Comparison of open circuit voltage generated by tracking solar panel and static solar panel using arduino board

Abstract

This paper represents the comparison of the voltages generated by the tracking and static solar panels. The work also aims to design and  fabrication of a cheap and efficient tracking device. This device comprises of hardware and software. A rigid mechanical structure with nut and  screw as the transmission is developed. 4 LDRs and DC motors are employed, which are cheap and less power consuming. As far as the software  concerns, an open source microcontroller “Arduino UNO” board is used because of their simplicity and cost effectiveness. This Sun tracking device with a PV panel installed on it, is placed outside at the roof of the building along with a static solar panel. Output voltages generated from both panels are recorded in SD card through data logger in Arduino UNO. This real-time data shows the difference in amplitude of both the signals. Voltage of rotating panel is more than static one resulting that the tracking device can increase the efficiency of the panel by exposing the PV panel more to the sun light. Hence this setup proves that the solar panel with tracking system generates more energy than solar panel without tracking system.

Keywords: Solar Tracker, LDR, PV Panel, Arduino UNO Board.