Design of an Intelligent Dual-axis Solar Tracking Device for Solar System Usage

One of the major problems facing solar energy systems is the efficiency as the sun moves on the celestial sphere. The solar tracker is a device that tracks the position of the sun and set the solar energy conversion system focusing normal to the sunbeams. This paper presents a design focused on harnessing the maximum available solar radiation using dual-axis tracking mechanism. The tracking mechanism is designed to focus the solar conversion system perpendicular to the rays of the sun (sunbeams) at all time of the day relative to the position of the sun in the sky dome. The driving mechanism for the motion are two direct current linear actuators of 12V each, which one of the actuators tracks the east to west motion of the sun while the second linear actuator tracks the seasonal motion/daily altitude of the sun. The main task of the tracking mechanism is to focus solar energy conversion system perpendicular to the sun to maximize the absorbed solar radiation and minimize the energy consumption for tracking system. The movement of the sun on the celestial sphere was the bases of the tracking mechanisms angles design. The azimuth angle at sunrise and sunset for the year was calculated and the maximum value for both situations was used for the design of the east to west tracking of the sun at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia – 3 oN, 101.8 oE. For the north to south tracking process which is related to the altitude, the altitude angles was calculated for a period of one year and the maximum value was used to decide the design for the north-south tracking on the second axis of the tracker. Analytical study of clear sky solar radiation at the location for the tracking system and 15o fixed solar system was conducted, it was found that the performance of the solar system increased by over 20% assuming the tracker is 80% efficient.