Sun Tracker for Solar Panels         
        

Description:

The solar panel industry has experienced significant growth in recent years, due to the high demand for clean energy and high cost of home electricity. Solar panels allow homeowners as well as business owners to generate their own electricity, lowering power costs. Although solar panels are great at transforming solar energy into usable electrical energy, their efficiency can be improved even further. This is where the Solar panel sun tracker comes into play. The idea is to create a tracking system that determines the precise location of the sun on both the x and y-axis. Later taking this information and positioning the solar panels under direct sunlight. By following the sun's movement across the sky, the panels are positioned to receive direct sunlight at all times of the day maximizing power production [2].

                                     Sun’s movement across the sky    

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To accomplish the task of determining the position of the sun across the sky a “dome sensor” made up of many photocells will need to be constructed. Each photocell will point to a different angle to allow light to come in at different times of the day. The photocells will then gather data that will be processed by a microcontroller. The microcontroller will be tasked with analyzing the data to determine the photocells with the strongest reading. This data will then be mapped to an X and Y coordinate system to drive the motors to control the pitch and angle of the solar panel.

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Marketability:

Increased Energy Production: The primary advantage of automated solar trackers is their ability to increase energy production compared to fixed solar panel installations. This increased energy output can make solar projects more financially viable and attractive to investors.

Block Diagram: