Group members

1. Zhuxuan Liu (zhuxuan2) - ECE 110H
2. Ren Yi Ooi (rooi2) - ECE 110H

Final Project Report (docx, pdf)

Project Proposal 

1. Introduction  

1.1  Statement of Purpose

This project aims to create a single-axis, rotating solar panel that tracks the Sun’s movement. 

Solar power is one of the most promising sources of renewable energy due to the abundance of sunlight across locations around the world as well as the rapidly falling costs of solar cell production. Efforts have been made to improve the efficiency of solar cells to increase the amount of sunlight that can be captured. 

One possible way is to ensure that the panels faces the Sun at an optimal angle such that it is able to capture the most amount of sunlight. Due to the rotation of the Earth, the positioning of the Sun relative to the Earth changes throughout the day. A rotating solar panel that tracks the rotation of the Sun can hence therefore be built to maximise the amount of sunlight captured. 

1.2  Background Research 

Sun tracking solar panels are not an entirely new idea, and researchers have studied the feasibility of this idea on a large scale. Unfortunately, they have found that while sun tracking solar panels can help to increase the amount of sunlight and hence energy captured, the introduction of mechanical components into a solar panel can possibly complexities in terms of maintenance and reliability. With the sun tracker technology incorporated, additional costs might also be incurred. 

While the feasibility of this technology on a large scale is still unclear, this idea has been found to be implementation on a mini-project scale. 

Previous sun tracking solar panels projects are categorised into single and dual axis trackers, with the former tracking only in the X or Y direction and the latter tracking in both. Our project aims to focus on a single X axis tracker (left to right) and keeping the Y axis set at an angle of 45 degrees. 

Additionally, sun tracking solar panels can also be active or scheduled (according to previous data on amounts of sunlight at different dates, times and locations). In order to involve the use of sensors, our project aims to create an active tracker which responds to the changes to surrounding brightness of light.

2. Design Details 

2.1  Block Diagram/Flowchart

2.2  System Overview 

2.2.1  Main and Tracking Panel

Instead of rotating the main solar panel where power is generated to determine the optimal angle for capturing of sunlight, a smaller tracking panel will be used. This is for the purpose of efficiency - rotating a smaller tracking panel minimizes energy used in the scanning and determination of optimal angle. 

2.2.2  Power Data Tracking/Measurement 

The rotation limits for the tracking panel will be set between 45 degrees clockwise and 45 degrees counterclockwise from the normal. For the purposes of representation, negative values will represent angles counterclockwise from the normal, while positive values will represent angles clockwise from the normal. 

A total of 19 different values of sunlight will be measured at the following angles: -45, -40, -35, -30, -25, -20, -15, -10, -10, -5, 0, 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 45. 

An algorithmic method (bisection search) for value measurement can also be explored. 

2.2.3  Process for Power Data Measurement/Tracking 

1. The tracking solar panel will be constantly rotating within the rotation limit intervals. The rotation of this tracking solar panel is independent of the adjustment of the main solar panel. 

2. At each angle which the tracking solar panel covers, a value measurement of power will be taken, and this value will be updated when the solar panel returns to that same angle. Averages of several recent values will be taken to increase the accuracy of the measurements. 

3. Every fixed interval (to be decided), a comparison will be made across all measurement values that are taken, and an optimal angle which captures the most sunlight will be determined. 

4. The main solar panel will then be rotated to this optimal angle. 

2.2.4 Display of Solar Panel Power

A display of the power generated by the main solar panel can be included in the circuit. This display can also contain information on the current optimal angle that the main solar panel is on. On top of the provision of real-time information, the presence of a display also presents an avenue to check if power is being generated by the main solar panel for prompt rectification if any problems arise. 

2.2.5 Rechargeable Battery

The power generated from the main solar panel will be channeled and stored in the rechargeable battery. The rechargeable battery will be used to power the rest of the circuit components like microcontrollers and motors for the system to be self-sustaining. 

2.2.6  Motor

Motors will be required for both the main and tracking solar panels. For the former, the motor adjusts the plane of the solar panel to the optimal angle. For the latter, the motor is used to rotate the tracking panel within its rotation limits. 

2.2.7  Microcontroller (Arduino)

The microcontroller functions as the nerve center of the entire system, collecting the data inputs, interpreting it and feeding outputs for the main solar panel to be adjusted. Inputs include data from the main and tracking solar panel’s voltmeters and ammeters, while outputs is primarily for the display and motors. 

Additionally, the built-in clock function in the microcontroller can be used for adjustment of main solar panel angle over fixed intervals.

3. Parts 

4. Challenges  

• Variable power generated by the solar panel and its implications on circuit stability -  possible usage of capacitors/diodes/forms of voltage regulation to mitigate this

• Implementation and testing conditions - weather conditions as a hindrance to outdoor sun tracking, can be done using artificial lighting instead 

5. References  

[1] L.P. Guo, P. Curtis, A. Barendregt and A. Surillo, “AC 2009-354: A Sun Tracking Solar-Power System,” American Society for Engineering Education, Illinois, Senior Design Project Paper, 2009.

[2] “Simple Dual Axis Solar Tracker,” n.d. [Online]. Available: https://www.instructables.com/id/Simple-Dual-Axis-Solar-Tracker/. [Accessed: 20-Sep-2019]

[3] “Solar Tracker Arduino Project,” 2019. [Online]. Available: https://www.cei.washington.edu/education/lessons/solar-tracker-arduino-project/. [Accessed: 17-Sep-2019]

[4] “Sun Tracking Solar Panel,” September 5, 2018. [Online]. Available: https://www.electronicshub.org/sun-tracking-solar-panel/. [Accessed: 18-Sep-2019]