2013 International Conference on Technology,Informatics,Management,Engineering & Environment (TIME-E 2013)

Bandung,Indonesia,June 23-26,2013

High-Efficiency Dual-Axis Solar Tracking

Developement using Arduino
Zolkapli, M. 1; AI-Junid S. A. M.; Othman Z.; Manut, A.; Mohd Zulkifli M. A.
Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Universiti Teknologi MARA
40450 Shah Alam, Selangor, MALAYSIA
E-mail: maizatuI544@salam.uitm.edu.my

Abstract- The renewable-energy sector is fast gaining ground resources of electrical energy for relatively long periods of
as a new growth area for numerous countries with the vast time. Knowing that oil and coal will be reduced, the
potential it presents environmentally and economically. Solar government had started to decrease the usage of oil and coal as
energy plays an important role as a primary source of energy, the main energy resources of electrical energy and started an
especially for rural area. This paper presents the design and initiative of using another renewable-energy such as solar and
development of high-efficiency dual-axis solar tracking system hydro. In Malaysia, the residential energy use accounts for
using Arduino platform. Furthermore, the ultimate objective of
more than 14,365 GWh or 19% of total electricity consumed
this project is to trace the maximum sunlight source to power the
in Peninsular Malaysia in year 2006 [2]. Demand of electricity
solar panel. The project is divided into two stages, which are
keeps increasing by years, solar energy is the alternative for
hardware and software development. In hardware development,
five light dependent resistor (LDR) has been used for capturing those electricity problems.
maximum light source. Two servo motors have been used to
move the solar panel at maximum light source location sensing by Solar energy is the energy derived from the sun through the
LDR. Moreover, the code is constructed using C programming form of solar radiation. The sun is the most inexhaustible,
language and targeted to Arduino UNO controller. The efficiency renewable source of energy known to man. Solar energy
of the system has been tested and compared with static solar provides light, heat and energy to all living things. There is no
panel on several time intervals, and it shows the system react the price and also no air pollution created by solar energy,
best at the to-minutes intervals with consistent voltage generated. environmentally friendly and the solar energies are
Therefore, the system has been proven working for capturing the interminable supplies. The developments of the solar tracker
maximum sunlight source for high efficiency solar harvesting
are applied in this particular project because Malaysia's climate
applications.
is categorized as equatorial, being hot and humid throughout
the year. As for solar energy, it is pertinent that it has a lot of
Keywords-Dual-axis; solar tracking; Arduino advantages and disadvantages when it comes to compare other
energy sources. The fundamental issue of utilizing solar energy
is not a matter of lack of other sources of energy but it is a
I. INTRODUCTION
matter of environmental concern as some conventional energy
sources contribute high emissions to the environments [3].
Nowadays, climate change on globe is at a critical level.
Climate change can be divided into two categories, human and II. SOLAR TRACKER
natural causes. Natural causes of climate changes are ocean
Solar tracking is a widely-applied proven technology that
current, solar variations, and earth orbital changes. The main
increases energy production by directing or concentrated the
parts of climate changes caused by human are man-made
photovoltaic to track the sun on its path from dawn until dusk.
greenhouse gases. Global warming or climate changes can be
Instantaneous solar radiation collected by the photovoltaic
seen through some of them natural phenomenon like the effect
modules, assembled in a tracking system, is higher than the
on crops and extreme weather conditions around the world.
critical irradiance level for a longer number of hours than in
fixed systems [4]. There are numerous types of solar trackers,
Renewable-energy is an energy which comes from
of varying costs, performance and sophistication. There are
natural resources such as sunlight, wind, rain, tides, and
static solar panels, single-axis and dual-axis solar tracker as
geothermal heat, which are renewable (naturally replenished)
shown in Fig. 1. It has been estimated that the yield from solar
[ I]. Renewable-energy is the best growing energy source on
panels can be increased by 30 - 60 % by utilizing a tracking
the globe. Renewable energy is a source of energy that doesn't
system instead of a stationary array [5]. Up to 40% extra
consume the finite resources of the earth and can be easily and
power can be produced per annum using a variable elevation
quickly replenished. Renewable-energy plays a key role in a
solar tracker [6]. This paper proposes the use of high­
country's energy needs; enabling businesses to gather energy
efficiency dual-axis solar tracker. It begins with presenting the
cost investments and also revenue thus control the outcome of
project system design of the project. The paper continues with
climate changes. In Malaysia, oil and coal are the primary
specific design methodologies pertaining to Light Dependent

978-1-4673-5732-6/13/$31.00 ©2013 IEEE 43

Resistor (LDR), servo motors, solar panel, programmer intensity or exhibits photoconductivity. LDR output voltages
selection and a software/system operation. The paper for light intensity are shown in Table 1. The light intensity is
concludes with a discussion of results and future work. The measured in lab experimental. The resistance of an LDR is
dual-axis tracker is a very compatible system to be developed extremely high, sometimes as high as 1 Mohms. The light
with the usage of Arduino as a programming platform. From resistances will drop dramatically when illuminated.
the overall system, the main controller received an analog
input from the Light Dependent Resistor (LOR) and converts TABLE!. LiGHT INTENSITY MEASUREMENT
it into digital signal by Analog-to-Digital converter. The Light Intensity LDR Ontpnt (V)
output given to the servo motor will determine the movement
Dark 0.6
of the solar panel.
Average 4.0
Bright 4.6

C. Servo Motor
Servo motor, or servos for short, is a three-wire DC
motors. A servo motor consists of several main parts, the
motor and gearbox, a position sensor, an error amplifier and
motor driver and a circuit to decode the requested position.
There are two types of servo motor required, either 4.SV or
6V supply to operate. Servo motor only rotates up to the
maximum of ISO degrees. Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) is
used to control the motor. PWM analog signal will go through
an electronic circuit and convert the analog signal to a digital
signal. The flow of the signal changes is shown in Fig 3.
Figure 1. Various type of solar tracker.
PWM in servos is used to control the direction and position of
the motor. The center position is usually attained with [.3- 1.5
ms wide pulses, while pulse width varying from 0.7- 1 ms will
III. METHODOLOGY command positions all the way to the right, and pulse widths
The main intention of this project is to design a high­ of 1.7-2.0 ms all the way to the left. The servo motors PWM
quality solar tracker. The project is divided into two parts; Timing Diagram (Voltage vs. Period) is shown in Fig. 4.
hardware and software. [t consists of three main constituent
which are the inputs, main controller and the output as shown --
...... "'cw
in Fig. 2. The inputs are from analog value of LOR, Arduino �
,
,

as the controller and the servo motor will be the output.

ELECTRONIC
�
PWM Signal CIRCUIT
•

�o.:: ccw\
--<w '.�
INPUT �.....l OUTPUT Position
.....l
(LDR) --+ 00 ----. (SERVO) Feedback
:zo.::
-E-
::J:z
°0
o.:: u Figure 3. PWM analog signal is converted to digital signal to control the
--< servos .

Figure 2. Block diagram of the system design. tt. �ccw

o- -n-
I
", .

I
n
A. cWfd
Ptriod::xI "'"

Hardware

5---- -n-
I
• v..
The main components of hardware in this project are solar
panel, Light Dependent Resistor (LDR), Servo Motor and n
Arduino-Based Controller. CENTER

[j- - 0-
I
5VDII

B.
0
Light Dependent Resistor (LDR)
Photoresistor or light dependent resistor (LDR) is a resistor
Figure 4. Servo motor PWM timing diagram.
which resistance decreases with increasing incident light

44
D. Solar Panel degrees. The positions of LOR are divided into five positions,

Solar panels are devices that convert light into electricity. which are centered, right, left, up and down. The 5 positions

They are called "solar" panels because the most powerful allow the highest intensity of sunlight can be detected.

source of light available is the sun. A solar panel is a

packaged, connected assembly of photovoltaic cells. The solar
r---�
--r----jr--;- ,
SERmMOTOR I

panel can be used as a component of a larger photovoltaic oc---fil

system to generate and supply electricity in commercial and
LDR5 L �=uJ
c'(!) HtmlH
residential applications. Fig. 5 shows the model of
monocrystalline solar panel used in the project. Several types
of solar cells available in the market are:

G\il
• Monocrystalline silicon (mono-silicon or single
silicon) .IRDU]'(OU:iO

• Polycrystalline silicon (multicrystalline, multi­

silicon, ribbon)

G:iil

Figure 6. Circuit schematic.

F. Software
The software part consists of a programming language that
is constructed using C programming. The codes are targeted to
Arduino UNO to be compiled and uploaded. The flow of the
software procedure is shown in Fig 7.

Figure 5. Model of solar panel.

E. Microcontroller
Arduino is an open-source electronics prototyping platform
based on flexible, easy-to-use hardware and software. Arduino
can sense the environment by receiving input from a variety of
sensors and can affect its surroundings. Arduino projects can If LOR 1» LOR
be stand-alone, or they can communicate with software 2,3,4,5

running on a computer. In this development, Arduino UNO is

NO
used as the main controller because it satisfies these
conditions: If LOR2» LOR
1,3,4,5

• Microcontroller board based on the A Tmega32S. NO

• 14 digital input/output pins (of which 6 can be used

If LOR3» LOR
as PWM outputs), 6 analog inputs, a 16 MHz crystal 1,2,4,5

oscillator, a USB connection, a power jack, an ICSP

NO
header, and a reset button.
If LOR4» LDR

The principle of the solar tracking system is done by Light 1,2,3,5

Dependant Resistor (LOR). Five LOR are connected to

NO
Arduino analog pin AO to A4 that acts as the input for the
system as shown in Fig. 6. The built-in Analog-to-Digital If LDR5» LOR THE SERVO MOTOR WilL GO

1,2,3,4 DOWN
Converter will convert the analog value of LOR and convert it
into digital (Pulse Width Modulation). The values of PWM NO

pulse are applied to move the servos. The maximum light YES
DARK?

intensity captured by the one of the LORs input will be

selected and the servo motor will move the solar panel to the
position of the LOR that was set-up in the programming.
There are three points of motor rotation; 0, 90 and ISO
Figure 7. Flowchart for the overall process.

45
 IV. RESULT AND DISCUSSION
Voltage IV) vs Time (t)
As a result, it is observed that the location for the solar S.8 Comparative

panel is one of the important things in collecting the output

6.6
voltage. Solar panel will perform best when facing south as
this will help to get the most exposure from the sun as it
6.4
moves from East to West. For most areas, the peak
performance hours of the day will be between 9 a.m. till 12 :!l,
.f! 6.2
p.m. This is when the sun is at its peak illumination. "0
>

6.0
The measurements of the data are taken from a wide area
whereby there is no obstruction that would prevent the tracker 5.8
from maximum sunlight. The measurement of output voltages
900 1000 1100 1200 1300 1400 1500 1600 1700 1800
are taken in 3 straight days between 9 a.m until 6.00 p.m. The
Time (t)
largest output voltage for the solar panel is 7 V. The average
of output voltages is used to draw up the graphs. There are 2
Figure 9. Output voltage comparative of solar panel for
conditions of output voltage being measured. The conditions 10-minutes interval.
are:-
By using IS-minutes as the interval, the graph that the
• Static solar panel with 15 degree of angle facing
author obtained in Fig. 10 is slightly different compared to
south
graphs in Fig . 8 and 9. In Fig 10, there are very tangible
• Solar panel with tracking system facing south. changes in output voltages. Interval of IS-minutes caused a
small change in output voltage cannot be seen. Hence, the
By pursuing these 2 conditions, the highest and lowest system cannot capture the maximum sunlight efficiency within
output voltages at the peak performance of sunlight can be this time interval.
measured. The highest output voltage that the author measured
for solar tracking condition is 6.67 V at 1.20 p.m. while the
Voltage (V) vs Time (t)
lowest output voltage is 5.94 V at 6.00 p.m. hours while the 6.8
Comparative

highest voltage for static panel is 6.65 V and the lowest is 5.89
V. The sun position is one of the main factors that caused 6.6

instability measurement output voltage. The position of sun is

considered to be unpredictable hence causing the surroundings 6.4

to be dimmed at certain times. The solar panel will not be able '"

to achieve a maximum illumination from the sun. Fig. 8 below ,g' 6.2
"0
>
shows the graph of 5-minutes interval obtained from the
6.0
experiment.

5.8

s.s Voltage(V) vs Time (t)

Comparative 900 1000 1100 1200 1300 1400 1500 1600 1700 1800

Time(t)
s.s

Figure 10. Output voltage comparative of Solar Panel for

S.4 15-minutes interval.
?:
<1>
'"
!!! 6 ..2 V. CONCLUSION
g
In conclusion, high-efficiency dual-axis tracker has been
s.o
developed. Based on the results obtained, it can be concluded
that the system will react at their best on 10-minute intervals
5.8
with a constant voltage is produced. There are significant
900 1000 1100 1200 1300 1400 1500 1600 1700 1800 changes in voltage at 10-minutes intervals graphs within 9.00
Time (t)
a.m. until 6.00 p.m. For that reason, this system has been
proven to work to absorb maximum sunlight source for high­
Figure 8. Output voltage comparative of solar panel for
efficiency solar harvesting applications. The economically and
5-minutes interval.
environmentally solar tracking system development will be a
Fig. 9 shows the graph of 10-minutes interval data analysis. technique to use in renewable-energy more widely and wisely.
Fig. 10 forms a better graph compared to Fig. 8. As referring to
all graphs, the output voltages for each panel are slightly
VI. RECOMMENDATION
fluctuated. The comparison between static and moving panels
show that the solar panel with tracker produced higher output One of the main suggestions is to use a higher intensity of
voltages as it gets optimum absorption. solar panel that produces a higher output voltage and power. It
is recommended to improve the hardware part using the LCD

46
display. Details such as time, voltage and current will be [2] H. Fayaza, N.A. Rahimb,R. Saidura,K. H. Solangi,H. Niaz & M.S.
Hossaina, "Solar energy policy: Malaysia vs developed countries,"
displayed. Other than that, the solar tracking system could be
2011 IEEE First Conference on Clean Energy and Technology (CET),
monitored from long range by adding Global System for pp. 374-378,27-29
Mobile Communications (GSM).
[3] Musse Mohamud Ahmed & Marizan Sulaiman,-Design and Proper
Sizing of Solar Energy Schemes for Electricity Production in Malaysia
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT Power Engineering Conference,2003. PECon 2003. Proceedings
National ,pp. 268- 271,15-16 Dec. 2003
The authors would like to thank Research Management
Institute (RMI) of Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) for [4] O.C. Vilela, N.Fraidenraich & C.Tiba, (2003) -Photovoltaic pumping
systems driven by tracking collectors. Experiments and simulation
providing the RIF grant and Faculty of Electrical Engineering
(2003) Solar Energy, 74 (I), pp. 45-52
(FKE) for providing the supports and facilities to complete
this project. [5] AK. Saxena & V. Dutta,-A versatile microprocessor- based
controller for solar tracking,IEEE Proc., 1990,pp. 1105 - 1109.

[6] AYazidi,F. Betin,G. Notton & G. A Capolino,July 2006,"Low cost

REFERENCES
two-axis solar tracker with high precision positioning",Proceedings of
[ 1] Divya,V & Sashanka,P. April 30,2010. -Renewable Energy. the International Symposium on Environment,Identities &
Retrieved June 5,2012,from http://www.yuvaengineers.coml?p=495 Mediterranean Area (ISEIM'2006),July 10-13 2006,Corte-Ajaccio
(France),pp.211-216.

47