Design of a Solar Tracking System by Using Arduino

Abstract

Recently, renewable energy resources have gained importance as a result of increasing energy demand and rapid depletion of fossil fuels. Most of renewable energy resources depend on sunlight in one way or another. Since the solar energy is sustainable, the sun can be considered as an abundant energy source. Photovoltaic (PV) modules are used to convert sunlight into electrical energy. The amount of produced energy may change according to efficiency of the type of PV module. In other respects, proper positioning of PV modules directly affects the yield of solar energy system. Solar tracking systems (STSs) are designed to track the sun in order to position the PV modules and to provide the highest efficiency. In this study, an Arduino microcontroller based vertical axis STS was implemented to obtain the maximum power by rotating the PV modules either left or right.

Keywords: Solar tracking system, Arduino, Renewable energy.