MG7101 Project Report: Arduino Controlled Rotating Solar Panel

This project report details the development of a rotating solar panel system using an Arduino microcontroller. The system aims to maximize solar energy capture by automatically adjusting the panel's orientation based on the sun's position, controlled by an Atmega328 microcontroller. The report covers the background, research scope, methodology, and timeline of the project, emphasizing the use of renewable energy resources and improving the efficiency of solar energy harvesting. The goal is to create a feasible system capable of charging a 12VDC battery by optimizing the panel's exposure to sunlight.

Running head: ROTATING SOLAR PANEL USING ARDUINO
ROTATING SOLAR PANEL USING ARDUINO
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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Table of Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................2
Background................................................................................................................................3
Research Scope..........................................................................................................................6
Methodology..............................................................................................................................7
Approach and Techniques......................................................................................................7
Tool......................................................................................................................................10
Test.......................................................................................................................................10
Timeline...................................................................................................................................12
Conclusion................................................................................................................................14
References................................................................................................................................15

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Introduction
Energy demands in the recent years have been recorded to be growing at an
exponential rate by the commercial and as well as domestic markets (Pospischil, Furchi &
Mueller, 2014). While the non-renewable resources are rapidly getting depleted, it leaves no
other option but to use renewable resources to produce usable energy. One of these resources,
the Solar energy is the most abundant and easy to harness resource through Solar panels.
Solar energy is not just a replacement for the traditional mode of energy production but
instead is emerging as the choice because of the benefits offered by it (Li et al., 2015). The
benefits offered by the solar energy includes low maintenance of the solar devices,
maintaining environmental health, offers diverse application and similarly several others.
However, the solar energy with so many perks to offer is still not the most dominant source
of energy because of the challenges that are offered by it. The most prominent challenge is
the efficiency of the solar energy (Jin, 2016). A solar energy set-up consumes a lot of space
and the output from it is not sufficient enough. The reasons for the discussed challenge may
be associated with the weather dependent nature, static nature of solar panels and its
disruptive nature which offers a lot of gaps that needs to be filled.
Hence, the proposed work is aimed at ensuring that the solar panels output is
increased and to attain the discussed objective the focus has been laid on the static nature of
the solar panels that restricts it from leveraging the complete solar energy received by it. The
discussed challenge could be understood by the fact that with earth’s rotation the solar energy
from the sun does not directly falls on the panels which reduces the photovoltaic plates from
absorbing energy and providing output (Yu et al., 2017). The photovoltaic plates are at their
maximum efficiency when they are directly exposed to the sunlight however, due to the
earth’s rotation the panels do not get direct sunlight that limits their absorbing capability and
leads to low output. The resolving of the discussed challenge will not just increase the output

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from a solar panel but will also reduce the space consumed by the solar panels which in turn
will reduce the cost (both purchase and maintenance) (Amankwah-Amoah, 2015). Hence, a
solution to the discussed is desperately needed and one potential solution to this challenge is
a rotating solar panel that will rotate according to the earth’s rotation and in the process will
leverage most of the solar energy from the sun.
The proposed paper is aimed at developing a rotating solar panel that is capable of
rotating along with the rotation of the earth so that the panels at an angle to leverage the solar
energy. To attain the discussed objective, the rotation will be controlled by Arduino
Atmega328 microcontroller which will be mounted on a PCB. The microcontroller will be
connected to the servo motor that will control the direction of the solar panel based on the
intensity of the solar energy from the sun. Th developed system will be concluded with a
feasible system capable of charging a 12 VDC battery.
The following sections have discussed different aspects of the proposed paper that
includes background which is dedicated to identifying the current status of knowledge that is
available on the topic in discussion. Followed by the scope of the research which will discuss
the work that had been completed and the work that will be undertaken in the future to attain
the objective of the paper. The next section will detail the methodology of the proposed work
which will detail the research plan and tools. A planned schedule will also be discussed
before summarising the paper to conclude.
Background
The discussed section is aimed at detailing the identified knowledge from the
secondary sources. The journals and article for the discussed measure have been collected
through Google Scholar and summarised into different sections to offer most relevant
findings.

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Earth: Rotation
The earth is a body that revolves around the sun and on its own axis as well which
leads to change in seasons and days & night. The time consumed by the earth to rotate on its
own axis is 23 hours and 56 minutes which makes a solar day (Leconte et al., 2015). The
rotation is carried on an imaginary axis that starts from the northern pole of the earth and
completes at the southern pole of the earth. The rotation of the earth decides the intensity of
the sun over an area.
The understanding of the earth’s rotation will enable the readers and the author as
well to understand the fact of why the sol.ar panel needs to be rotating. The rotation of the
earth is responsible for the change in intensity of solar energy in an area. So to leverage the
solar panel by harvesting maximum solar energy the solar panel should also rotate
accordingly
Solar Irradiation: Sunlight & Solar Constant
The solar radiation from the sun is directed in earth through three means direct
radiation, diffused radiation and reflected radiation (Bisi et al., 2016). The energy from the
sun enters earth’s atmosphere through electromagnetic induction. The intense temperature
along with the high pressure at the core of the sun leads to solar fusion (Tey & Mekhilef,
2014). This leads to conversion of protons into the helium atom which leads to releasing of
gamma rays which are absorbed and re-emitted by the particles in the sun.
Stefan and Boltzmann has estimated the total power of the sun as
P=4πr2 σεT4W
The T represents temperature that is around 5800K (Kelvin), r is sun’s radius, σ is Boltzmann
constant, ε represents emissivity of the surface and W is work done (Benoit et al., 2015).

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The understanding of the solar energy will assist in understanding the process of
development of the solar energy and its constituents that will assist in better understanding of
the processes of the solar panel and in the process usefulness of the and scope of solar energy
harvesting.
Sunlight and Angles
It has been identified above that sunlight is an electromagnetic wave. The light could
be measured with luminosity function that will define the wavelength of the light and
depending on the wavelength the photovoltaic process occurs in a solar panel (Xu et al.,
2016). Understanding of the sunlight is crucial but more important is the understanding of the
angles that defines the angle of a solar panel. Elevation angle is the angle that could be
defined as the angular height of the sun measured horizontally. On the contrary the angle
between the sun and vertical is the Zenith angle. There exists a relationship between Zenith
angle and elevation angle (Skouri et al., 2016). The relation between the two is that their sum
is 90 degrees. The image attached below represents the discussed angles.
The intensity of the sun is highest when it is near 45 degrees horizontally and hence,
the common solar panels are placed at an elevated angle around 45 degrees (Karafil et al.,

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2015). It also enables collection of the most sunlight which is latter converted into DC (Direct
Current) through photovoltaic process at solar panel.
Solar Energy System
Solar energy system considered to be the cleanest form of energy is a renewable
energy system that harvest the sunlight and with the help of solar panels that are based on the
photovoltaic principles (Lewis, 2015). The system most prominently consists of a solar
photovoltaic cell and solar panel. The cell stores the energy that is produced by the solar
panel by harvesting the solar energy from the sun (Wegertseder et al., 2016).
The understanding of the solar energy system has cited the needs of the system and
what are its constituents. It will assist in development of the system in discussion.
Summary and author’s understanding
The review of the literature work could be summarised to state that solar power is one
of the vast sources of energy and could be leveraged to fulfil the energy needs at a global
level. The review has most prominently discussed different aspects of the solar energy and
the factors that affect the solar power for common use. The earth’s rotation, generation of the
solar energy and other crucial facts have been discussed. All the discussion above has
contributed towards the understanding of the solar energy and how it impacts the solar energy
system. The understanding will assist in better understanding of the system and accordingly
in the development of the system.
Research Scope
The project has been pursued with and till the data the initial work has been done that
includes establishment of the background. That includes identification of the requirements,
planning on the steps that needs to be adopted, collecting ideas from the preliminary review

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of the literature and other similar measures. The draft of the project has also been outlined
and the discussed report is the documentation of the daft. The following steps will include the
development of the prototypes, testing, and execution, post which the system in discussion
will be ready for presentation. The table attached in the timeline section reflects the timeline
of the project and activities that have been completed are marked yellow.
Methodology
The discussed section is dedicated towards discussion over the methods and
approaches that will be adopted towards attaining the objective of the paper that is the
development of a rotating solar panel using the Arduino. To detail the method and approach
different sub-sections has been discussed which includes the approach and techniques, the
tools that will be used along with the testing that will be done to ensure that the output of the
study work is suitable and reliable. Finally, a concussed summary will be offered with all the
discussion of all the that had been done in the discussed section.
Approach and Techniques
The most primary source for gathering of the knowledge will be the secondary
sources. The secondary sources here will refer to the research work that had earlier been
conducted on the topics that are relevant or associated with the proposed system. The
secondary sources here refer to the scientific journals, articles, dissertations and other similar
sources that have been published on the similar topics. The topics that had been referred in
the above section includes solar panels, research on the types of servo motors that can be
used, sensors, capacitors and other similar needs. The discussed attempt will be adopted so
that the developers could get a proper understanding of the needs and in the process will
utilise the requirements of the system with adequacy. To summarise the findings from the
secondary sources ground theory approach will be adopted through which the author will

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identify patterns and accordingly summarise the findings to be relevant with the discussed
work.
Post completion of the review of the literary work, the next step will involve
development of a prototype and to attain the discussed approach OMD (Object Modelling
diagrams) will be developed. The OM diagrams will replicate the processes that will be part
of the process such as showing the flow of data, the sequences that will be part that will
reflect on the activities that will complete the process (Jeong et al., 2016). Additionally, a
concept design will also be drafted using the CAD (Computer-Aided Designing) model that
will resemble the solar panel structure. The discussed model will be 3D in nature and will be
assembled together for the development of a prototype (Xiao et al., 2015). The prototype will
then be tested and the findings of the tests will ensure whether or not the software is working
properly. If the findings from the test are adverse, then necessary changes will be made so
that the software cites the desired output.
After completion of all the above mentioned steps the final step will be to attain the
primary objective of developing a rotating solar panel with assistance of Arduino. A block
diagram of the proposed model along with the requirements that have been analysed from
different sources have been listed below to offer an insight into the needs of the system.
Block Diagram
The image attached below reflects the core components and an overview of the
connections between them.

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Hardware Specifications
The discussed sub-section has listed all the hardware requirements of the proposed
project (Fang, Fan & Mcintosh, 2014).
I. Arduino Uno R3
II. Servo Motor
III. Solar Panel
IV. Solar Panel Mount
V. LCD’s
VI. Resistors
VII. Capacitors
VIII. Transistors
IX. Cables & Connectors

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X. Diodes
XI. PCB
XII. LED’s
XIII. Transformer/Adapter
XIV. Push Button
Software Specifications
The discussed sub-section has listed all the software requirements of the proposed
project.
I. Arduino Compiler
II. Programming Language: C
Tool
The tools that will be required for the successful completion of the proposed project
has been listed below along with a block diagram that reflects the core components and their
connections. However, it should be noted that additional tools may be adopted as part of the
project to enhance the performance of the developed system or mitigate any error and if done
it will be credited in the final report.
Test
Different tests will be conducted to ensure that the output of the solar cell is as it has
been expected out of the developed system. The most prominent test will be that of the
efficiency test and the efficiency of the solar power is determined through the fraction of the
incident power which is then converted into the electrical power (Ahn et al., 2015). The
definition is

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Pmax = VOC*ISC*FF
η = VOC*ISC*FF/ PIN
VOC = Open Circuit Voltage
ISC = Short-Circuit Current
FF = Fill Factor
η = Efficiency
The output from the solar panel will be initially measures before integrating it with
the Arduino and converting it in a rotating device.
Another Test that will be part of the testing will be the Photocell Resistance testing
which will be done in three conditions that being the dark light condition, average light
condition and bright light condition (Richie et al., 2015).
Algorithm for Motor Control will also be tested and ensured. The algorithm
description for the required project will be
I. The input of the voltage should come from two Light dependent resistors (LDRs).
II. The inputs will be analogous which needs to be converted in digital format.
III. A comparison and contrasting between the two digital value needs to be done to
identify the difference.
IV. Error Proportional Angle is the difference that will be obtained and the motor will be
rotated accordingly.
V. In case the difference that is the error proportional angle is zero the motor will be
stopped and kept static. On the contrary, if the error proportional angle is non-zero,
the motor will rotate until the value of the angle becomes zero.