DUAL AXIS SOLAR TRACKING USING AUXILLIARY SOLAR CELLS

摘要

7. ABSTRACT- The output of a photovoltaic panel depends on its position with respect to the sun at any instant of time. To extract the maximum power from the panel, tracking systems are generally used for positioning it at an optimal angle. However, in case of solar farms, where a large number of panels are concentrated in a single area, implementing tracking sensors on each panel is not economical. Further, the maintenance of the same is cumbersome. This paper presents the design of a control for a solar array using an auxiliary panel for tracking the point of maximum output power, rather than placing the panels perpendicular to the sun. The auxiliary panel tracks the point of maximum power and transmits the co-ordinates to the controller, which in turn moves the array to the appropriate position. This tracking system is automatically switched off during cloudy and rainy periods, when the tracking system does not produce any significant change in . the output power. Further, this system eliminates the need for initial calibration as required in existing tracking systems. Experimental results prove that the power consumed by the proposed tracking algorithm is significantly lower than that consumed by conventional trackers.