SOLAR TRACKING SYSTEM

Electronics and communication engineering

The generation of power from the reduction of fossil fuels is the biggest challenge for the next half century. The idea of converting solar energy into electrical energy using photovoltaic panels holds its place in the front row compared to other renewable sources. But the continuous change in the relative angle of the sun with reference to the earth reduces the watts delivered by solar panel. In this context solar tracking system is the best alternative to increase the efficiency of the photovoltaic panel. Solar trackers move the payload towards the sun throughout the day. In this paper different types of tracking systems are reviewed and their pros and cons are discussed in detail. The results presented in this review confirm that the azimuth and altitude dual axis tracking system is more efficient compared to other tracking systems. However in cost and flexibility point of view single axis tracking system is more feasible than dual axis tracking system. The renewable energy is a source of energy that does not deplete with time, because of this most of the research focused on this source of energy. Solar energy is among the renewable energy that is free in nature and clean from pollution, but harnessing this energy has limitation due to some environmental conditions. To solve this problem, solar tracking is used. The result revealed the solar system with tracking is more efficient compared to that fixed solar system. Furthermore, dual axis tracking system is also more efficient than single axis tracking system due to the fact that dual axis tracking system have ability to track the solar irradiant on both axes. Finally, it is not recommended to use solar trackers with small PV arrays because of the energy consumption of the driving systems, which vary from 2% to 3% of the energy increase delivered by the solar trackers.

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