College of Computer Engineering and Sciences

Senior Project Proposal

Title: Dual-Axis Solar Tracker
Group Members:
Ali Farfour 201200126
Faisal Basheer 201301765
Shahid Ahmed 201202766

1. Introduction
In todays world it is quite common to come across a solar-panel whilst passing a street/road.
Solar-panels are commonly found lighting up crosswalk signs, path side lamps, etc. Solar
energy is inexpensive, readily available, and is easy to use. According to the National Center
for Policy Analysis, solar power is the fastest growing means of renewable energy
production; increasing on average by 60 % annually from 2004 to 2009. According to Burnett
(2012), the trend in decreasing cost of photovoltaic panels might lead photovoltaic panels to
become cost competitive in the next 10 years, for commercial installations.
The solar panels used in aforementioned day-to-day applications are fixed in one position;
most likely at a 45 orientation and facing the geographic South. While this approach of fixed
position solar panels is extremely simple and meets the needs of most small applications; it
does not produce as much energy as it could be. The single simplest way of getting more
energy out of the solar panels is to have them track the sun. Sun-tracking solar panels yield
around 30% more energy per day than a fixed panel (Yousaf, 1999).
Tracking can be achieved via two methods, namely- single and dual axis. The single axis
tracking is sufficient to track the East-West path of the sun with one degree of freedom
(DOF). However this is not the case with the earths movements. The earth is tilted on its axis
of rotation by 23.45, which makes the consideration of the seasonal change in angle
differences to be taken into account. A dual axis solar tracker is therefore needed to solve the
issue, which makes use of two DOF.
2. Project Objective
The main objective of the project is to design and implement a sun-tracking solar panel. The
solar tracker hence made, would operate in a dual-axis fashion to consider both the seasonal
and East-West changes in orientation of the solar panel. The project will focus on increasing
the efficiency of the regular solar panels while considering budget constraints.
3. System Design
The three techniques that can be implemented for dual axis tracking are shown below in
figure 1. The basic/classic set up shown in figure1 (a) will be adopted for the system.

.
(a)

(b)

(c)

Figure 1: Dual-Axis solar tracking techniques. Source: http://www.solarpowerworldonline.com

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The following figure 2 illustrates the overall system design. The system has four LDR (Light
Dependent Resistor) sensors, providing feedback to the microcontroller. The microcontroller
processes this feedback and provides two individual PWM (Pulse-Width Modulation) signals
to the servo motors for their movement. The movement of the servo motors thus brings the
solar panel towards the highest intensity of sunlight. The system is powered by a 12 V power
supply and a battery to store the amassed power form the solar panel.

Figure 2: Overall System Design

The four LDRs work by changing their resistance level according to the amount of light that
is hitting them. The following relation is observed between the resistance of the sensors
(RLDR) and the luminous intensity of light (I).

The program on the microcontroller will thus compare the resistance values of the four
sensors and move the servo motors in a manner that will make the solar panel face the
direction of the highest light intensity level.

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4. Benefits
The main contributions/benefits of this study or project can be stated briefly as follows:

i.

The presence of this device is extremely important because the suns position varies
from time to time. Position of the sun (w.r.t earth) varies with the season and as well
as the time of the day. This proposed system will make the solar panel work better
and more efficient; as it will be facing directly to the sun with the help of the tracker.

ii.

It can be used most effectively in the areas with low horizons and shade-free from
dawn to dusk each day. Throughout the year, the tracking panel will be able to utilize
the wide open access to gain every available electron from the sun. This way, energy
production will be optimum and the energy output increased year round.

5. Conclusion
This project utilizes standard hardware and solar panels to implement a dual axis solar
tracker. The Solar Tracker will be able to constantly follow the sun movement. The chief
objective of the system will be to increase the power yield obtained from solar panels. The
system proposed will comprise of the microcontroller, servo motors, LDR sensors, solar
panels and power storage. The tracking mechanism will utilize the variation in LDR
resistance vales and decide the orientation of the solar panel.

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6. References
1) Burnett H. S. (2011). Solar Power Prospects. National Center for Policy Analysis; Policy
Report No. 334 <http://www.ncpa.org/pdfs/st334.pdf >
2) Reichelstein S. (2012). The Prospects for Cost-Competitive Solar PV Power
<http://www.gsb.stanford.edu/news/headlines/Reichelstein-solar-2012.html>
3) Solar Power World (Website). <http://www.solarpowerworldonline.com>
4) Yousaf H. A. (1999). Design and Implementation of a Fuzzy Logic Computer-Controlled Sun
Tracking System. Proceedings of IEEE International Symposium on Industrial Electronics, 3.
1030-1034.

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