AUTOMATIC SUN TRACKING

SYSTEM
Logitha & Nishandhini
Dept of Electronics and Communication Engineering
IFET College Of Engineering (An Autonomous Institution)
Address—No 17, Valli Nagar, Salainagar(logitha)
No 29, Otthai Street, Kurunjipadi(nishandhini)
Email-- Logitha0414@gmail.com nishunisha2345@gmail.com

Abstract— The aim of this paper is to solve the problem of

II. LITERATURE SURVEY
energy crisis which is considerably serious issue in today’s
period. It is becoming essential to increase use of renewable Many researchers have tried to find the
sources of energy namely solar energy as compared to alternative energy to replace the gas. One of the
conventional sources for energy generation. A technology alternative energy that we can use is photovoltaic
namely solar tracking system is introduced to improve
efficiency of solar cells by tracking sun’s energy. It uses
energy. In solar photovoltaic, sunlight is actually
8051 microcontroller and stepper motor to move solar converted into electricity. Sunlight is made of
panel according to position of sun. Photo resistors are also photons, small particles of energy. These photons are
used to detect light intensity. absorbed by and pass through the material of a solar
cell or solar photovoltaic panel. In many solar
Keywords—solar energy, Photo resistors, Solar panel and energy systems, the battery stores energy for later
microcontroller.
use. Light dependent resistors are used as the sensors
I. INTRODUCTION
of the solar tracker. The tracking system maximizes
solar cell output by positioning a solar panel at the
Extracting usable electricity from the sun was
point of maximum light intensity. This is especially
made possible by the discovery of the photoelectric
true when the sun is shining strongly. The unique
effect. Subsequent development of the solar cell,
feature of this solar tracking system is that instead of
which is a semi-conductive material that converts
taking the earth as its reference, it takes the sun as a
visible light into a direct current. Solar arrays, a
guiding source. Solar panels made of silicon to
series of solar cells electrically connected, generates
convert sunlight into electricity. Solar photovoltaic
a DC voltage which can be used on a load. The
are used in a number of ways:
Automatic Sun tracking System (ASTS) was helpful
to solve the problem, mentioned above. It is
A. Tracking System:
completely automatic and keeps the panel in front of
sun until that is visible. The unique feature of this The tracking system was driven by two permanent
system is that instead of taking the earth as its magnet DC motors to provide motion of the PV
reference, it takes the sun as a guiding source. The panels in two axis. The project describes the use of a
most promising and fastest moving solar technology Microcontroller based design methodology of an
today is that of solar cells, flat metallic blue chips automatic solar tracker. Light dependent resistors are
made of highly pure silicon that can convert sunlight used as the sensors of the solar tracker. The tracking
into electricity. These photo-voltaic cells for a system maximizes solar cell output by positioning a
variety of applications such as: solar panel at the point of maximum light intensity.
1. Water pumps for irrigation and drinking water This paper describes the use of DC motors, special
supplies. motors like stepper motors, servo motors, real time
2. Power supply for microwave repeater station. actuators, to operate moving parts of the solar
3. Communication equipment, radio and television tracker. The system was designed as the normal line
receivers. of solar cell always move parallel to the rays of the
4. Solar water heaters. sun.
5. Solar refrigeration.
B. Solar Tracker:
A solar tracker is a generic term used to describe
devices that orient or align various payloads toward
the sun. Example for payloads are photovoltaic
panels, reflectors, Collectors, lenses or other optical
devices. The system focuses on the optimization of
the electric energy produced by photovoltaic cells
through the development of a sun-tracking system.

C. Solar System:
A solar system refers to a star and all the objects
that travel in orbit around it. Our solar system
consists of the sun - our star - eight planets and their F. Circuit Diagram:
natural satellites (such as our moon); dwarf planets;
asteroids and comets. Our solar system is located in
an outward spiral of the Milky Way galaxy.
1.The sun is one of the more than 100 billion stars
in the giant spiral gallery called the Milky Way.
2. The sun is the center of the solar system. It
means is about 740 times as much as that of all the
plants combined.
3. The sun continuously gives off energy in
several furs visible light gamma rays, cosmic rays,
radio waves and plasma the sun generally ore in G. Input:
almost circular orbit around the galactic center at an The various positions of the sun over a year for a
average speed of about 250km per second. particular geographical location is given as the
primary input to the microcontroller. The irradiance
D. Sun Tracking System: of the sun for a particular geographical location over
From dawn to dusk the sun keeps changing the a year is the secondary input for the microcontroller.
angle from 0-90 rising and 90-180 declining. In a The real time clocking is enabled in the
year of 365 days the sun moves approximately 22.5 microcontroller.
degrees north to 22.5 degrees south of the equator.
We get maximum energy from the sun when - The H. Working:
angle of the sun is degrees - The sun’s position is 0 • Interfacing between hardware and
+/- 5 degrees of the equator. microcontroller.
• Inputs to microcontroller.
• Controlling constraints.

I. Conditions For Maximum Output:

The difference between the incident ray and the
reflected ray should be equal to zero, i.e. the rays
should be perpendicular to the panel. The altitude is
directly proportional to the efficiency of the system
up to a certain limit. Very clear sky and clean
atmosphere contributes a bit more to the efficiency
Energy Production of the system.
E. Stepper motor:
It is a position controlled device which is used to J. Controlling Constraints:
translate electrical pulses into mechanical movement The microcontroller is programmed to orient the
of solar panel. The leads of stator winding is panel at optimum position against the sun, via
controlled by 4 bits of 8051 port. Stepper motor is comparing to the inputs given. The microcontroller
interfaced with microcontroller using driver IC is set with a lower tolerance for the voltage produced.
ULN2003. The reason behind this is that If the voltage produced is above the tolerance then it
microcontroller cannot provide enough current to holds the position of the panel. If the voltage falls
drive the motor. It consumes less power and has less below the tolerance, then the panel changes the
operating voltage. position in the forward direction.
K. Photovoltaic System: O. Basic Components:
Solar or photovoltaic system are developing • The Solar Panel
higher levels of performance and are also • Stepper Motor
becoming cheaper. In the home sector,
photovoltaic systems with innovative solar • Actuator
storage systems can provide an economically • Microcontroller
attractive alternative to traditional grid • A Display Unit (Optional)
connections. Solar batteries are a viable energy • Interfacing Cables
backup plan. These batteries are optimized to III. CONCLUSION
store solar energy generated by photovoltaic
solar panels. On one hand we can see the worlds energy
resources depletion to be a major problem. On the
other hands global warming, which is a major
concern. Switching to solar power, which is clean
and green and enhancing its efficiency by using sun
trackers is a great option in the near future.

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