Design and Implementation of a Sun Tracking Solar Panel Project

This project focuses on the design and implementation of a sun tracking solar panel system, aiming to maximize solar energy conversion into renewable electricity. The system utilizes an ATmega328 microcontroller, two light-dependent resistors (LDRs), and a servo motor to automatically adjust the panel's orientation towards the sun. The project details the construction process, including circuit assembly and code uploading, and discusses the placement of dependent resistors to optimize sunlight capture. Client requirements, such as providing backup lighting and water heating, are addressed through the project's specifications. The project also includes a cost analysis, components list, mechanical requirements, and a design overview, highlighting the use of a single-axis tracker and algorithms for maximizing solar energy production. The conclusion emphasizes the efficiency of the programmable solar tracker in achieving maximum results.

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Name:
Course
Professor’s name
University name
City, State
Date of submission

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Introduction: Project Sun Tracker
The project sun tracker is a project where sun energy are converted into renewable
energy with the help of a solar panel. The use of renewable energy is increasing due to
decrease in non-renewable energy to produce electricity. The popularity of solar energy has
increased due to its sustainable nature and its renewability. The solar panel are strategically
placed to tap the sun energy and convert it into electrical energy stored in energy cells or
batteries (Al-Enezi, Al-Qattan, and Esmaeili, 2017). The solar panels should be set to absorb
the maximum energy from the sun and does not need to be shifted due to the suns ability to
rotate. They can also be set to rotate towards the direction of the sun.
Project construction
The sun tracking solar panels have the following process;
1. First start with assembly of the circuit and upload the project solar code to
ATmega328 microcontroller.
2. Switch on the power on the circuit and place the panel on the rooftop directly
under the sunlight,
3. The micro controller (AT mega 328) changes the servo motor position based on
the light falling on the two LDRs and this in turn moves the panel.
In this project, the solar panels consists of 2 LDRs, a servo motor, a panel and a micro
controller. Dependent resistors are strategically placed on the solar panel edges. The resistors
causes a low resistance when sunlight is directed towards them. The servo motor is used to
rotate the solar panel towards the sun direction (Damayanti, Reddy, Reddy, and Srinivasulu,

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2019). They rotate at a given angle. When the light falling on the panel is intense, the motor
moves the LDR from left to right depending on the intensity. The motor moves the LDR
depending on the intensity of the sun and at noon, there is no rotation and the panel remains
constant (Mir-Nasiri, and Ali, 2016,).
Client requirements
The client requires a solar panel to help as a backup light equipment when there is no
electricity or electricity rationing. He needs a medium sized solar panel that can even heat
water in his house.
Project specifications
The client requires a medium sized solar panel. In this project, the solar panels
consists of 2 LDRs, a servo motor, a panel and a micro controller. Dependent resistors are
strategically placed on the solar panel edges. The resistors causes a low resistance when
sunlight is directed towards them
Market cost
The cost of the solar panel in the market is $300 for a small solar panel. However the
medium sized one is $ 650 at market rates.
Components of the Sun tracking solar panel project
1. Micro controller( AT mega 328)
2. Servo motor

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3. 2 light dependent resistors ( LDR)
4. Solar panel- depends on the size of the project
5. 2 Capacitors (ceramic)
6. Wires for connections
7. Cardboard
8. Push button or switch
9. Breadboard
Mechanical Requirements

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Image:https://www.google.com/search?
q=mechanical+requirements+of+a+Sun+tracking+solar+panel+project&source
Project design
The design of the sun tracking solar system depends on the components provided. The
AT mega controller is based on RISC architecture which is advanced. It should have the 2
wire interface and programmable flash memory. The solar panel should be placed on the
cardboard and at the bottom the motor servo. The cell battery is made of a silicon semi-
conductor material. The servo motor and the LDR depend on the intensity of the light for
rotation. A single axis tracker which uses just axis X and Y is used to make things simple and
set at 45 degrees of either X or Y. the trackers are not usually computer controlled but others
are actively tracked and controlled by a program set on a computer called Arduino (Tiwari,
Vora, Shewate, and Waghmare, 2016).
Algorithims in Solar Panel Installation
The best method for maximization of production of solar energy systems is through
sun tracking algorithms control systems. The effective control method controller maximum
points analyse hardware implementation . the hardware block algorithms description Verilog
submitted. Received decisions are supposed to be used in knowledge base of intelligent solar
batteries systems of control. Cost of renewable energy sources in photo-voltaic declining
progressively. The first variability is the generation and control of power output from the
solar vwhich is not very trivial. There is also a mismatch in demand profile from the supply

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profile and the demand profile which increased penetration of voltage, pwoere back flow and
the stability of the system. Algorithms provided controls power output form the solar panels.
When there is less demand than the capacity of production capacity of the panels, the
algorithm do curtail the demand match of the output. When the demand is more, the
algorithms efforts are at best in production of maximum power possible.
Conclusion
The solar tracker is turned into a scheduled tracker using a programmable CODE.
This is an efficient project that will yield maximum results.

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References
Al-Enezi, M., Al-Qattan, E. and Esmaeili, S.E., 2017, May. The Design of a Sun Chaser
Robot Prototype. In 2017 9th IEEE-GCC Conference and Exhibition (GCCCE) (pp. 1-6).
IEEE.
Damayanti, K., Reddy, T.S., Reddy, B.M. and Srinivasulu, A., 2019. Design and
Implementation of an Energy-Efficient, Low-Cost Robotic Solar Tracker.
In Nanoelectronics, Circuits and Communication Systems (pp. 127-138). Springer,
Singapore.
Mir-Nasiri, N. and Ali, M.H., 2016, May. Small scale sun tracking power plant. In 2016 5th
International Conference on Informatics, Electronics and Vision (ICIEV) (pp. 281-286).
IEEE.
Tiwari, A., Vora, M., Shewate, P. and Waghmare, V., 2016. Sun Tracking Solar Panel with
Maximum Power Point Tracking. International Journal of Engineering Science, 2451.
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