Proceedings of the 2019 5th International Conference on Advances in Electrical Engineering (ICAEE) 26-28

September, Dhaka, Bangladesh

Design of an Automatic High Precision Solar

Tracking System with an Integrated Solar Sensor
Taslim Ahmed
Imran Chowdhury
Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering
Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering
Rajshahi Science and Technology University (RSTU), Natore
University of Information Technology & Sciences (UITS)
Natore-6400, Bangladesh
Dhaka-1212, Bangladesh
taslimeee@gmail.com
last4first@yahoo.com

Abstract—A sustainable powered standalone automatic

Solar Tracking System is designed and successfully simulated
to provide the best alignment of solar panel with position of the
sun automatically, to extract an increased efficiency by 37.8
percent. A very low cost (approx. 5 USD), high precision Solar
Tacking Sensor has been designed to rotate the solar panel
coupled to the stepper motor rotates 25.70 degree at single step
and to tracks the whole 180-degree trace in 8 (eight) steps per
day with greater accuracy. Microcontroller (ATmega16) is
used as main control unit where its ADC ports are used to
interface the Sensor unit and ULN2000A motor driver is used
to interface the stepper motor to rotate the solar panel at
maximum solar energy angle. The results found from the
simulation and analysis shows that, the system required 12.04
mA and 37.163 mA current, and
144.48 mW and 445.956 mW power, during standby and panel
rotating mode respectively. The maximum current drawn by
the Solar Tracking Sensor is less than 0.5 mA. ‘Proteus ISIS
7.7 professional’ is used for design and simulation, and ‘Code
Vision AVR v2.5’ is used to write the program code and
burning into the ATmega16 for simulation and analysis.
the Light Dependent Resistor (LDR) is used to design the
Solar Sensor. For processing and control, the ATmega16 has
been used which will generate pulse to the motor driver
ULN 2003A to move the motor along with the solar panel in
clockwise (CW) or counter clockwise (CCW) direction [8,
9]. The unipolar stepper motor has been used due to its
advantage over higher power and torque requirement [10].
II. SYSTEM DESIGN
The block diagram in Fig. 1 depicts the concepts and
configurations for developing a microcontroller based solar
tracking system; which will automatically control the motor
position by tracking maximum light intensity with the help
of Solar Tracking Sensor (designed and tested); and, displays
the updated position of the motor in a 16x2 LCD display [11,
12].

Keywords—Solar Power, Sustainable Energy, Renewable

Energy, Sensor, Sensor Design, Solar Tracking, Microcontroller,
ATmega16, LDR, Proteus, Code Vision AVR.

I. INTRODUCTION
The ability to capture and transform a tiny portion of the
sun's daily heat and light efficiently, to beat the limitation of
energy resource threat rapidly becoming unavoidable. Also,
most solar panels operate at less than 30% efficiency [1],
which forces to meet the energy need either purchasing high
cost solar panel or by solar tracking system [2]. Solar
tracker is an automated solar panel that follows position of
Fig. 1. Block Diagram of the designed system.
the sun to maximize the solar energy collection. One well-
known type of solar tracker is the heliostat, a movable The required components list to configure and design the
mirror that reflects the moving sun to a fixed location, but system is given in the Table I.
many other approaches are used as well [3]. Active trackers
use motors and gear trains to direct the tracker as TABLE I. COMPONENTS OF THE SYSTEM.
commanded by a controller responding to the solar direction. DevicesReference Value/ID
The solar tracker can be used for several applications such Resistor R1-R7 10k
as solar cells, solar day-lighting system and solar thermal
arrays [4]. Capacitor C1, C2 1000uF
A comparative study shows an increase of energy Integrated LM016L (LCD), Atmega16,
extraction by about 30% over fixed panels and big advantage U1, U2, U3, U4 ULN2003A (motor driver),
Circuit
of the optimized scheme over continuously rotating panel. It 7805 (voltage regulator)
was found that the energy saving on the consumption side is Diodes D1-D7 1N4007(4), LED (3)
just over 20% [5]. LDR0-LDR7,
LDR(0) to LDR(7), PV cell
Solar Panel,
In this work, an automated solar tracking system Others (12 volt), Battery (12V dc),
Storage, Stepper
Unipolar 4 wire 12V
integrated with a low-cost solar sensor has been designed motor
and
simulated for residential, agricultural or large-scale solar The flowchart in Fig. 2 describes the work flow of the
grid application; which will improve the overall efficiency system and its working principle. Where the main control
of a solar panel [6, 7], by tracking the movement of the sun unit rotates the motor in CW or CCW motion or stay
at very high precision and accuracy. To track the position of stationary, with respect to the position of the sun.
the sun,
978-1-7281-4934-9/19/$31.00 ©2019 IEEE
 decision whether the motor will rotate and at how many
degrees, CW or CCW or the solar panel will remain at same
position. It consists of 8 (eight) LDRs encapsulated in a
conical shaped black foiled paper and grouped into a semi-
circular disc, with a little whole on the top for the entrance
of sun light. Due to this unique design, only the LDR
aligned with the sun will have the greater light intensity and
consequently lower resistance and higher voltage drop
across the conjugated resistor. And, that voltage drop is read
by the eight ADCs (ADC (0) to ADC (7)) of ATmega16 to
compare the values for largest one and accordingly will
track the position of the sun as per designed and designated
degree shown in the earlier section. Therefore, the control unit
rotates the motor to face the solar panel with the sun at
greater accuracy and precision. The expected cost of the solar
tracking sensor is about 400 BDT or 5 USD approximately.
IV. CIRCUIT DESIGN & SIMULATION
The operation and characteristic behaviors of the
designed system is simulated by the software ‘Proteus 7.7
professional’. And the result found by simulation is verified
according to the expected outcomes theoretically projected
by the program code and working principle [15]. The
schematic of the system is shown in Fig. 4.

Fig. 2. Basic logic flowchart of the system.

III. DESIGN OF SOLAR TRACKING SENSOR

Here, 8 (eight) photo-resistors (LDR) which have a
negative temperature coefficient have been taken [13, 14].
Each one of them senses light and for that voltage increases.
They been placed in a manner that, the 180° divided into
seven parts. That is (180 degree) /7= 25.7 degree; and the
designed sensor shown in Fig. 3.

Fig. 4. Schematic of the designed system.

When highest voltage is across the LDR (2), then motor

rotates 57.9° and at position 5 the motor rotates 77.1° in CW
motion and the solar panel positions at 135°, which is shown
in the Fig. 5 and Fig. 6.

Fig. 3. Position alignments of solar tracking sensor.

The LDRs connected with the ADCs of microcontroller

ATmega16 will position themselves into the specific angles,
as shown below:
LDR (0) = 0.00 degrees, LDR (4) = 102.86 degrees
LDR (1) = 25.70 degrees, LDR (5) = 128.57 degrees
LDR (2) = 51.43 degrees, LDR (6) = 154.29 degrees
LDR (3) = 77.14 degrees, LDR (7) = 180.00 degrees
The greater the incident light on a specific LDR, the
higher the voltage across the corresponding resistor and the
solar panel will rotate accordingly, as per angle mentioned
above.
Fig. 5. Position of largest LDR value=2; rotaion angle=57.9 degree and
Therefore, the designed Solar Tracking Sensor provides shown in LCD (zoom in view).
the real time analog data to the microcontroller for taking
 STEP IX: Show the updated info in the LCD display.
STEP X: END and Start over again the processes from
STEP II into a continuous infinite loop.
Regarding the set of rules and processes which is
described in Fig. 2 and in the developed algorithm, has set a
challenge to write a program for an automatic solar tracking
system. And for that, ‘Code Vision AVR version 2.5
Professional’ is used to write the codes, shown in Table II.
There are some basic set of codes which were generated by
Code Vision AVR itself automatically [16]. The codes are
written in the exact way as shown below, which follows the
flowchart in Fig. 8.

Fig. 6. Position of largest LDR value=5; rotaion angle=77.1 degree.

When highest voltage is across the LDR (1) then motor

rotates 96.40 in CCW motion and the solar panel positions
at 38.60, which is shown in the Fig. 7.

Fig. 7. Position of largest LDR value=1; rotaion angle=96.4 degree.

V. ALGORITHM & PROGRAMMING Fig. 8. Programming flowchart of the system.

To operate the system shown in Fig. 4 automatically as a
standalone sustainable powered solar tracker, it required an TABLE II. PROGRAM CODES FOR THE DESIGNED SYSTEM.
algorithm that would allow the system to figure out the
solution of problems in an orderly, numerical and precise while (1)
manner; resulting in some inclusive sequential steps of {
procedures that been given below: for(i=0;i<=7;i++)
{read_adc(i);
STEP I: START and Initialize the system, ADC, Timer, delay_ms(50);}
Comparator and Solar Tracking Sensor. for(k=0;k<=7;k++)
STEP II: Read ADC (0) to ADC (7) connected to LDR { if(read_adc(k)>sum1)
(0) to LDR (7) of the Sensor. {sum1=read_adc(k); delay_ms(50);
STEP III: Compare the values to find the largest one and mpf=k;}} lcd_clear(); lcd_gotoxy(0,0);
if none; then go to STEP II. sprintf(lcd1,"Init. Position=%d",mpi);
STEP IV: Find the corresponding LDR number for the lcd_puts(lcd1); delay_ms(50);
largest value. lcd_gotoxy(0,1);
STEP V: Store this value as the motor final position ‘mpf’ sprintf(lcd2,"Final Position=%d",mpf);
(variable); where motor initial position ‘mpi’ lcd_puts(lcd2); delay_ms(50);
(variable) is initially ‘0’. if((mpf-mpi)>0)
STEP VI: Show the info in the LCD display. {for(j=mpi;j<mpf;j++)
STEP VII: If ‘mpf’ is greater than the ‘mpi’, then rotate the {
motor for [4*(mpf-mpi)] times in CW PORTB=0x06;
direction. delay_ms(20);
STEP VIII: Store this motor position ‘mpf’ as equal to PORTB=0x03;
‘mpi’; to update the motor initial position.

}}
else if((mpf-mpi)<0)
{
for(j=mpi;j>mpf;j--)
{
PORTB=0x0C;
delay_ms(20);
PORTB=0x09;
delay_ms(20);
PORTB=0x03;
delay_ms(20);
PORTB=0x06;
delay_ms(20);
VI. RESULTS & DISCUSSION
The system operation and transient response is verified
by plotting the input and output variables and parameters, to
check the system behavior as per the flowchart (in Fig 2)
and program code. The results obtained by simulation are
shown in Fig. 9 to Fig. 11; correspond to Fig. 5 to Fig. 7.
Any change of the LDR’s value will change the motor angle
(Channel A- color ‘yellow’) which will make the transient
change in the simulation graph in oscilloscope. When the LDR
(2) (Channel C- color ‘purple’) and LDR (5) (Channel D-
color ‘red’) voltage is set HIGH to 1.667V and 2.499V
respectively, then the changes in voltage of LDR and motor
is shown in Fig. 9 and Fig. 10, where the motor rotates CW.
Fig. 9. ADC (2) = HIGH and motor rotates from position LDR(0) to
LDR(2) in CW motion at 57.9 degree.
Fig. 10. ADC (5) = HIGH and motor rotates from position LDR(2) to
LDR(5) in CW motion at 135 degree.
But, when the LDR (1) (Channel B- color ‘blue’) voltage
is set HIGH to 3.333V; then the changes in voltage of LDR
and motor is shown in Fig. 11, where the motor rotates
CCW. In both cases the motor rotates CW and CCW to
position the solar panel aligned with the sun.
Fig. 11. ADC (1) = HIGH and motor rotates from position LDR(5) to
LDR(1) in CCW motion at 38.6 degree.
The simulation results (both operational and transient)
are summarized below in brief:
 The motor is OFF (initially), while all the voltage
across the LDRs are in 0 volt.
 When the LDR’s voltages are increased from left to
right; motor rotates in CW motion.
 Again, when the LDR’s voltages are increased from
right to left motor rotates in CCW motion.
 Motor position is changed by the change of voltage
across the LDR’s number. And, even for a 0.01%
change in voltage in-between two LDR will trigger
the sensor and rotate the panel accordingly.
The results obtained by operational and transient
analysis shows that, the operation and control behavior of
the system are in the sequence, as instructed in the program
code and algorithm. Also, the data obtained by measuring
various changes in circuit parameters (current, voltage,
power, etc.) with respect to the change in Solar Sensor and
Solar Panel Rotation Angle; are given in Table III.
VII. CONCLUSION
An automated microcontroller based sustainable
powered standalone solar tracking system with an integrated
low-cost solar sensor (approx. 5 USD) has been designed and
simulated with some important findings to remark. The solar
panel always traces the vertical plane for maximum light
intensity where the incident angle is at ideal ‘0’ degree; which
increases efficiency by 37.8% ["Solar cells -- performance
and use", solarbotics.net, 2002.]. The system requires
maximum current and power only less than 50 mA and 500
mW (when motor is ON or rotating) respectively and, at idle
condition it only consumes around 12 mA and 150 mW;
which indicates very high power efficiency and cost
effectiveness. The maximum current drawn by the Sensor is
less than 0.5 mA which is significantly low in power
consumption by the designed sensor. The system accuracy
in its automated operation is found to be very reliable and it
works as a solar powered standalone system. The solar panel
moves only 8 (eight) times per day, operated with a low-cost
highly accurate and precise Sensor. Further scopes of this
work may include, analyzing
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TABLE III. RESULTS OF CHANGE IN CIRCUIT PARAMETERS WITH RESPECT TO CHANGE IN ‘SOLAR SENSOR’ AND ‘SOLAR PANEL ROTATION ANGLE’.

Greatest Greatest Micro- ILDR IMOTOR IT VT PT MOTOR Solar

LDR V. LDR #. controller (A) (A) (system) (system) (W) Rotation Panel
(V) Decision (A) (V) (CW State
/CCW) (angle)
12.04m
Rotates motor
49.5m 0 4.95u 12.00m (Motor 12 144.48m CW at 00
for 0 steps
OFF)
36.177m
Rotate motor
1.667 2 0.167m 35.976m (Motor 12 434.124m CW at +57.90
for 2 steps
ON)
36.422m
Rotate motor
2.499 5 0.249m 35.976m (Motor 12 437.064m CW at +1350
for 3 steps
ON)
36.751m
Rotate motor
3.333 1 0.333m 35.976m (Motor 12 441.012m CCW at +38.60
for 4 steps
ON)
[Greatest LDR V. (V): Greatest LDR voltage amongst the sensors (voltage across the corresponding resistors); Greatest LDR #.: Position number of the
LDR, which sends the Greatest value to ADC of ATmega16; PT: Total power of system; Imotor: Current through the motor; Voltage across the port, interfaced
with POT; ILDR: Current through the LDR; IT(system): Total current drawn by the system; VT: Input voltage of the system;]