
required. The tracking systems are designed for the sunny season but in
case of clouds and snow, the viability of fixed systems are
more. Nsengiyumva et al. [106] elaborates that the solar trackers are
the systems which are designed to track the Sun and keep the PV panels
perpendicular to the Solar radiations to maximize the energy collection.
Yilmaz et al. [30] revealed that the two axis trackers are more efficient
than single axis trackers. The efficiency of the two axis sun tracker is
even more than 98.5%. Author suggested minimum tracking error to
maximize the energy gain [106]. Although solar trackers are more
prone to get damaged in the disaster, yet due to sustainability it is easy
to make it functional again. Floating foundation can also be used for
solar tracker, it increases its ability to tolerate same pay load as fixed
system. The primary focus of solar tracking system is to collect solar
energy for maximum time. The objective of the paper is to discuss the
different methods to control the operation of sun tracker systems and
concludes the comparative study of the existing systems available in the
2. Classification of solar trackers
The solar/sun tracking systems are generally categorized into two
types, one axis and two axis sun tracker system. The classification of
solar trackers depends on different parameters including the control
strategy, tracking strategy, drives and degree of freedom as shown in
Fig. 1.
2.1. Control strategies based sun trackers
(1) Closed loop sun trackers - These type of sun trackers are based on
the principle of feedback control system which receives the in-
formation from the sensors to detect the position of sun. The sen-
sory data is by the controller to relocate the collector [106,107].
The block diagram of closed loop solar tracker is shown in Fig. 2.
(2) Open loop sun trackers- A controller is used to achieve the goal
which computes the status of operation on the basis of current state.
These type of systems are easy to implement and cheap, but with
the complexity of algorithm. The block diagram of open loop sun
tracker is shown in Fig. 3.
2.2. Sun trackers based on drives
(1) Passive sun trackers- These are designed to track the sun to orient

⁎
Corresponding author.
E-mail addresses: rsingh@ddn.upes.ac.in (R. Singh), suresh.kumar@ddn.upes.ac.in (S. Kumar), anita@ddn.upes.ac.in (A. Gehlot), rpachuri@ddn.upes.ac.in (R. Pachauri).

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2017.10.018
Received 1 April 2017; Received in revised form 28 August 2017; Accepted 26 October 2017
1364-0321/ © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Please cite this article as: Singh, R., Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews (2017), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2017.10.018
R. Singh et al. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews xxx (xxxx) xxx–xxx

Fig. 1. Solar tracking systems classification.

Fig. 2. Closed loop configuration of a sun tracker.

Fig. 4. The passive sun tracker [107].

Fig. 3. Open loop configuration of a sun tracker.

the PV perpendicular to the radiation without any mechanical

drives. Passive trackers are further categorized in thermo hydraulic
actuator mechanism, Bimetallic thermal actuator mechanism and
Shape memory alloy thermal actuator mechanism. Fig. 4 shows the
passive sun tracker.
Fig. 5. The two axis active sun tracker.
(2) Active sun trackers- Active tradckers use sensors and electrical
motors to track the sun continuously. Sensors help the trackers to
two axis active solar tracker.
adjust the alignment of the axis perpendicular to the sun radiation.
These are further categorized in three configurations which are
2.3. Sun trackers based on degree of freedom
based on microcontroller and opto sensors, based on auxilary bifi-
cial solar cell and based on date time and sensor. Fig. 5 shows the
(1) Single axis trackers- These systems has only one axis of rotation to

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align the axis perpendicular to the direction of radiation. The most

preferable alignment is alongside the north meridian axis. There are
few configurations of single axis tracker which includes vertical
aligned (VSAT), horizontal (HSAT), horizontal with tilted (HTSAT)
and polar (PSAT).

a. Horizontal-single axis tracker- In HSAT the motion of axis is

horizontal to the ground. It is observed that the alignment towards
north south is better than east-west.
b. Vertical-single axis tracker- In VSAT the movement of axis is
vertical to the ground and aligned in the direction of east to west.
c. Tilted-single axis tracker- The tracker with axis aligned in between
the horizontal and vertical is designated as tilted single axis tracker. Fig. 6. PLC controller based one axis sun tracker system [1].
d. Polar aligned-single axis tracker- In this type of tracker the tilted
axis is aligned to the polar star, therefore it is designated as polar
aligned single axis tracker.

(2) Double axis sun trackers- These systems has two axis of rotation
for better efficiency.

a. Tip-tilt dual axis tracker- In this arrangement panel array is

mounted on the top of pole with fixed vertical azimuth axis. It is
useful to maximize the total collected power.
b. Azimuth–altitude dual axis tracker- In this type of arrangement
tracker has two axis here primary axis is aligned vertical to the
ground is called azimuth axis and other is elevation axis which is
aligned normal to the primary axis. Fig. 7. PLC controller based two axis sun tracking system.

2.4. Tracking strategies based sun trackers

(1) Trackers using the date and time- In this type of tracker sensors
with microprocessor are used to detect the position of Sun with the
help of algorithms. These systems comprises of a control system,
processor, algorithm and sensors. Geographical location is identi-
fied along with time and date to control the actuators and motors.
(2) Microprocessor and sensors based trackers- These systems has a
microprocessor interfaced with sensors. The sensors are used to
measure the sun light intensity and transmit to the microprocessor
then commands are generated by microprocessor to control the
motors.
(3) Trackers using the combination of sensors, date and time- This
type of tracker includes the hybrid tracking system controlled with
microprocessor. These systems comprises of the elements like sen-
sors, data/time to analyze the performance of trackers.
3. History of sun trackers
In 1927, the first solar tracker system was introduced by C. Finster.
It was completely a mechanical structure with poor real time im-
plementation skills. In 1963 an automatic system was developed to
determine the position of sun by A. Saavendra. The position of sun was
detected with mirrors with an error of 0.5° to 1° in 1975 by Raymond
H.McFee. In 1980 the first commercial solar tracker was introduced by
Mark E. Dorian and David H.Nelson. It was designed to align the col-
lector w.r.t the position of Sun. A microprocessor based solar collector
system was designed by Semma and Imamura in 1981 for maximum
solar energy collection. A solar tracking algorithm for a computing
program was proposed by Maldonado in 1983. A tracking system to
improve the efficiency of PV systems was demonstrated by Badescu in
1985. Lazaroiu et al. [20] proposed a combination of PV/CSP tech-
nology to control the system and suggested the requirement of opti-
mization of control strategy irrespective of the environmental para-
meters [106,107]. Lee et al. suggested that the power generated by
photovoltaic system is proportional to the solar energy immersed by
them. Hence accurate tracking of sun is important factor for maximum
concentration [2]. Mousazadeh et al. observed that to find the energy
Fig. 8. PLC based two axes sun tracking system for spherical solar cooker.
sources that could satisfy the growing needs of the world's population
has become a challenging task for the future generations. The process of
converting sunlight into electricity with the help of photovoltaic cells
has helped in reducing the $/watt of delivered energy. The sun trackers
are playing important role in PV systems. Sun tracker tracks the loca-
tion of sun and rotates the PV system to achieve the best alignment with
sun. Sun trackers can improve the power gain by 10–100% depending
on the time and topographical conditions. Polar axes method is found as
one of the good methods to design a solar tracker [3]. Chong et al.
proposed a hybrid system with the combination of two types of sun
tracking systems named Azimuth and tilt-roll mechanism. A formula
was derived for the possible axial solar tracking method [10]. Eke and
Ali designed a system to observe the performance of two axial solar
tracker. An experiment was held for a period of one year to calculate
the annual power yield. It was observed that the double axial system
has 30.79% more efficiency than fixed PV system [12]. Seme et al. de-
signed a voltage and current based MPPT algorithms for tracking sys-
tems with the help of microprocessor [14]. Koussa et al. proposed a
study on solar panels with different configurations for 18 days in dif-
ferent weather conditions to calculate the gain of each configuration. It
was observed that the two axes tracking system provided the maximum
gain. In the cloudy sky all the configurations showed almost same result
with minimum output [15]. Seme et al. developed an algorithm to

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predict the time of availability of solar radiations. Differential evolution
optimizing tool was used to calculate the tilt and azimuth angle. The
solar radiations are measured with the Pyranometer and result shows
increase in efficiency with the use of two axes tracking system [16].
Rustemli et al. observed that along with the study of various tracking
systems, it is also important to emphasis the role of cooling system in
the photovoltaic panels [18]. Chicco et al. studied a photovoltaic
system in parallel connections and compared it with fixed system in
Italy and Germany. The study of integration of the harmonics for con-
verters has also been carried out [22]. Ranganathan et al. developed an
algorithm to adjust the angles accurately. The simulation results con-
clude the accurate tracking [24]. Wu et al. designed a robust tracking
system in Tibet with a protection against wind, clouds etc [27]. Huld
et al. studied one axes system with different configuration under dif-
ferent geographic conditions in Europe. The result showed almost si-
milar output as two axes tracking system [32]. Jain and Agarwal pro-
posed a steady state analysis and peak devices stresses for single stage
photovoltaic system based on inverter topology [33]. Onat suggested a
comparative study on switching power converters with the help of an
algorithm [34]. Vorobiev et al. used a solar panels based green system
to enhance the economic response [36]. Gómez-Gil et al. proposed a
comparative study for different configuration such as one axes, two
axes, fixed system, concentrating photovoltaic (CPV) [37]. Cruz-
Peragón et al. [41] proposed a study on two axis tracking system for 52
countries in Spain. Rustemli et al. designed a sun tracking system for
183watts water heater and the results were compared with the fixed
system. A rise in 29% in productivity was observed on the bases of
results [45]. Pan et al. designed a web cam based tracking system to
achieve the maximum accuracy [46]. Tang and Yu proposed a single
axis tracking system with three positions, aligned along the polar axis.
The results were analyzed to calculate the overall gain of CPCs [47]. De
Simón-Martín et al. suggested a comparative study to analyze the re-
sults of three configurations named dual axis, horizontal axis and fixed
tracking system in Spain [48]. Şenpinar and Mehmet designed a two
axis tracking system to track the radiations of the sun with photovoltaic
collector. An increase in 13% to 15% in the output power was observed
with respect to the fixed system [52]. Alexandru designed a virtual test
bed for integrated sun tracking system which includes electronics with
mechanical part [55]. Revankar et al. designed a MPPT based system to
analyze the current generated by the panels and the characteristic
equation was verified with MATLAB [56]. Alexandru designed a DC
motor based dual axis sun tracking system to improve the efficiency.
The angle of movement was calculated on the basis of dynamic model
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Fig. 9. Snapshots of the (a) the complete system, (b) dish and pan
(c) the controlling components [25].
of the mechanical part on which the forces were acted. The elevation
angle acted as input to the mechanical part and motor torque was taken
as the output [57]. Chang proposed a theoretical calculation for electric
energy and gain of the photovoltaic system at different tilt and azimuth
angles. The radiations were predicted with the help of empirical for-
mula [61]. Lubitz suggested a comparative study for fixed, azimuth and
two axis tracking for 217 latitude sites across USA with the help of
simulation. The two axis tracking system led to an increase of about
34% in the irradiation. Manual tracking was done for non tracking
panels for effective results. The change in tilt angle during a month has
increased the radiations up to 5% for fixed systems and 1% increase for
azimuth tracking systems [62]. Abdallah et al. designed a PLC based
module for solar cooker. The system comprises of a two axis cylindrical
cooker. The module was tested for one year and result showed, the
temperature of the solar cooker went upto 90 °C after using the system
[64]. Noble et al. designed a system where the solar panel was made
inclined at an angle of 10° from the horizontal plane. The solar tracking
was carried out in consecutive cycle. These cycles comprises of start
time and initial point which were observed with respect to sun's di-
rection from the panel [65]. Koussa et al. proposed a study on efficiency
of two axes sun tracking system in Bouzareah for a period of one year. It
was noted that the quantity of the observed output power by the dif-
ferent systems were depending on the seasonal changes [68]. Kim et al.
proposed a study on parameters responsible for losses in high con-
centration photovoltaic systems (HCPV). Three mismatches were con-
sidered to be responsible for losses. One of the mismatch is I-V mis-
match. The second mismatch is misalignment of the modules. The third
mismatch is the improper tracking control. A prototype has been de-
veloped to overcome these mismatches. The study provided the solu-
tions to losses in power problems and led to design the system without
using any extra electric component which was free from power losses
[70]. Kassem et al. designed a microcontroller and MPPT based multip-
functional tracking system [71]. Kelly and Gibson designed a sun
tracking system specially to handle the cloudy conditions. This module
was designed in such a way that during clear sky two axis system will be
in operation as soon as cloud appears in the sky, this module will be
changed into a horizontal configuration where the module will point
away from the zenith thereby reducing irradiance. The result showed
50% more efficiency as compared to the two axis system operating
under normal conditions [72]. Wang et al. designed a parabolic trough
collector to concentrate more sunlight, which can increase the stability
and accuracy of the tracking system. Also an experiment was performed
to calculate the rotation angle of the parabolic collector error in the
 R. Singh et al.

Table 1
Comparison of Programmable Logic Control (PLC) based Sun Tracking Systems.

Author Platform Used Sensor used Solar system configuration Actuator Features

Abdallah et. al. *PLC with open loop system *Current sensor, *Flat plate *For surface tracking 36 V DC *Power gain raised upto 43.87% for the two axes, 37.53% for
[1] motor and screw gear. east–west, 34.43% for vertical and 15.69% for north–south tracking
*Voltage sensor photovoltaics (FPPV) *For vertical racking 24 V DC systems respectively, with respect to fixed surface.
*Power 35 W Motor with a spur gear.
*Current 2.1 A
*Voltage 17 V
*Length 62 cm
*Width 51 cm
Abdallah [4] *LOGO 24 RC PLC *Pyranometer NA *Motor M1 with spur gear *Two axis solarn tracking system
*PLC as open loop system *Motor of 36 VDC with a worm *An increase in gain of 41.34% as compared to the fixed PV.
gear
Ali [5] *A PLC type PS4-201 MM1 *Voltage sensor *Photo-voltaic module *Relay and motor *Developed with SUCOSOFT S40 software
*Current sensor *The output power gain increased up to 20% as compared to fixed
*Two photo- sensors mounted system
Sungur [21] *Siemens S7 200 PLC (SIMATIC) *EM235 module *KA type Photo-Voltaic Panels *Actuator/ motor *32.5% more energy as compared to fixed PV at 37.6 degrees
with rating 64 W, 66 V, 0.98 A latitude.
panel
Abu-Khader [6] *The PLC-controlled system *Pyranometers *Flat photovoltaic system (FPVS) NA *Design and construction of a multi-axes sun tracker MAST (N–S,
E–W, vertical)
FPC, ETC, CPC *Output power increased by 30–45% as compared to tilted fixed PV
cells at 37.6 degree latitude.

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Sungur [7] *Siemens (SIMATIC) S7 200 PLC *EM 232 module NA NA *Output power increased by 42.6% as compared to tilted fixed PV
*Analog module cells at 37.6 degree latitude.
Al-Soud [13] *PLC programmable logic *Thermocouples (type – K) *Parabolic solar cooker *Motor (M1) rotates the panel *Applied sun tracking system with a parabolic solar cooker
controller around the vertical axis
*Motor (M2) rotates the panel *24 V DC was used to power up the motor and PLC.
around the horizontal axis
Abu-Malouh [25] *PLC based frequency control. *Pyranometer of 15.53 lV/W/m2. *Spherical solar cooker NA *Solar tracking, spherical solar cooker
*Thermocouples (type-K) with digital *Temperature inside the PAN reached upto 970C from initial
thermometer having a range of 50–150 temperature of 320C.
0
C *Inside and outside temperature of PAN was measured by 2
thermocouples (type-K) attached with digital thermometer.
Samanta [93] *Programmable logic controller *Cadmium sulphide (CdS) LDR, Wind NA *Stepper motor with motor *A OPC server and a labview DSC module, a wind meter, an ice/hail
(PLC) GE, FANUC PLC. meter, Ice or hail detector. driver P70360 detector were used to monitor and control the tracking system
Kivrak [66] *PLC NA *Photovoltaic panels *DC motor (satellite dish *Provided necessary movement of tracking system, two-small
motors). photovoltaic panels mounted back-to-back.
*The average cost of the system $48.
Tina [69] *PLC340 *Nine-photodiode array, photo diode *Photovoltaic system (PVS)/ NA *Intelligent solar-tracking system based on multiple photodiode
(BPW34) operational amplifier double-axis solar tracker. sensor.
LMC6062IM *SoliSector software system was implemented in a MATLAB
environment.
Lazaroiu [20] *PLC NA *PV module *DC motor and gear *12–20% rise in produced energy using solar tracker.
transmission box
Figueiredo [43], *PLC *Proximity sensor- Omrom EA2 M8 PNP NA *Step motor with Nanotec *Web enabled SCADA platform was used to display data in internet
ST4018L0804, 50Ncm with the help of GUI.
*Opt. Encoder with HP HEDL-
5540 A14, 500 Pulses
Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews xxx (xxxx) xxx–xxx
R. Singh et al.
Fig. 10. Controller based intelligent sun tracking system using PV sensor [40].
Fig. 11. Block diagram of microcontroller based intelligent sun tracking system using
LDR [59].
Fig. 12. Snapshot of the sun tracker-system [59].
Fig. 13. Overall view of the sun tracking system and components [74].
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tracking system was observed to be 0.5° [73]. Chiu proposed a study on
DC/DC converters for regulating the power at output. The logic behind
this study was to achieve asymptotic MPPT control. The controller gain
and the observer gain was calculated by solving the linear inequality
equations. It has the capability to drive the system directly to the
maximum efficiency without even searching for the maximum point
[78]. Rizal and Wibowo designed a PC based sun tracking system to
calculate the azimuth and zenith angles with the help of simulation
[79]. Moldovean et al. showed a study on new system using photo-
voltaic panels. Single rotatory motors was used to ensure the maximum
tracking ability [80]. Drury et al. designed a horizontal one-axis system
which could increase the efficiency of the system upto 12–25% as
compared to the systems facing south with 25 degrees tilt. It was also
concluded that the two axis system was capable of increasing the effi-
ciency by 30% as compared to the fixed systems [83]. Bione et al.
proposed a new approach to track the sun in Brazil. The system was
designed in order to track sun by calculating the gain of pumped water
volume. This was done with and without concentration against fixed
system. The gain has been calculated from the characteristic of the PVP
system with a V-trough concentrator. It was observed that the total
pumped water volume of the system 1.23 which was 1.41 times more
than the fixed system [84]. Lee et al. proposed a MPPT, increment
conductance and artificial neural network based tracking system. MA-
TLAB simulation based study has been carried out and results have been
validated using Card DSPACE-1104. The main motive behind using
ANN based module was its fast response for maximum power point
approximation. The advantage of incremental conductance (IC) method
was its independency from the PV array characteristics [87]. Dolara
et al. proposed a study on different indexes for the better performance
of one axis system [89]. Jusoh et al. proposed a comparative analysis
for seven algorithms to control the system in terms of convergence
speed and complexity. Simulation result showed that Perturb and Ob-
serve (P & O) has helped to track the maximum power point position
[92].
4. Categorization of sun tracker based on the controller
The sun tracker systems are categorized on the basis of the con-
trollers used to control the operation. These systems can be categorized
with respect to PLC controller, microcontroller, FPGA to design the
system. Literature has been studied to observe the behavior of various
methods of sun tracking systems on the voltage–current characteristics
and power generation at the output of the photovoltaic cells. The study
is categorized on the basis of controller used to design the sun tracking
systems.
4.1. PLC based sun tracking systems
Abdallah designed a system to observe the effect of various tracking
systems on electrical parameters like current, voltage and power by
connecting various types of load. The Result showed that the power
gain rises by 42.87% for FFPV, 36.35% for east-west, 33.43% for ver-
tical and 15.59% for north south tracking system as compared to fixed
PV system [1]. Abdallah and Nijmeh designed a two axis electro-
mechanical sun tracking system with an open loop programmable logic
controller to control the movement of the sun tracking axis. The de-
signed system showed 41.34% rise in the energy generation as com-
pared to the fixed solar panels [4]. Ali designed a PLC based solar
tracking system for photovoltaic cells, which was rotated to gain the
maximum concentration of the solar radiations. The results showed
20% more power efficiency as compared to fixed system [5]. Abu-
Khader et al. designed a system to analyze the performance of the multi
axes electromechanical solar trackers under Jordanian climate. The
result showed 30–45% gain in efficiency as compared to the fixed solar
system. The N-S axes tracking system was found as the finest of all types
[6]. Sungur suggested a study on the analysis of the controller based
 Table 2
Comparison of Microcontroller based Sun Tracking Systems.

Author Platform Used Sensor Solar system Actuator Features

R. Singh et al.

configuration

Okan [59] *PIC16C71 *LDRs as sensors NA *+9 V operated 2 Stepper *LDR were used to control the motion of Motor
MOTORs
Rubio [8] *Feedforward open loop control NA NA *+24 V DC motor *A SCADA application was developed in Lab-VIEW to show execution
*Feedback PI *Used 2–10 V dc voltage as control signal
Controller
Alexandru [77], *Controller with MATLAB Simulink NA NA NA *Virtual Prototype was developed in CAD environment with CATIA
for Dual-Axis tracking system.
*Optimized the tracking mechanism, actuator and controller
*STEP file format used to transfer MBS ADAMS from CAD
environment.
Alexandru [54] *Controller with MATLAB NA NA NA *Virtual prototyping of the solar tracking systems was developed in
MATLAB
*The geometry was transferred to ADAMS/View using the STEP file
format, through ADAMS/Exchange module.
*The 3D-solid model was made using CAD software- CATIA.
Oner [9], *A micro-controller (PIC 16F877), *Two photo-transistors (Sharp- NA *The degree of freedom *Designed a three degree freedom spherical motor for sun tracking
PT510). Spherical motor system
Ibrahim [11], *Microcontroller *LDRs *Solar PV NA *Application of one-axis sun tracking system was developed to follow
the position of the sun in turkey
*RS485 is used to interface with PC and plot the graph
*Fourteen solar panels with total weight3500Kg
*Active camera was used for observing the system
Khatib [31] *PIC positioning controller NA *Photovoltaic panels *Motor driving circuit and *MATLAB wass used to design a novel PIC positioning controller
stepper motor system for sun tracking system for photovoltaic panels.

7
Arbab [44] *Microprocessor *Photo-resistor, Electro-optic, *Solar dish *2 DC motor * Tracking system of solar dish with two-axis degree freedoms was
special camera for picture designed by using picture processing of bar shadow a computer.
processing
Jaen [49] *8 bit Microcontroller/ *LDR GL7649. NA *Permanent magnet *Designed a MPPT with photovoltaic systems to improve power
ADuC 812r DC motor.
Thorne [53] *Microcontroller NA NA *Pivoting drive mechanism *Dual Axis Sun Tracking Solar Panel Array US 20100175741 A1
Oner [74], *PIC16F877 microcontroller/10-bit *Position decoder NA *Spherical motor, LCD, *Designed a three-freedom spherical motor to study the performance
Analogue-to-Digital Convertor (ADC) position decoder,, stepper of a PV sun-tracking system
motors
Serhan [23] *PIC microcontroller *Photo-trasistor NA *AC antenna motors *Comparative performance analysis was done for fixed solar system
and the tracking.
Tejwani [26] *Microcontroller NA *SOLAR PV module *Stepper motor *Designed a solar cleaning system.
*Energy output was more than 30% as compared to the fixed flat PV
module
*Energy output was more than 15% as compared to PV module with
single axis tracking.
Yan [29] *Fuzzy controller *A four-quadrant sensor, sun sensor NA *Stepper motor *22.5% energy saved in the proposed sun tracking as compared to
PIC16F877 module fixed system.
Taherbaneh [35], *2 fuzzy controller *A portable pyraometer and NA *Two DC motors *PB (positive big), PS (positive small), ZO (zero), NS (negative small),
thermometer and NB (negative big) are considered as the five variables of Inputs
and output of the fuzzy controller
Wang [50] *8051 microcontroller NA *Photovoltaic System for NA *50% energy was saved as compared to fixed panel system
LED Street Light
Jiao [75] *Micro-controller AT89S52, *Solar illumination sensor, solar NA *Stepper motors *Design and development of 89S51 microcontroller based Automatic
position sensors Two-axis Sun-tracker.
Argeseanu [82] *Sensors (E-W, N-S), two motor drives *Two solar position sensors (E-W, N- NA NA *The collected solar energy increased by 40%-50% using tracking
systems (E-W, N-S) and a controller S), matrix Sun sensor (MSS). systems (5- 8% by N-S tracker and 35–42% by E-W tracker) as
system. compared to fixed system.
Kassem [71] *Microcontroller *Three photo-resistors NA *Stepper motor *64% rise in efficiency in summer as compare to fixed structure
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 Table 2 (continued)

Author Platform Used Sensor Solar system Actuator Features

configuration
R. Singh et al.

Seme [91] *Microcontroller NA NA *PMDC 2 *Implemented the optimal tracking strategies for two-axis PV system
*PMDC 1 *The maximum gain of the energy using new tracking algorithm.
Huang [39] *Controller of 1A-3P tracker. NA *3-Position Sun Tracking NA *Improved Solar PV system efficiency Using One-Axis 3-Position Sun
Tracking
*Built PV systems (130Wp PV, 100Ah/12 V battery, 25 W LED)
Sharan and Prateek *Basic stamp module microcontroller *Rotation detection circuit NA *The stepper motor. *worm gear ratio 1:20 and the spur gear reduction of 15 to 100 was
[58] used with stepper motor.
Song [85] *Microcontroller C8051F020 *Photosensitive arrays NA *Stepper motor *A high precision tracking system was designed for concentrated
sunlight transmission via fibers
*Designed a two axis tracking could achieve satisfactory precision
*GPS was used to display the coordinate of location
Batayneh [88] *FUZZY logic controller *Four sun light sensor *Photovoltaic (PV) system *Motor *Fuzzy logic controllers allow the interaction of multiple inputs and
multiple outputs as compare to classical controller
Yilmaz [30] *PIC controller *LDR NA *Stepper motor *Designed a differential mechanism to control the two axes sun
tracker using controller
*New circuit scheme of the designed system for vertical axis and
horizontal axis movement
Mirza [86] *Controller with swarm intelligence NA NA *DC motor based servo *PID controller with swarm intelligence algorithm was used to track
systems the sun.

8
Fig. 16. 1A-3P sun tracking PV [39].
Fig. 15. One-axis sun concentrator at (UTAR) [19].
Fig. 14. Automatic sun-following system with a Pyrheliometer [17].

Fig. 17. Misalignment problem with sun tracker with 1A-3P installation [39].

solar tracking system for one year at Turkey at 37.6° latitude. The result

compared to the fixed panels [7]. Sungur proposed a study on PLC

shows the 42.6% of rise in output efficiency with two axes system as
Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews xxx (xxxx) xxx–xxx

based sun tracking system and fixed system. The experimental set up
 R. Singh et al.

Table 3
Comparison of personal computer based sun tracking systems.

Author Platform Used Sensor Solar system Actuator Features

configuration

Roth [17] *CPU *Four-quadrant photodiode/ A four- NA *Closed loop servo system *Motion was in two axis called HH, (east–west motion) and axis EE.
quadrant photo detector, *Sensors were placed in NE, NW, SW and SE zone and called four-quadrant
pyrheliometer photodiode sensor.
Chong [19] *Computer RS232 A *CCD camera NA *Stepper motor to control Azimuth and * Open-Loop solar-tracking system with integrated algorithm
elevation angel,12 bit optical encoder, *The real time solar images were captured with a CCD camera with 640 ×
relay 480 pixels resolution. Camera was connected to a computer with PCI video
card for real time data transmission and recording.
Arturo [51] *A commercial plug and play *webcam NA *DC motor with its driver *High–Precision Solar Tracking System
webcam was used (Genius 312 S), *MATLAB software was used to process the sun images and fixed the

9
centroid.
*Computer keyboard was used to control the direction of DC motor
manually.
Chong [60] *Computer and CCD camera NA *Non-Imaging *Motor driver+ stepper motor *Demonstrated a formula for One-axis Solar Tracking System integrated with
open loop control to achieve the high accuracy.
Planar Concentrator *640 × 480 pixels resolution CCD camera was used.
(NIPC)
Azizi [76] *Computer *LDR NA *Motor *Fuzzy logic and image processing were used to get high-precision sun
tracking system.
Image processing *Image processing provided the small tracking errors (less than 0.15
degrees).
Eldin [38] *Computer *Solar irradiance sensor NA NA *Mathematical model was designed to observe the performance of PV panel
with hot and cold regions
*The experimental setup consists of PV panel, the turn table, the solar
irradiance sensor and the device for measuring V-I characteristic.
Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews xxx (xxxx) xxx–xxx
R. Singh et al.
Fig. 18. The MBS model of equatorial tracking system [57].
Fig. 19. The prototype of the equatorial tracking system [57].
Fig. 20. Sun image tracking platform [64].
Fig. 21. Dual-axis sun tracking platform [40].
was implemented for the test. The results verified that the sun tracking
systems are more effective than fixed systems [21]. Al-Soud et al.
proposed a PLC based solar cooker two axes tracking system. The ob-
servation from experiment showed the maximum temperature inside
the cooker was 90° celsius with surrounding temperature of 360 celsius.
10
Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews xxx (xxxx) xxx–xxx
Fig. 22. Hardware architecture of dual axis tracking system [40].
It was concluded that the cooker can be used to warm or cook the food
in the areas with abundant sun rays [13]. Abu-Malouh et al. designed a
two axis tracking system for solar cooking dish. The temperature inside
the pan was observed as 93 °C with outside temperature of 32 °C [25].
Samanta et al. suggested a study on PLC based sun tracker for both
single axis and dual axis tracking system. Testing has been carried out
with the help of GE, FANUC PLC [93]. Kivrak elaborated the problem of
low efficiency of system with converting solar energy into electrical
energy using photovoltaic panels. The sun tracking systems were re-
commended as better option for the same [66]. Tina et al. designed and
implemented to find the azimuth angle and solar height angle [69].
Lazaroiu et al. proposed a comparative study for performance analysis
of two PV systems one was fixed and other was solar tracker one was
fixed and other was solar tracker with same input parameters. The sun
tracking system showed more power production as compared to the
fixed panels [20]. Bentaher et al. designed and tested a sun tracking
system with LDRs [42]. Figueiredo et al. designed and developed an
efficient solar tracking system [43]. Fig. 6 shows the block diagram of
PLC controller based one axes sun tracker comprises of PLC controller,
DC motor, screw gear, FPPV surface. Fig. 7 shows the block diagram of
two axes sun tracker, which comprises of PLC controllers, DC motors,
screw gear, spur gear and FPPV surface [1].
Two axes sun tracking system has many application and one of the
popular application is solar cooker. Fig. 8 shows the block diagram of
PLC controller based spherical solar cooker with two axes sun tracking
system which comprises of PLC controller, DC motors, screw gear, spur
gear and solar cooker. Riyad et al. designed a solar cooker at Applied
Science University in Amman Jordan. Thermocouples of type-K after
calibration were coupled to digital thermometer ranging from 50 to
150 °C for temperature measurement inside and outside pan. Thermo-
couples had an accuracy of 0.2 °C and were of Testo 110 type [25].
Fig. 8 PLC based two axes sun tracking system for spherical solar cooker
and Fig. 9 shows the snapshot of the solar cooker.
Table 1 explores the comparison of the Programmable Logic Control
(PLC) based Solar Tracking Systems with respect to platform, sensors,
solar configuration, actuators and features of the designed systems.
4.2. Microcontroller based sun tracking systems
Rubio et al. proposed the use of high concentration solar panels to
increase the energy storage per unit area. Some tests were performed to
point the errors in these systems. It was found that any error can cause
terrible fall in the efficiency of the system like misalignment of the
surface. A hybrid model with closed loop and open loop systems was
designed to track the location of the sun. It was observed that the sun
should not be tracked all the time, some specific time slots can be
R. Singh et al. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews xxx (xxxx) xxx–xxx

identified for tracking [8]. Oner et al. observed that the energy stored is

*T-S fuzzy based system was developed, which was capable to track the

*External system library-ESL (.dll) was used for data transmission from
*ADAMS and MATALB were integrated with the control system model.
*The MATLAB simulation result verified the effectiveness of controller.

*To increase the efficiency of photovoltaic a novel open-loop tracking

*To get the clear sun images infrared filter lens and neutral filter lens
* Automatic and Manual adjustment of solar panel inclination, delay

*NI LabVIEW platform also was used for open-loop tracking strategy

tracking controller with image processing and accuracy of 0.04° was

directly proportional to the radiations from the sunlight fall on the

function, motor power off, MPPT and automatic homing at night.

*The problem of unstability of tracker was reduced by using the

panels, so the sun trackers are the important systems to achieve the
maximum power generation. Spherical motors can be used for the
movement of the solar systems [9]. Sefa et al. designed a single axes
solar tracking system to follow the sun and communicate the details to
the personal computer in terms of a graphical representation. It was
observed that the efficiency of the designed system was higher than the
fixed panels [11]. Serhan et al. suggested a study on the tracking system

*Webcam was used to take sun images.

with different configurations for different weather conditions for me-
chanical structure with different control methods [23]. Tejwani et al.
designed a 8051 microcontroller based track system with the dust re-
moving capability. It was concluded that this type of system is suitable
for country like India with dusty weather [26]. Hossain et al. designed a
MATLAB to ADAMS.

web camera based system to focus towards the sun. The system was
Strategy was used.

programmed with MATLAB [28]. Yan et al. designed a solar tracking

were used.
system in such a way that it will be perpendicular to sun with the help
achieved.
Features

of sensors and motors to achieve maximum solar radiations a system

[29]. Yilmaz et al. proposed an experimental test bed to calculate the
sun

incidence angle at any location on the earth [30]. Khatib et al. proposed
a study on adjusting the tilt angles in Malaysia with the help of an
*An NI 9516 motion card and an

algorithm. The results were analyzed on MATLAB simulation [31].

*MAXON ROBOTIS DX-117

Taherbaneh et al. designed a MPPT and fuzzy based sun tracker with
ADP-055-18 Motor driver.

DC to DC converter to achieve the maximum power [35]. Huang et al.

designed and tested an one axes tracking system operating on 1A-3P.
The results showed rise in the efficiency as compared to fixed system
*Stepper motor
*Servo motor

[39]. Arbab et al. proposed an logic in terms of computer image pro-

Actuator

cessing is proposed, which is independent of geographical conditions

motors

[44]. Jaen et al. designed a MPPT logic based tracking system for 50 W
NA

to increase the efficiency [49]. Wang et al. designed a MCU based two
axes tracking system with electromechanical system. To make it in-
telligent eight photodiodes are interfaced and the output signal is am-
*Solar Array System

plified to control the motors accordingly [50]. Thorne designed a mi-

*PV panel KC65T
configuration

crocontroller based two axis sun tracking system to coordinate both tilt
Solar system

and the pivot axis to align all the panels in array to be perpendicular to
the radiations [53]. Alexandru et al. created a virtual test bed to check
the efficiency of integrated sun tracking system, with the mechanical
NA

NA

NA

system with control system [54]. Sharan and Prateek derived a 3D ki-
*Electro-optical tracking method in sunny

nematics equations based dynamics equations for tracking the spherical

*Four-quadrant light sensors and bar-

bodies. It was observed that various factors play role in sun tracking
systems and one of them was observed as change in the Earth's or-
ientation because of the gravitational pull of the moon and the Jupiter
time/ photosensitive resistor

[58]. Bingol et al. designed a microcontroller and PC based monitoring

system for sun tracking system. Sun tracking in both azimuth and ele-
shadow photo sensors

vation plane was possible with this system [59]. Oner et al. suggested a
study on a two axis sun tracking system in Denizli, Turkey that has the
*Light sensor

capability to work over a fixed tilted system under various climatic

*PV sensor

conditions. The output led to a rise in efficiency [74]. Jiao et al. de-
Sensor

signed a microcontroller based sun tracking system to keep the PV

NA

panel perpendicular to the radiations of the sun in order to get max-

imum possible output. Two axis tracking system along with position
*Tracking controller with embedded
*dSPACE DS1104 R & D controller

sensors was used [75]. Visa et al. proposed a virtual model to increase
*Expert FLC implanted in FPGA
Comparison of FPGA based Sun Tracking Systems.

the tracking ability with low energy consumption. In this the multibody
image processing algorithm,
*NI 9642 FPGA controller

mechanical part was connected to dynamic part of the actuators and

controller. With the help of this virtual model, tracking mechanism was
carried out effectively thereby increasing efficiency [77]. Song et al.
Platform Used

designed a system which was capable to track the focal spot of the sun
with a position of less than 0.3 mm precisely with photodiodes. The
*LABVIEW
*MATLAB
*ADAMS

tracking angle was calculated with the help of the formula with the
board

ratio of position resolution to focal length upto 0.1° [85]. Sabir and
Ali suggested a comparative study between three algorithms named as
Alexandru [57]

firefly algorithm (FFA), Cuckoo Search algorithm (CSA) and particle

Hamed [67]

swarm optimization (PSO) to tune the PID controller of dual axis

Chen [40],
Peng [94]

Lee [63]
Author

tracking system. CSA has been proved as the best among three because
Table 4

of its fast convergence rate, std deviation of design parameters and

small variations [86]. Batayneh et al. proposed a fuzzy controller based

11
R. Singh et al.
Table 5
Efficiency comparison of some existing tracking systems.
Manufacturer Type of sun tracker
Nordic India Solution, India *Single axis
*Dual axis
Mecasolar, India *Single axis
*Dual axis
Scorpius Tracker, India *Single axis
*Dual axis
Smart Track, India *Single axis
*Dual axis
Array Technologies Inc. (ATI), United states *Single axis
*Dual axis
NEXTRacker, North America *Single axis
Sun Action Tracker, San Antonio *Single axis
*Dual axis
dual axis tracking system to align the panel perpendicular to the sun
radiations should be perpendicular to the surface of the panels with the
help of motors and four PV sensors. Simulation has been carried out for
the same [88]. Argeseanu et al. suggested the position sensors with
additional features to track the sun. This was done to maximize the
incoming solar radiations. It also focused on the effective cost of the
entire system [82]. Seme et al. proposed a new method for determining
the optical trajectory. It was concluded that the trajectory determina-
tion is not linear and has bounded optimization problem. Differential
evolution was used as a tool for optimization [91].
Sun tracking system can be made intelligent with the use of sensors
which enables the system to follow the location of sun. Fig. 10 shows
the block diagram of intelligent sun tracking system comprises of PV
sensor, controller, servo motor, PV panel, DC-DC converter and load.
Fig. 11 shows the block diagram of microcontroller based intelligent
sun tracking system comprises of microcontroller, PC, LDRs and motors.
Figs. 12 and 13 shows the snapshot of solar tracker.
Oner et al. proposed a solar tracker system with PV solar module to
increase the efficiency. It was suggested so that more and more radia-
tion would fall on the panel to increase the output efficiency [74].
Table 2 explains the comparison of the microcontroller based sun
tracking systems with respect to platform, sensors, solar configuration,
actuators and features of the designed systems.
4.3. Personal computer based sun tracking systems
Roth et al. designed a closed loop servo based system. Solar radia-
tion was measured with the help of Pyrheliometer and photo detector
was used to locate the position of the sun. The whole set up was tested
in Valparaiso, Chile [17]. Chong et al. designed an open loop tracking
system with a CCD camera to capture the solar images. On the bases of
these images tracking errors were calculated. The error correction wass
based on the change in the angle value in the algorithm and recheck the
performance. The accuracy of 2.99 mrad was achieved with the de-
signed algorithm [19]. Eldin et al. designed and tested a system for
different conditions with different weather conditions [38]. Wang
et al. designed a web cam based system with electromechanical system.
It was tested for different weather conditions including cloudy sky and
the accuracy of 0.1° was achieved [51]. Chong et al. observed that the
high concentration solar systems were required to convert the solar
energy into electrical or thermal energy. To achieve high efficiency and
accuracy tracking systems were required. Some of good solar collectors
are parabolic dish, parabolic trough etc [60]. Azizi and Ghaffari sug-
gested a study on image processing where the device worked on the
concept of pinhole imaging. This helped rays to fall on the screen
Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews xxx (xxxx) xxx–xxx
Efficiency (w.r.t fixed PV panels) Features
*32% rise using horizontal single axis *Wind protection
*35–40% rise using dual axis *Microcontroller based control
*30% increase *Astronomically controlled
*18–25% increase *100 kW to 500 kW tracker
*WiFi enabled control
* Wind Station communication
*25–35% increase *Easy access
*60–75% reduction in installation time
*68% rise with horizontal *Not suitable for Northen climate with snow
single axis *Less complicated
*62% rise with vertical single axis *Less expensive
*78% rise with Tip Tilt Dual Axis
82% rise with Azimuth-Altitude Dual Axis
NA *Zigbee based wireless network
* Self powered controller
NA *Real time sensing
through the pinhole to act as a sun spot. This sun spot would help in
deciding the orientation of the panel. This system was independent of
calibrations and geographical location [76]. Lamoureux et al. proposed
a unique way of tracking with Kirigami. Cut patterns were made in thin
film of gallium arsenide solar cells which were further stretched to
produce tilted surfaces. These surfaces would be controlled within ± 1°.
Also the mechanical and optical properties of the system were analyzed
[81]. Sinha and Chandel suggested a study on different hybrid config-
urations for increased power generation. Fixed tilt, monthly tilt, yearly
tilt and six different sun tracking PV systems were carried out with
Hybrid model. The optimum configurations of all tracking systems was
7 kWp. The optimum configuration for two axis has been around
8 kWp. It was concluded that two axis tracking system has much ad-
vantages in spite of its large cost [90]. Roth et al. designed a system
which comprises of axis HH, 1 (east-west motion) and axis EE, 2 (ele-
vation). Pyrheliometer was used to follow the sun position and the
system was realized with the help of two axis combination. The system
worked in closed loop mode [17]. Chong et al. designed an open loop
system for the prototype in order to keep the system simple and cost
effective. The system comprises of 12 bit encoders with 2048 counts per
revolution, sensors for open loop were attached with the shafts aligned
along the elevation and azimuth axis of the solar concentrator. This was
done in order to get turning angles and also to give feedback to com-
puter about any change in the reading of the encoder [19]. Fig. 14
shows automatic sun-following system with a Pyrheliometer and Fig. 15
shows an one-axis solar concentrator at (UTAR).
Huang et al. suggested the comparison tests for 1A-3P direction of
installation of two LED system. Both the systems had 230 Wp photo-
voltaic module, a lead acid battery of 100Ah/24 V and also a 100 W
LED lighting fixture. There was an rise in power generation of about
25.4% at Taipei. If the same system was used with solar energy re-
sources then the system would show an increase of 37.5% in power
generation. The 1A-3P was very easy to mount on the walls [39].
Fig. 16 shows 1A-3P sun tracking PV. Fig. 17 shows Misalignment
problem with solar tracker with 1A-3P installation.
Table 3 explains the comparison of the Personal Computer based
sun tracking systems with respect to platform, sensors, solar config-
uration, actuators and features of the designed systems.
4.4. FPGA and algorithm based sun tracking systems
Chen et al. designed a FPGA based dual axes tracking system with
MPPT technique. The system was designed with unique feature which
allow it to track the sun in the day time and come back to its original
position in night. PSO was used to develop the algorithm for the system
12
R. Singh et al. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews xxx (xxxx) xxx–xxx

[40]. Alexandru proposed a virtual prototype due to its advantages as

Approximate Cost ($) per the simulation results. Virtual prototypes led to simplicity and led to
less time consumption of testing. It was also cost effective [57]. Fig. 18
shows The MBS model of equatorial tracking system and Fig. 19 shows
the prototype of the equatorial tracking system.

349.99
1000

2900

2500
Lee et al. proposed a system in which the sensor takes the image of
372

150

430

219
the sun, other objects with unavoidable noises. Also it was observed
that, to obtain a clear image of the sun was next to impossible. Sun
PLCAC500-ECOPM554-TA1 image simulator helps in generating solar images which were taken by

140CPU43412A2MPLC
6ES7421–18L01–0AA0

high resolution camera. The simulator represents the trajectory of the

sun in the sky [63]. Fig. 20 shows the sun image tracking platform.
IC693CPU374

Hamed et al. proposed a MATLAB simulation to test the sun tracking

1768-CNS

YTR48AH
system and the result showed the rise in output power [67]. Peng et al.
D64711
Model

suggested a study on servo tracking system with the help of Dspace

Gx81

ds1104 controller board. This system helped to align the panels, per-
pendicular to the direction of sun rays. The electro-optical tracking and
Approximate cost of PLC modules used to design the sun tracking systems [source: plchardware.com, aliexpress.com, controllerservice.com, ebay.com] [Accessed on 18th August 2017].

tracking of sun trajectory has also been combined in this study. Simu-
Devicenet, CanOpen, Interbus
Secondary networking/bus

lation has been done using MATLAB/Simulink and result shows an in-
Profibus, Devicenet, Asi

crease in efficiency [94]. Fig. 21 shows the Dual-axis sun tracking

platform and Fig. 22 shows the hardware architecture of dual axis
Profibus, Devicenet

tracking system.
CanOpen, Asi
ProfiBus (*4)

Table 4 explains the comparison of the FPGA and algorithm based

families.

sun tracking systems with respect to platform, sensors, solar config-

uration, actuators and features of the designed systems.
NA
NA
Asi

5. Leading manufacturer of sun trackers

Genius, Devicenet, Profibus, Ethernet/IP

Profibus, ethernet, ethernet/IP, SERCOS,

Profibus, Devicenet, Arcnet, Modbus,
ControlNet, DeviceNet, Ethernet/IP

The leading manufactures of sun tracker systems are depicted in

Primary bus "families" (native)

Table 5. These single and dual axis tracking systems have efficient
operation and extensive features as,
Modbus, Modbus TCP
Melsecnet, CC-Link,

6. Economic assessment
Profibus, Profinet

S31, Ethernet

Initial cost and running cost of PV tracking system make them

SERCOS III

costlier than fixed PV systems. To make PV system economical PV

modules can be connected in series or parallel for more energy gen-
NA

eration. Senpinar A.Cebeci M. proposed a double axis solar tracker and

track the sun position with single computer to achieve higher energy
www.telemecanique.com/en/functions_discovery/function_

gain to prove its economic advantage [108]. The cost per watt for fixed
www.gefanuc.com/as_en/products_solutions/index.html

http://www.boschrexroth.com/country_units/america/

solar panels is $2- 2.4/watt which means it will give payback in 1.5–3.5
years for crystalline silicon and 1–1.5 years for thin film technology. For
https://mall.automation.siemens.com/DE/guest/

single axis this cost is $1.17/watt which gives payback in 3 years after
www.hitachi-ds.com/en/product/index.php

investment. Dual axis solar tracking system has cost of $0.36/watt with
payback in 3.5–5 years. The implementation cost of passive tracking
www.mitsubishi-automation.com/

system is $1.2–2/watt with payback in 5years, which is much higher as

www.rockwellautomation.com/

compared to others [107]. Poppi et al. discussed the review on solar

heat pump systems. The main objective of the study is to compare the
guiWelcome.asp?lang=en

economic performance. The results show lack of comparative analysis

on economic assessment in the literature and study also shows the
united_states/en/
www.abb.com/

falling trend of SHPs with increase in solar resources [95].

Hammad et al. discussed the comparison for economic parameters for
Web Link

fixed and double axis tracking systems with the same capacity, installed
5.htm

at Hashemite University, Jordan. The experiment was set for a period of

one year. The results show that the fixed PV system has more practical
Rockwell / Allen Control Logix, Compact

implementation and more feasibility in Jordan [96]. Hafez et al. pre-

SourceSiemens- S7–400, S7–300,LOGO

sented a review analysis of azimuth and tilt angle, on the basis of op-
timization methods for different mathematical models [99]. Madale
and Boehm presented a review on nonimaging concentrating techni-
Hitachi/ H series, EH−150
Grp. Schneider / Modicon

ques for stationary applications of the PV panels and also suggested it

Bosch-Rexroth/ CML65
GE Fanuc/ RX7i, RX3i

for passive solar tracking technique [98]. Asiabanpour et al. discussed

Mitsubishi/ Q series
PLC Manufacturer

about the factors which are responsible for maximum output of the PV
panels and concluded the benefits of financial assessment of a dual axis
ABB/ AC500

sun tracking system versus fixed PV. The results show a significant
Logix

improvement in the output of tracked panels [99]. Bahrami et al.

Table 6

analyzed the performance of the solar tracking systems based on the

latitude of different geographical locations. It is concluded that the

13
R. Singh et al. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews xxx (xxxx) xxx–xxx

Table 7
Approximate cost of the Microcontroller/ microprocessor used to design the sun tracking systems (source: digikey.com) [Accessed on 18th August 2017].

Microcontroller/ Vendor Architecture IDE Maximum operating Approximate Cost ($)

Microprocessor frequency

STM320 STMicroelectronics ARM0+ Arduino, Keil 32 MHz 21.17

PIC32MX Microchip MIPS M4K MPLAB X IDE 80 MHz 72.09
SAMD21 Atmel ARMM0+ Arduino, atmel studio 48 MHz 31.52
EFM32Z Silicon lab ARMM0+ Simplicity studio 24 MHz 29.99
LPC812M NXP ARMM0+ LPCXpresso 30 MHz 19.95
MSP430F TI 16 bit RISC Energia, CCS, IAR 16 MHz 6.82
ATMEGA328P Atmel megaAVR8Bit Arduino, atmel studio 20 MHz 2.14
openV Onchip RISC v RISC V toolchain 160 MHz NA
RX100 Renesas Electronics America 32 bit RISC NA 32 MHz 4.48
LPC11XX NXP 32 bit CortexM0 LPCXpresso 50 MHz 19.95
Resberry Pi Raspberry Pi Foundation ARMv6Z (32-bit) Run Linux 700 MHz to 1.2 GHz 44.63
Beagle Bone Texas Instruments ARM Cortex-A8 cores Run Linux, android, 720 MHz 56.25
cloud 9
AT89C51 Microchip Technology 8 bit RISC Keil 3 MHz−33 MHz 2.55

Table 8 approximate cost for the FPGA/algorithm based tracking systems.

Approximate cost for the FPGA/algorithm based tracking systems (source: ebay.com) The comparative cost analysis of the PLC and microcontroller used
[Accessed on 18th August 2017]. to develop the tracking system has been carried out with approximate
FPGA/high speed Manufacturer Features Cost ($)
values. The minimum cost for PLC module is approximate $150 for
controller model GX81 by Mitsubishi/Q series and the maximum cost is approx-
imate $2900 for model IC693CPU374 by GE Fanuc/RX7i. The
DS1104–05 R & D dSpace GmbH PCI/PCIe (PCI Express) 794 minimum cost of microcontroller is $2.14 for ATMEGA328P and max-
Controller hardware for use in PCs
imum is $72.09 for PIC32MX. The FPGA and other high-speed con-
Board
NI 9642 FPGA National The sbRIO−9642 has a 2000 trollers has much higher cost as compared to both PLC and micro-
controller Instruments 400 MHz real-time controller. It can be clearly concluded that the PLC cost is much higher
processor, 128MB DRAM, than microcontroller and to make a cost effective tracking system mi-
256MB flash storage
crocontrollers are preferred over PLC.

efficiency of different types of sola tracking system depends on the la-
titude of the location and it is not same for all the regions [100].
Bahrami et al. contributed towards the solar energy development for
twenty one countries with less access to grid due to low latitude. A case
study has been carried out in Nigeria on nine locations for fixed, single
and double axis tracking systems. The results show the improvement in
energy yield by dual axis with respect to fixed PV panels [101]. Bah-
rami et al. designed a tracking system for the helical coiled receiver
tube to increase the efficiency. It is concluded that the tilt angle in-
creases with cosθ and achieve its maximum value when θ is zero. It is
also concluded that the initial cost a single axis tracking system is
aligned towards north-south horizontally [102]. Kiyak and Gol sug-
gested a comparative study of a fuzzy logic controller and a PID con-
troller for a single axis solar tracking system. The main objective of
study was to enhance the energy efficiency by adjusting the axis to
maximize the light intensity on PV surface [103]. Seme et al. presented
a design foe a dual axis PV tracking system with open loop system. The
results show the better adaption of the design with dual axis system
[104]. Vieira et al. presented a comparative study of one axis panel and
static PV panel installed at Mossoro/RN in Brazil. The city is located at
the hot region with high temperature during day time. The results show
fixed panel has more energy gain than one axis tracker at installed
region [105]. Nsengiyumra et al. presented a review for solar trackers
and their benefits in terms of efficiency. The result concluded that
among different methods of sun trackers, polar aligned double axis with
closed loop feedback control gave the more power efficiency with re-
spect to fixed PV panels [106]. Racharla and Rajan presented a review
on different tracking systems in terms of efficiency and cost. It is con-
cluded that azimuth dual axis tracking system has high efficiency w.r.t
fixed PV, however single axis trackers are more cost effective and
flexible than dual axis tracker [107]. Table 6 describes the approximate
cost of PLC modules used to design the solar tracking systems. Table 7
explains the approximate cost of the microcontroller/ microprocessor
used to design the sun tracking systems. Table 8 describes the
7. Conclusion
The observation has been made from the comprehensive literature
review on the sun tracking systems for performance analysis of solar PV
system. Available literature suggested the various performance com-
ponents and/or parameters, importance, use of controller, system effi-
ciency, tracking control strategies and economic assessment. The salient
points of this extensive study are as,
• Comprehensive study is made on solar tracking technologies which
are categorized on the basis of control strategies, drive systems,
degree of freedom etc.
• The classifications of solar tracking systems e.g. single and double
axis based sun tracking systems. Furthermore, a single axis solar
tracker is categorized in four types as (i) vertical axis tracker (ii)
horizontal axis tracker (iii) tilted axis tracker (iv) polar aligned.
Moreover, the two axis solar trackers is of two types a (i) azimuth
elevation tracker (ii) tilt roll elevation tracker. The performance of
two axis sun tracker system is superior than single axis.
• On the basis of controller utilization to control the movement of
motors. These systems are categorized with respect to PLC con-
troller, microcontroller or FPGA and algorithm based control used.
• This paper concludes the increase in energy efficiency depends on
the type of sun tracking systems. It is observed that the efficiency of
PV system can be increased by 12–25% (single axis), 30–45% (two
axis) and 30–45% (multi axis) sun tracking systems.
• The observations concluded that the increase in efficiency of sun
tracking systems with respect to the fixed PV systems and re-
commendations are to use two axis solar tracking systems for extract
maximum efficiency.
• An economic assessment is carried out extensively. It is observed
that the microcontrollers are preferred over PLC to make a cost ef-
fective tracking system, due to high cost of PLC with respect to
microcontroller.

14
R. Singh et al.
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