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DUAL AXIS SOLAR TRACKER SYSTEM

Article · March 2021

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 TRIBHUVAN UNIVERSITY
INSTITUTE OF ENGINEERING
PASHCHIMANCHAL CAMPUS, POKHARA
DEPARTMENT OF ELECTRONICS AND COMPUTER ENGINEERING

A Minor Project Report

On
“DUAL AXIS SOLAR TRACKER SYSTEM”
(As a partial fulfillment of B.E. in Electronics and Communication Engineering)

Project Supervisor:
Sharan Thapa

Project Member:
Aayush Pandit PAS074BEX002
Asmin KC PAS074BEX006
Kushal Poudel PAS074BEX020
Parmeshwar Sah PAS074BEX024

March 2021
 COPYRIGHT
The author has agreed that the library, Pashchimanchal Campus, may make this report freely
available for inspection. Moreover, the author has agreed that permission for extensive copying of
this project report for scholarly purpose may be granted by the lecturers, who supervised the project
works recorded herein or, in their absence, by the Head of Department wherein the project report
was done. It is understood that the recognition will be given to the author of the report and to the
Department of Computer and Electronics, Pashchimanchal Campus in any use of the material of
this project report. Copying or publication or other use of this report for financial gain without
approval of the Department and author’s written permission is prohibited. Request for permission
to copy or to make any other use of the material in this report in whole or in part should be
addressed to:

Head of Department
Department of Electronics and Computer Engineering
Pashchimanchal Campus, Institute of Engineering
Lamachaur, Pokhara-16
Nepal

ii
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
It gives us immense pleasure to express our deep sense of gratitude to our supervisor Mr. Sharan
Thapa for his invaluable guidance, motivation, constant inspiration and above all for his ever-co-
operating attitude that enabled us in bringing up this project in the present form. We are extremely
thankful to Mr. Hari Prasad Baral, Head of the Department of Electronics and Communication
Engineering for all kinds of possible help and advice during the course of this work.

We are greatly thankful to Mr. Amrit Aryal, Mr. Roshan Shrestha, Mr. Sajan Oli, and Mr. Saurav
Lamichhane for their inspiration and help.
We solely take the responsibility of any possible mistakes that may have occurred in preparing this
report and we would like to welcome comments and queries during the submission of this report.

iii
 ABSTRACT
Energy crisis is one of the primary issues in the developing country like ours. There is a huge gap
between energy demand and generation. Solar energy is one of the most effective resources of the
renewable energy which could play a significant role to solve this crisis. This research presents a
performance analysis of dual axis solar tracking system using Arduino. The use of solar energy is
increasing rapidly in the present scenario due to its environmental friendliness and abundance.
Building a solar plant and arranging them to face the maximum amount of solar energy is an easy,
fast, cheap and everlasting way of production of energy. Dual axis solar tracker will be made by
the combination of some mechanical and electronic components which will adjust itself to face the
sun over the course of time with the help of sensors attached in it. A comparative analysis shows
that a dual axis solar tracker is 10-15% more effective than a stationary solar panel and about 8-
10% more effective than a single axis solar tracker.

iv
 TABLE OF CONTENTS
COPYRIGHT .................................................................................................................................. ii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ............................................................................................................. iii
ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................................... iv
ABBREVIATION AND ACRONYMS ....................................................................................... vii
CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................. 1
1.1 Background ........................................................................................................................... 1
1.2 Statements of Problems ......................................................................................................... 1
1.3 Objectives .............................................................................................................................. 1
1.4 Scope and Limitations ........................................................................................................... 2
CHAPTER TWO LITERATURE REVIEW .................................................................................. 3
2.1 Review of Different topic related to Paper............................................................................ 3
2.2 Components Required ........................................................................................................... 3
2.2.1 Arduino Uno ................................................................................................................... 3
2.2.2 Light Dependent Resistor (LDR) ................................................................................... 4
2.2.3 Solar panel ...................................................................................................................... 5
2.2.4 10 RPM DC Motor ......................................................................................................... 5
2.2.5 Bread Board .................................................................................................................... 6
2.2.6 L298N Motor Driver ...................................................................................................... 7
2.2.7 Jumper Wires .................................................................................................................. 7
2.2.8 7805 Regulator ............................................................................................................... 8
CHAPTER THREE METHODOLOGY ........................................................................................ 9
3.1 Flow chart of project ............................................................................................................. 9
3.2 Work Plan............................................................................................................................ 10
3.3 Block Diagram .................................................................................................................... 11
3.4 Circuit Diagram ................................................................................................................... 12
CHAPTER FOUR RESULT AND DISCUSSION ...................................................................... 13
4.1 Result................................................................................................................................... 13
4.2 Discussion ........................................................................................................................... 13
CHAPTER FIVE CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION .............................................. 14
5.1 Conclusion........................................................................................................................... 14
5.2 Recommendation ................................................................................................................. 14

v
REFERENCES ............................................................................................................................. 15
APPENDIX ...................................................................................................................................... i

vi
 ABBREVIATION AND ACRONYMS
LDR - Light Dependent Resistor

RPM - Rotation per minute

LED - Light Emitting Diode

PV – Photo Voltaic

DC – Direct Current

vii
 CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background
When it comes to the development of any nation, energy is the main driving factor. An enormous
amount of energy is extracted, distributed and consumed in global society daily. The world
population is increasing day by day and the demand for energy is increasing accordingly. Oil and
coal are the main source of energy nowadays but there is a fact that the fossil fuels are limited and
hand strong pollution. Even the price of petroleum has been increasing year by year and the
previsions on the medium term there are not quite encouraging. The use of these resources result
in global warming due to emission of greenhouse gases.
In order to provide a sustainable power production and a non-polluted world in future, there is a
growing demand for energy from renewable sources like solar, wind, hydrothermal, and tidal
waves. Solar energy is simply the energy produced directly by the sun. The history of solar energy
is as old as the humankind. In total potential of the renewable energy solar power has the maximum
percentage as solar energy is a very large, inexhaustible source of energy.
Despite solar energy being a good source of energy, there is a need to improve the methods to
harness this energy. This can be achieved by using a solar tracking system instead of a fixed
system. A solar tracker is an automated solar panel that follows the sun to increase power. The two
types of tracking system are Single axis solar tracker and dual-axis solar tracker. Single-axis can
either have a horizontal or a vertical axis while the dual-axis has both horizontal and vertical axis,
thus making them able to track the sun’s apparent motion almost anywhere in the world.
1.2 Statements of Problems
The main goal is to keep solar PV panel perpendicular to the sun throughout the day in order to
increase the energy generation. Dual axis solar tracking system can be an effective way to increase
the efficiency of solar cells. The devastating problem on both biotic and abiotic components of our
home (i.e. pollution) can be reduced by using solar energy as the major source for power
generation. The natural gift like fossil fuels, woods, etc. which are limited in amount can be saved
from crisis and extinction. For people, due to its more efficiency and less harmful impacts dual
axis solar tracking system might be good decision for the intermediate future. So, this project can
practically demonstrate effect of this variation to people.
1.3 Objectives
Following are the objectives of this project:
1) To design and fabricate a tracking system that constantly tracks the sun during daytime.
2) To develop a tracking system that minimize the cost of operation and maximize the reliability.
3) To develop a tracking system that control and monitor the solar panel based on the intensity of
light.
1.4 Scope and Limitations
Solar tracking system continually orient photovoltaic panels towards the sun and can help
maximize your investment in PV system. One-time investment which provides higher efficiency
and flexibility on dependency. Energy production is an optimum and energy output is increased
year around.
There are some limitations of the project which are listed below:
1) Unreliable performance in cloudy or overcast weather.
2) Higher technical complexity, more maintenance is required.

2
 CHAPTER TWO LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1 Review of Different topic related to Paper
The first solar tracker was a mechanical system by C. Finster, invented in 1962. From his tracker,
he realized insufficient energy gains and years and years of research then led to the improvement
of modern trackers with capacity of producing high energy. In the beginning with single axis solar
tracker, the panel used to move according to the rotation of earth, to be able to face the sun at all
time during day. But after the improvement of tracker into dual axis, the panel rotates not only to
face the sun but also to maintain the perpendicular angle with the solar rays so that maximum
intensity falls on the panel.
In [1] Hossein Mousazadeh studied and investigated maximization of collected energy from an
on-board PV array, on a solar assist plug-in hybrid electric tractor (SAPHT). Using four light
dependent resistive sensors a sun tracking system on a mobile structure was constructed and
evaluated.
In [2] K.S. Madhu states that a single axis tracker tracks the sun east to west, and a two-axis
tracker tracks the daily east to west movement of the sun and the seasonal declination movement
of the sun.
2.2 Components Required
The Dual Axis Solar Tracker has the following electronic components:
1) Arduino Uno
2) LDR
3) Solar panel
4) 10 RPM DC Motor
5) Bread Board
6) L298N Motor Driver
7) Jumper Wires
8) 7805 Regulator
2.2.1 Arduino Uno
Arduino is an open-source electronics prototyping platform based on flexible, easy to use hardware
and software. Arduino can sense the environment by receiving input from a variety of sensors and
can affect its surroundings. Arduino projects can be stand-alone, or they can communicate with
software running on a computer. In this development, Arduino UNO is used as the main controller
because it satisfies these conditions:
1) Microcontroller board based on 8-bit ATmega328P.
2) 14 digital input/output pins (of which 6 can be used as PWM outputs), 6 analog inputs, a 16
MHz crystal oscillator, a USB connection, a power jack, an ICSP header, and a reset button.

3
 Figure (2.1): Arduino Uno Pin Diagram
2.2.2 Light Dependent Resistor (LDR)
Photo resistor or a light dependent resistor (LDR) is a resistor whose resistance decreases with
increasing incident light intensity or exhibits photoconductivity. LDR output voltages for light
intensity. The light intensity is measured in lab experiments. The resistance of an LDR is extremely
high, sometimes as high as 1 M ohms. The light resistances will drop dramatically when
illuminated.

4
 Figure (2.2): LDR sensor and the graph between resistance vs intensity.

2.2.3 Solar panel

Solar panels are devices that convert light into electricity. They are called "solar" panels because
the most powerful source of light available is the sun. A solar panel is a packaged, connected
assembly of photovoltaic cells. The solar panel can be used as a component of a larger photovoltaic
system to generate and supply electricity in commercial and residential applications. There are
various types of panels are available like monocrystalline, polycrystalline, amorphous, and hybrid.

Figure (2.3): Solar panel

2.2.4 10 RPM DC Motor
DC Motor – 10RPM – 12Volts geared motors are generally a simple DC motor with a gearbox
attached to it. This can be used in all-terrain robots and variety of robotic applications. These
motors have a 3 mm threaded drill hole in the middle of the shaft thus making it simple to connect
it to the wheels or any other mechanical assembly.

5
10 RPM 12V DC geared motors widely used for robotics applications. Very easy to use and
available in standard size. Also, you don’t have to spend a lot of money to control motors with an
Arduino or compatible board. The most popular L298N H-bridge module with onboard voltage
regulator motor driver can be used with this motor that has a voltage of between 5 and 35V DC or
you can choose the most precise motor diver module from the wide range available in our Motor
diver’s category as per your specific requirements.

Figure (2.4): 10 RPM DC Motor

2.2.5 Bread Board
A breadboard is a solderless device for temporary prototype with electronics and test circuit
designs. Most electronic components in electronic circuits can be interconnected by inserting their
leads or terminals into the holes and then making connections through wires where appropriate.
The breadboard has strips of metal underneath the board and connect the holes on the top of the
board. The metal strips are laid out as shown below. Note that the top and bottom rows of holes
are connected horizontally and split in the middle while the remaining holes are connected
vertically.

Figure (2.5): Breadboard

6
2.2.6 L298N Motor Driver
Motor drivers acts as an interface between the motors and the control circuits. Motor require high
amount of current whereas the controller circuit works on low current signals. So the function
of motor drivers is to take a low-current control signal and then turn it into a higher-current signal
that can drive a motor.
L298N Motor Driver Module is a high power motor driver module for driving DC and Stepper
Motors. This module consists of an L298 motor driver IC and a 78M05 5V regulator. L298N
Module can control up to 4 DC motors, or 2 DC motors with directional and speed control.

Figure (2.6): L298N Motor Driver

2.2.7 Jumper Wires

Jumper wires are simply wire that have connector pins at each end, allowing them to be used to
connect two points with each other without soldering. Jumper wires are typically used with
breadboards and other prototyping tools in order to make it easy to change a circuit as needed.
Jumper wires typically come in three versions: male-to-male, male-to-female and female-to-
female. The difference between each is in the end point of the wire. Male ends have a pin
protruding and can plug into things, while female ends do not and are used to plug things into.
Male-to-male jumper wires are the most common and what you likely will use the most often.
When connecting two ports on a breadboard, a male-to-male wire is what you’ll need.

7
 Figure (2.7): Jumper Wires

2.2.8 7805 Regulator

A LM7805 Voltage Regulator is a voltage regulator that outputs +5 volts. IC 7805 is a 5V Voltage
Regulator that restricts the output voltage to 5V output for various ranges of input voltage. It acts
as an excellent component against input voltage fluctuations for circuits, and adds an additional
safety to your circuitry. It is inexpensive, easily available and very much commonly used.

Figure (2.8): LM7805 Regulator

8
 CHAPTER THREE METHODOLOGY
3.1 Flow chart of project

Figure 3.1: Flowchart

9
3.2 Work Plan
Working of this project is simple. We have used 4 LDR sensors to detect the intensity of light at
four corners of the solar panel. The outputs of LDR are stored in an array as L[i]. Arranging the
LDRs in a breadboard, we took out four outputs to feed into the Arduino analog input ports (A0,
A1, A2, and A3). We noted the analog value given by the LDR at both the cases; when the light
intensity is high and low. We then calculated an average value given by the LDR when the intensity
is high and low and then set it as a threshold value and stored in an array as L_thres[i].
The analog value given by the LDR is stored in an array as L[i]. We then computed the value given
by LDR (L[i]) each 300ms and compared with the threshold value (L_thres[i]). If the value given
by LDR at a point is greater than or equal to the threshold value i.e.(L[i]>= L_thres[i]), then it is
noted as high and stored in another array as L_out[i]=1. If L[i]<L_thres[i] then L_out[i] is set to
zero(0). This loop is repeated until the values of all the LDR is noted. By this method, we converted
the analog output of LDRs into digital ones.
Four ports (6, 7, 8, and 9) of Arduino are set as output ports which are connected to four input pins
of L298N motor driver. The two motors are connected to the output ports of motor driver. Based
on the value of the outputs (L_out[i]) obtained by comparing analog values of LDR (L[i]) with
threshold value (L_thres[i]), the Arduino sets the respective pins among 6,7,8,9 as high or, low to
give the respective inputs to motor driver as high or low which further drives the motor in direction
where the intensity is high. For each LDR, the value given by it is compared with the threshold
value. If the value of L_out[i] for all the LDR is same i.e. high or, low, the motor remains idle. If
the value of any one L_out[i] is high then the Arduino drives the motor in the direction where that
LDR is located so that maximum light intensity falls on the panel. The two motors drive the panel
into east, west and north, south direction. If the value of L_out[i] is high for any two LDRs, then
the Arduino drives both the motor in the direction of the presence of LDR. Thus, the solar panel
connected to the motor rotates so that the maximum intensity of light falls on it.

10
3.3 Block Diagram

Fig: Hardware Implementation of Dual Axis Solar Tracker

11
3.4 Circuit Diagram

Fig: Circuit Diagram of dual axis solar tracker

As shown in the above figure, 5V is applied to one of the terminals of each LDR and a resistor is
connected to the other end. The other end of resistor is then grounded. The analog values of LDR
is taken from the point connecting LDR and resistor and is fed to the analog input of Arduino pins
A0, A1, A2 and A3 respectively. The pins 6, 7, 8 and 9 of Arduino are set as output and are
connected to four inputs of motor driver as shown above. 5V is supplied to Arduino from motor
driver. Two 9V batteries are connected in parallel and given to 12V input of motor driver. Two
motors are connected to output 1, 2 and 3, 4 of motor driver. The solar panel is attached to an axle
which is then glued to one of the motors which rotate the panel in north-south direction. The other
motor then rotate the panel in east west direction. The four LDRs are attached to the solar panel.
The output of the four LDRs drive the motor in such a direction where the intensity of light falls
maximum on the panel.

12
 CHAPTER FOUR RESULT AND DISCUSSION
4.1 Result
After the successful completion of the project we observed that the solar tracker:
1) was capable of self-operating,
1) was capable of tracking the space with higher brightness,
2) Electrical energy from the solar panel can be stored in a capacitor and used for applicable
purposes (for e.g. Mobile charging)

4.2 Discussion
The prototype of the dual axis solar tracker was made according to the circuit diagram. The output
of the project was as per the expectation. The solar panel moved itself in the direction of maximum
intensity of light. It remained unmoved when equal intensity of light was focused on the LDRs.
The electrical energy from the solar panel was stored in the capacitor and it was used for charging
mobile.

13
 CHAPTER FIVE CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION
5.1 Conclusion
The project has presented a means of tracking the sun’s position with the help of microcontroller
and LDR sensors. Especially it demonstrates a working solution for maximizing solar cells output
by positioning a solar panel at the point of maximum light intensity. The attractive feature of the
designed solar tracker is simple mechanism to control the system.
As solar power production is used in large scale worldwide so, even an increment in efficiency by
1% than stationery plane will increase the net power production by large amount. Hence, no matter
by how much tracker increases an efficiency it is always welcomed.
5.2 Recommendation
Though we have performed our work in much efficient way. There is still room for improvement
for this system and it is hoped that further study can be carried out to further develop the system.
1) Use higher motors with large torque value for larger panel size.
2) It will be better to use geographical equation algorithm for the real timing tracking.

14
 REFERENCES
[1] Hossein Mousazadeh et Al.,[ (2011), Journal of Solar Energy Engineering,Vol.133 ]
[2] K.S. Madhu et al., (2012) International Journal of Scientific & Engineering Research vol. 3,
2229–5518
3) G. Kamal, “Final report on dual-axis solar tracking system”, Academia, Jul. 2019
4) K. Tarlochan, “Arduino based active dual solar tracker”, IEEE Conf.,2016
5) N. Othman, “Performance Analysis of Dual-axis solar tracking system”, IEEE Conf., 2013

15
 APPENDIX
Arduino Code
int L[4];
int L_out[4];
int L_thres[] = {1000, 900, 585, 460};

void setup() {
// put your setup code here, to run once:
Serial.begin(9600);
pinMode(6, OUTPUT );
pinMode(7, OUTPUT );
pinMode(8, OUTPUT );
pinMode(9, OUTPUT );
}

void loop() {
// put your main code here, to run repeatedly:
L[0] = analogRead(A0);
L[1] = analogRead(A1);
L[2] = analogRead(A2);
L[3] = analogRead(A3);
Serial.print(L[0]);
Serial.print("\t");
Serial.print(L[1]);
Serial.print("\t");
Serial.print(L[2]);
Serial.print("\t");
Serial.println(L[3]);

i
 delay(300);

for (int i = 0; i < 4; i++)

{
if (L[i] >= L_thres[i])
{
L_out[i] = 1;
}
else {
L_out[i] = 0;
}
}
Serial.print(L_out[0]);
Serial.print("\t");
Serial.print(L_out[1]);
Serial.print("\t");
Serial.print(L_out[2]);
Serial.print("\t");
Serial.println(L_out[3]);

if( L_out[0]&&L_out[1]&&L_out[2]&&L_out[3]==1)
{
digitalWrite(6,LOW);
digitalWrite(7,LOW);
digitalWrite(8,LOW);
digitalWrite(9,LOW);
}

ii
else if( L_out[0]&&L_out[2]==1)
{
digitalWrite(6,HIGH);
digitalWrite(7,LOW);
digitalWrite(8,HIGH);
digitalWrite(9,LOW);
}

else if( L_out[1]&&L_out[3]==1)

{
digitalWrite(6,LOW);
digitalWrite(7,HIGH);
digitalWrite(8,LOW);
digitalWrite(9,HIGH);
}
else if( L_out[0]&&L_out[3]==1)
{
digitalWrite(6,HIGH);
digitalWrite(7,LOW);
digitalWrite(8,LOW);
digitalWrite(9,HIGH);
}

else if( L_out[1]&&L_out[2]==1)

{
digitalWrite(6,LOW);
digitalWrite(7,HIGH);
digitalWrite(8,HIGH);

iii
digitalWrite(9,LOW);
}
else if( L_out[0]==1)
{
digitalWrite(6,HIGH);
digitalWrite(7,LOW);
digitalWrite(8,LOW);
digitalWrite(9,LOW);
}
else if( L_out[1]==1)
{
digitalWrite(6,LOW);
digitalWrite(7,HIGH);
digitalWrite(8,LOW);
digitalWrite(9,LOW);
}
else if( L_out[2]==1)
{
digitalWrite(6,LOW);
digitalWrite(7,LOW);
digitalWrite(8,HIGH);
digitalWrite(9,LOW);
}
else if( L_out[3]==1)
{
digitalWrite(6,LOW);
digitalWrite(7,LOW);
digitalWrite(8,LOW);

iv
 digitalWrite(9,HIGH);
}
else
{
digitalWrite(6,LOW);
digitalWrite(7,LOW);
digitalWrite(8,LOW);
digitalWrite(9,LOW);
}

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