TITLE:
New Approach on Development a Dual Axis Solar Tracking Prototype
AUTHORS:
Nader Barsoum, Rinoe Nizam, Elvin Gerard
KEYWORDS:
Elevation, Azimuth, Altitude, LDR, AutoCAD, Sketch Up, Proteus H-Bridge IC, Arduino Microcontroller
JOURNAL NAME:
Wireless Engineering and Technology,
Vol.7 No.1,
November
26,
2015
ABSTRACT: To track the sun in two
directions that is elevation and azimuth, a dual-axis tracking prototype is
developed to capture the maximum sun rays by tracking the movement of the sun
in four different directions. One axis is azimuth which allows the solar panel
to move left and right. The other axis is elevation and allows the panel to
turn up and down. The result of this new development provides the solar panels
with extensive freedom of movement. This new approach will make use of the
Light Depending Resistor (LDR) which is important to detect the sun light by
following the source of the sun light location. AutoCAD software is being used
to design the draft in 2-dimension (2D) for the hardware dual axis solar
tacker. Sketch Up software is being used to sketch the drawing to be more real
in 3-dimension (3D). Proteus software is being used to design the circuit for
the Arduino UNO microcontrollers and H-BridgeIC chip. This implemented system
can save more energy and probably offers more reduction in cost. The paper
discusses the process of hardware development and the control process of
tracking the sun, as well as the circuit design.