Design and Implementation of a Smart Dual Axis Solar Tracker with an Anti-theft Alarm Mechanism

摘要

Photovoltaic (PV) systems have played a key role over the last decade in the evolution of the electricity sector. Solar trackers are commonly used to increase the energy output from PV panels. However less focus have been laid on the security of the panels. It has been reported that the past few years has seen a significant increase in solar panel robbery. To address this issue, a microcontroller based, anti-theft, dual axis solar tracking prototype was designed and implemented. A comparative analysis was then performed between the dual-axis solar tracking system, and a fixed photo module. Results show that, on average the dual axis solar tracker produced 25.1% more energy than the stationary photo module, for the tropical island of Mauritius. An inexpensive microcontroller was used which enabled Short Message Service (SMS) text messages to and from the tracker, for control and signaling of tampering and/or theft of PV panels.