2019 IEEE International Conference on Automatic Control and Intelligent Systems (I2CACIS 2019), 29 June 2019, Selangor, Malaysia

An Automated Intelligent Solar Tracking Control

System With Adaptive Algorithm for Different
Weather Conditions
Nurzhigit Kuttybay1*, Saad Mekhilef2, Ahmet Saymbetov1, Madiyar Nurgaliyev1,
Aibolat Meiirkhanov1, Gulbakhar Dosymbetova1, Zhumabek Kopzhan1
1Facultyof Physics and Technology, Al-Farabi Kazakh National University,
71 al-Farabi Ave., Almaty, Kazakhstan
2Power Electronics and Renewable Energy Research Laboratory (PEARL),

Department of Electrical Engineering, University of Malaya,

50603 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
E-mail: nurjigit.10.93@gmail.com
*

Abstract — The paper considers an intelligent automated To date, there are many automated biaxial solar trackers
solar tracking control system designed to increase the efficiency working on the basis of various algorithms. Most often, the
of solar energy production. The proposed method of detecting algorithms of automated solar trackers are based on
cloudiness allows system to adapt to various weather conditions indications of photosensitive sensors that determine the
in real time by changing the angle of the solar panel. It is known direction of the maximum intensity of solar radiation, or on
that in case of strong scattering of solar radiation in cloudy the basis of the known trajectory of the Sun moving across the
weather panels installed horizontaly are more effective, rather sky in the coordinate system related to the Earth. Using these
than trackers which precisely oriented to the Sun. Proposed solar algorithms, the trackers find the desired position of the solar
biaxial solar tracker equipped with two additional small solar
panel so that the sun's rays fall perpendicular to the surface of
modules. One of the modules is installed in a horizontal position,
the solar battery. If weather conditions change, clear weather
the second module is also a biaxial solar tracker. The algorithm
for determining the position of the solar panel is based on known
is replaced by variable cloudiness and rain, then the panel
trajectory of the Sun during whole year saved in memory card installed in a horizontal position will produce more power [12-
and on monitoring the output currents of small solar panels built 17]. However, sun tracking systems with photosensitive
into the system. When cloudiness increases, the output current of sensors are practically not adapted to cloudy and rainy weather
a small solar horizontal module will exceed the current of the [18-20]. On the other hand trackers working on the basis of
module oriented to the Sun. Then the big solar panel goes into a astronomical calculations of the daily trajectory of the Sun
horizontal position. For remote monitoring of the energy cannot determine the presence or absence of clouds. That
characteristics of the solar battery, wireless data transmission decreases their effectiveness.
based on LoRa AS32 TTL modules were added into the system. Analysis of the modern tracking systems for the Sun, we
Experimental results showed that energy generated in cloudy have come to the development of an intelligent autonomous
weather using proposed method exceeds energy collected by tracking system of the Sun, which allows us to orient solar
biaxial solar tracker by 18%. panel horizontally in cloudy and rainy weather to increase the
Keywords— solar energy, solar tracking control system, biaxial output current of the solar panel.
solar trackers, autonomous intelligent system, wireless monitoring
II. STRUCTURE OF ADAPTIVE INTELLIGENT
I. INTRODUCTION SOLAR TRACKER
Today there are various ways to increase the efficiency of Here we are going to look at the structure of an adaptive
solar energy conversion. A large number of works are devoted intelligent solar tracker and the electrical circuit of the control
to sun tracking systems [1-6] and their use in various branches unit. The structure of the solar tracker is shown in Fig. 1. Here
of human activity. Depending on the design of the solar 1 is the solar panel; 2 - control unit for horizontal rotation of
tracking system (solar trackers) can be classified as uniaxial the panel, consisting of several gears of different size and
and biaxial. Uniaxial solar trackers rotate in a horizontal plane motor. There is also an electrical system control unit and
turning in the direction of the Sun using various algorithms. In batteries; 3 - linear actuator that allows us to track the height
this case, uniaxial solar trackers do not take into account the of the Sun. Small solar panels 4 and 5 are located on an
change in the height of the Sun during the day. The angle of
additional platform. Small solar battery 4 is equipped with a
the solar panel is set equal to the latitude of the area in which
biaxial solar tracker, made on the basis of two servo motors 6
the tracker is installed. Biaxial solar trackers have an
advantage over uniaxial [7-11], as they take into account the and 7 rotating a small solar battery vertically and horizontally.
change in the height of the Sun during the day and during the Small solar battery 5 is installed horizontally. The task of
year.

978-1-7281-0784-4/19/$31.00 ©2019 IEEE 315

Authorized licensed use limited to: Sri Sivasubramanya Nadar College of Engineering. Downloaded on February 28,2023 at 05:35:08 UTC from IEEE Xplore. Restrictions apply.
 2019 IEEE International Conference on Automatic Control and Intelligent Systems (I2CACIS 2019), 29 June 2019, Selangor, Malaysia

small solar batteries is to monitor the current in a horizontal and input 8 and powered from 12 V power supply. The inputs
position and with precise orientation towards the Sun. marked by number 9 are for the LoRa AS32 TTL wireless data
module. Stepper motors must be connected to a power supply
of at least 12 V through relays and motor drivers to reduce the
power consumption of the motors. Inputs 10 are designed to
power stepper motors.

Fig. 1. The structure of an adaptive intelligent solar tracking

system

Data transmission over the wireless channel and remote

monitoring is carried out using the LoRa AS32 TTL
transceiver. LoRa wireless technology works on frequency
433 MHz. It uses linear spread spectrum to increase the
coverage area. Thanks to the LoRa modulation it is possible to
receive packets even if the power of signal lower then level of Fig. 2. Adaptive Intelligent Solar Tracker Control circuit
noise by 19 dBm. We used model with output signal power
100 mW. This module has coverage area about 3 km in open 3D electronic circuit of intelligent solar tracking system
space. The control of the processing of the received data and was constructed in schematic and PCB design software
sending over the wireless channel is also performed by the DipTrace. Using constructed circuit we will manufacture
electrical control unit 2. Data is received by the second control unit to perform the experiment.
wireless module LoRa AS32 TTL, which is indicated by the III. ALGORITHM OF WORK OF AN ADAPTIVE
number 9. The receiver is connected to the computer 10 via
INTELLIGENT TRACKING SYSTEM FOR THE SUN
the serial USB port. Dispatch program 11, allows us to
monitor whole process in real time. If the current generated by
the small tracker is greater than the current generated by the
small horizontal battery, the “big tracker” remains in a The algorithm of the biaxial solar tracking system is shown
position turned to the Sun. If the horizontal small battery will in Fig. 3. After initialization, the controller turns on the LoRa
generate more current, the “big tracker” moves to the AS32 TTL wireless module. The next step is, a real-time
horizontal position. The second case is possible if there is request is made and inserted in the variable tC, as well as the
strong scattering of sunlight by clouds. coordinates of the Sun at the given time. Then it is necessary
to determine the time of sunrise tSR and sunset tSS, in order to
The control unit of the solar tracker consists of several reveal the time of active work of the system of tracking the
parts. Fig. 2 shows electric circuit of adaptive intelligent solar Sun.
tracking control unit. The most important part of the control If the condition tSR> tC> tSS is fulfilled, the controller
unit is the ATMega328 controller. The controller is powered calculates the number of rotations is necessary to bring the
by a LM7805 DC-DC converter connected to a battery with a tracker to the desired position. Then a stepping motor is set in
nominal voltage of 12 V. A slot for an SD card is needed to motion, which rotates the tracker in the horizontal plane. Now,
connect a memory card that collects data on the position of the if the current of the small tracker is greater than the current of
Sun for each day of the year. To obtain the values of voltages the small horizontal battery, then the big tracker drives the
on the battery and the solar panel, electronic voltmeters are stepping motor, which changes the vertical position of the
connected to inputs 1 and 2, 3,4 - inputs for obtaining values panel. If vice versa the current of the small horizontal battery
of currents of small solar batteries, based on the operation of is greater, the big tracker goes into the horizontal position. In
the sensor INA219, 5 - input for measuring the current of the this case, clouds appear in the sky. Next, the current and
solar tracker, to which the current sensors INA219 are voltage of the battery and big tracker must be measured, to
connected. The most important elements are the real-time determine the level of its charge, and to calculate the output
clock, which is connected to input 6. Stepper motors are used power of the tracking system of the Sun. The obtained values
to rotate the solar panel in space, which are connected to the of currents and voltages are sent over the wireless channel to
controller via drivers. Drivers need to be connected to input 7, the dispatcher for data processing and presentation in a

978-1-7281-0784-4/19/$31.00 ©2019 IEEE 316

Authorized licensed use limited to: Sri Sivasubramanya Nadar College of Engineering. Downloaded on February 28,2023 at 05:35:08 UTC from IEEE Xplore. Restrictions apply.
 2019 IEEE International Conference on Automatic Control and Intelligent Systems (I2CACIS 2019), 29 June 2019, Selangor, Malaysia

convenient form. After a short period of time, the cycle begins

anew.

Fig. 4. The developed adaptive intelligent solar tracking system

The experiment was conducted on the territory of Al-

Farabi Kazakh National University in Almaty city on March
30, 2019. On this day, there was an increased cloudiness and
light rain. Fig. 5 shows the graphs of the current of a small
tracker and a small horizontal solar battery. Sending data over
the wireless channel was made at intervals of 15 minutes from
8:00 a.m. until 6:00 p.m.

Fig. 5. Comparison of currents of a small tracker and a small

horizontal battery on a cloudy day

The graph shows that the current of a small horizontal

solar cell lies above the small tracker throughout the day, since
Fig. 3. The algorithm of the adaptive intelligent solar tracking the sun's rays are strongly scattered in cloudy weather. So the
system big tracker was in a horizontal position for the whole day
according to the proposed algorithm. Fig. 6 shows a graph of
IV. EXPERIMENT RESULTS AND DISCUSSION the power of the big solar tracker. The maximum generated
An adaptive intelligent solar tracker with wireless data power of the solar battery is registered, as it turned out, at
transmission using the LoRa AS32 TTL technology was 11:00 a.m. with value 2750.4 mW. However, when the Sun
manufactured for the experiment. For the solar tracker a solar was at its highest point, the power of the electric current was
battery with a peak current of 2.34 A and peak voltage of 17.1 lower, 1776.84 mW. The reason for this change is the high
V, as well as a power of 40 W was used. The developed solar density and rain type of clouds. As the Sun approached the
tracking system is shown in Fig. 4. zenith, the clouds thickened and began to rain. Where as in the
morning the clouds were evenly distributed across the sky.

978-1-7281-0784-4/19/$31.00 ©2019 IEEE 317

Authorized licensed use limited to: Sri Sivasubramanya Nadar College of Engineering. Downloaded on February 28,2023 at 05:35:08 UTC from IEEE Xplore. Restrictions apply.
 2019 IEEE International Conference on Automatic Control and Intelligent Systems (I2CACIS 2019), 29 June 2019, Selangor, Malaysia

Fig. 8 shows the power of the proposed adaptive tracker

and biaxial solar tracker in cloudy day. These experimental
data were taken on April 21, from 8:00 am to 18:00 pm. At the
beginning of the experiment, up to 9 am it was foggy and we
can see that the energy output of a adaptive solar tracker is
much greater than that of a solar tracker. Further, until 10 am
the sky was covered with a thick dark cloud, which
corresponds to the graph with a decrease in the energy
produced by both solar trackers. From 10 am to 11 am the
time period clouds became thinner and the power increased.
At the time from 12 pm to 14 pm when the Sun was at the
Fig. 6. Power of a big solar tracker on a cloudy day zenith covered by thick clouds, the energy output of both
systems becomes almost the same. Then, from 2 pm, it was
Reduction the power level of a big tracker corresponds to rainy and the output power of the panels decreases. But still
the reduction of the current strength of a small horizontal the adaptive solar tracking system produces more energy.
panel.
Summing up all the data obtained we can find the
Fig. 7 shows the dispatch program for monitoring the difference between power generated by adaptive solar tracker
operation of an adaptive intelligent solar tracker created in the and biaxial solar tracker. Energy obtained by adaptive solar
LabView graphical development environment. The first line tracker exceeded by 18% in cloudy weather.
contains graphs of current, voltage and power of a small solar
tracker and a small horizontal solar panel, respectively. In the
second line current, voltage and power of a big tracker, V. CONCLUSION
respectively.
As a result of this work, an adaptive intelligent system for
tracking the Sun was developed. An algorithm for detecting
the presence of clouds for a solar tracker using the difference
in current values of small solar batteries has been developed
and applied. The architecture of the remote monitoring system
and dispatching program based on the LoRa AS32 TTL
wireless module has been developed. Experimental data of the
system operation using the developed algorithm and the
remote monitoring system in cloudy and rainy weather were
obtained. Energy obtained by adaptive solar tracker exceeded
energy collected by biaxial solar tracker by 18% in cloudy
weather. The developed algorithm can be used in industrial
Fig. 7. The dispatch program for monitoring the operation of intelligent installations to improve the efficiency of solar tracking
solar tracking system systems.
Thus, using this software and proposed adaptive tracking ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
system, it is possible to increase the efficiency of energy This work has been supported financially by the research
generation in rainy and cloudy weather. project AP05132464 of Ministry of education and science of
Republic of Kazakhstan and performed at Research Institute
of Mathematics and Mechanics in al-Farabi Kazakh National
University which is gratefully acknowledged by the authors.
REFERENCES
[1] Mousazadeh, Hossein, et al., "A review of principle and sun-tracking
methods for maximizing solar systems output", Renewable and
sustainable energy reviews, vol. 13, no. 8, pp. 1800-1818, 2009.
[2] Nadia, AL-Rousan, Nor Ashidi Mat Isa, and Mohd Khairunaz Mat Desa,
"Advances in solar photovoltaic tracking systems: A review",
Renewable and sustainable energy reviews, vol. 82, pp. 2548-2569,
2018.
[3] Hafez, A. Z., A. M. Yousef, and N. M. Harag, "Solar tracking systems:
Technologies and trackers drive types–A review", Renewable and
Sustainable Energy Reviews, vol. 91, pp. 754-782, 2018.
[4] Singh, Rajesh, et al., "An imperative role of sun trackers in photovoltaic
technology: A review", Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews,
vol. 82, pp. 3263-3278, 2018.
[5] Saymbetov, A. K., et al., "Development of autonomous photovoltaic
Fig. 8. Comparison of the power of the solar tracker and adaptive
systems with small power", Bulletin of the national academy of sciences
tracker in cloudy weather
of the republic of Kazakhstan, vol. 1, no. 371, pp. 68-72, 2018.

978-1-7281-0784-4/19/$31.00 ©2019 IEEE 318

Authorized licensed use limited to: Sri Sivasubramanya Nadar College of Engineering. Downloaded on February 28,2023 at 05:35:08 UTC from IEEE Xplore. Restrictions apply.
 2019 IEEE International Conference on Automatic Control and Intelligent Systems (I2CACIS 2019), 29 June 2019, Selangor, Malaysia

[6] Saymbetov, A. K., et al., "Intelligent Energy Efficient Wireless [13] Kelly, Nelson A., and Thomas L. Gibson, "Improved photovoltaic
Communacation System for Street Lighting", 2018 International energy output for cloudy conditions with a solar tracking system", Solar
Conference on Computing and Network Communications (CoCoNet). Energy, vol. 83, no. 11, pp. 2092-2102, 2009.
IEEE, pp.18-22, 2018. [14] Kelly, Nelson A., and Thomas L. Gibson, "Increasing the solar
[7] Abdallah, Salah, and Salem Nijmeh, "Two axes sun tracking system photovoltaic energy capture on sunny and cloudy days", Solar Energy,
with PLC control", Energy conversion and management, vol. 45, no. 11- vol. 85, no. 1, pp. 111-125, 2011.
12, pp. 1931-1939, 2004. [15] Quesada, Guillermo, et al., "Tracking strategy for photovoltaic solar
[8] Saymbetov, A. K., et al., "Method for Increasing the Efficiency of a systems in high latitudes", Energy conversion and Management, vol.
Biaxial Solar Tracker with Exact Solar Orientation", Applied Solar 103, pp. 147-156, 2015.
Energy, vol. 54, no. 2, pp. 126-130, 2018. [16] Armstrong, S., and W. G. Hurley, "A new methodology to optimise
[9] Sefa, Ibrahim, Mehmet Demirtas, and Ilhami Çolak, "Application of solar energy extraction under cloudy conditions", Renewable energy,
one-axis sun tracking system", Energy conversion and Management, vol. vol. 35, no. 4, pp. 780-787, 2010.
50, no. 11, pp. 2709-2718, 2009. [17] El Kadmiri, Zakaria, et al., "A novel solar tracker based on
[10] Alexandru, C., and C. Pozna, "Simulation of a dual-axis solar tracker for omnidirectional computer vision", Journal of Solar Energy 2015, 2015.
improving the performance of a photovoltaic panel", Proceedings of the [18] Khan, Md Tanvir Arafat, et al., "Design and construction of an
Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part A: Journal of Power and automatic solar tracking system", International Conference on Electrical
Energy, vol. 224, no. 6, pp. 797-811, 2010. & Computer Engineering (ICECE 2010), pp. 326-329, 2010.
[11] Yazidi, A., et al., "Low cost two-axis solar tracker with high precision [19] S. Cemil, "Multi-axes sun-tracking system with PLC control for
positioning", 2006 First International Symposium on Environment photovoltaic panels in Turkey", Renewable Energy, vol. 34, no. 4, pp.
Identities and Mediterranean Area. IEEE, pp. 211-216, 2006. 1119-1125, 2009.
[12] Koussa, M., et al., "Measured and modelled improvement in solar [20] Ferdaus, Rashid Ahammed, et al., "Energy efficient hybrid dual axis
energy yield from flat plate photovoltaic systems utilizing different solar tracking system", Journal of Renewable Energy vol.2014, 2014.
tracking systems and under a range of environmental conditions",
Applied Energy, vol. 88, no. 5, pp. 1756-1771, 2011.

978-1-7281-0784-4/19/$31.00 ©2019 IEEE 319

Authorized licensed use limited to: Sri Sivasubramanya Nadar College of Engineering. Downloaded on February 28,2023 at 05:35:08 UTC from IEEE Xplore. Restrictions apply.