T.E.

MINI PROJECT REPORT ON

SUN TRACKING SOLAR PANEL

Submitted in partial fulfillment for the award of degree of Bachelor of Engineering in Electrical Engineering

By

Sanskriti Gautam (15)

Vaibhavi Kokate(24)
Omkar Nikam(35)
Atharva Palav (37)

Under the Guidance of

Ms. Kritika Bansal

Atharva College of Engineering

Malad-Marve Road, Charkop Naka, Malad (W), Mumbai-95
Department of Electrical Engineering
University of Mumbai
Year 2020-2021

Atharva College of Engineering Malad (W), Mumbai-95

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 CERTIFICATE
This is to certify that Mr. /Ms. Sanskriti Gautam, Vaibhavi Kokate, Omkar Nikam and Atharva Palav and

of Electrical Department, bearing the RollNumber 15, 24, 35 and 37 has submitted the project synopsis on

‘sun tracking solar panel’ and is accepted and examined for the partial fulfillment of Bachelor of Electrical

Engineering Degree by the University of Mumbai.

Internal Examiner External Examiner

Guide-Ms Kritika Bansal

Mrs. Garima Gurjar Unhale (Dr. Shrikant Kallurkar)

Head of Dept. (EE) Principal

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 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

We would like to express our sincere thanks to Ms. Kritika Bansal Ma’am for taking time from her
busy schedule to provide us with great deal of help, support and encouraged us to work diligently at every
aspects of our project. Her views have always been equitable striking perfect balance between
encouragement and constructive criticism. Her constructive tips and suggestions helped us to successfully
do the project. We have benefited a lot from her immense knowledge and experience.

We are thankful to our college Principal Dr. Shrikant Kallurkar, ELEC HOD and all staff
members of Electrical department who have provided us various facilities and have guided us whenever
required.

Our project at various stages has entailed us to seek help from variety of individuals we would like
to thank each one of them for their forbiddance and guidance.

Finally we would like to thank our parents and our friends for constantly supporting and
encouraging
our efforts.

Sanskriti Gautam (15)

Vaibhavi Kokate(24)
Omkar Nikam(35)
Atharva Palav (37)

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 ABSTRACT

Solar panel has been used increasingly in recent years to convert solar energy to electrical
energy. The solar panel can be used either as a stand-alone system or as a large solar system that is
connected to the electricity grids. The earth receives 84 Terawatts of power and our world consumes
about 12 Terawatts of power per day. We are trying to consume more energy from the sun using solar
panel. In order to maximize the conversion from solar to electrical energy, the solar panels have to be
positioned perpendicular to the sun. Thus the tracking of the sun’s location and positioning of the
solar panel are important. The goal of this project is to design an automatic tracking system, which
can locate position of the sun. The tracking system will move the solar panel so that it is positioned
perpendicular to the sun for maximum energy conversion at all time. Photoresistors will be used as
sensors in this system. The system will consist of light sensing system, microcontroller, gear motor
system, and a solar panel. Our system will output up to 40% more energy than solar panels without
tracking systems.
In India, the capacity of solar energy has increased 8 times in 4 years, statistically 2.63 GW to
22 GW from 2014 to 2018. India is going to reach a mark of 227 GW of non-conventional energy.
However solar energy can be utilized during day time only (Theconomictimes, 2019). From the past
many years, fixed or static solar systems were in use but now with the advancement of technologies
the efficiency of solar systems is being increased by using single axis and dual axis solar tracking
systems which can track the position of the sun according to the season and time of the day. Though
fixed racking can accommodate harsher environmental conditions easily and tracking being a more
complex system requires more site preparations, additional trenching for wiring and some additional
grading (Solar Power World, 2016), tracking systems are being used widely as they have improved
the efficiency of energy extraction and in a way, has optimized the process.

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 CONTENTS
SR NO TOPIC

1 INTRODUCTION

2 REVIEW OF LITREATURE

3 PLAN OF WORK

4 DIAGRAM

5 CODE

6 ANALYSIS AND DESIGN

7 ADVANTAGES AND APPLICATION

8 UPGRADES

9 FUTURE SCOPE

10 CONCLUSION

11 REFERENCES

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 Chapter-1

Introduction
This project deals with the research and development of a Sun tracking system. Now a
day’s Renewable energy solutions are becoming increasingly popular. Maximizing power
output from a solar system is desirable to increase efficiency. In order to maximize power
output from the solar panels, one need is to keep the panels aligned with the sun, means that
the tracking of the sun is required. This is a far more cost effective solution than purchasing
additional solar panels. This system is designed with specific methodology, this system using
Arduino , Dummy Solar Panel, Servo Motor, LDR and Resistors. Solar panels collect solar
radiation from the sun and actively convert that energy to electricity. Solar panels are
comprised of several individual solar cells. These solar cells function similarly to large
semiconductors and utilize a large area p-n junction diode. When the solar cells are exposed to
sunlight, the p-n junction diodes convert the energy from sunlight into usable electrical
energy. The energy generated from photons striking the surface of the solar panel allows
electrons to be knocked out of their orbits and released, and electric fields in the solar cells
pull these free electrons in a directional current, from which metal contacts in the solar cell
can generate electricity. The more solar cells in a solar panel and the higher the quality of the
solar cells, the more total electrical output the solar panel can produce. The conversion of
sunlight to usable electrical energy has been dubbed the Photovoltaic Effect. A solar tracker is
a device that orients a payload toward the sun. The use of solar trackers can increase
electricity production by around a third, and some claim by as much as 40% in some regions,
compared with modules at a fixed angle. In any solar application, the conversion efficiency is
improved when the modules are continually adjusted to the optimum angle as the sun traverses
the sky. As improved efficiency means improved yield, use of trackers can make quite a
difference to the income from a large plant.

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 Chapter-2

Review of Literature
Arduino Uno r3

The Arduino UNO is an open-source microcontroller board based on the Microchip

ATmega328P microcontroller and developed by Arduino.cc. The board is equipped with sets of digital
and analog input/output (I/O) pins that may be interfaced to various expansion boards (shields) and other
circuits.[1] The board has 14 Digital pins, 6 Analog pins, and programmable with the Arduino IDE
(Integrated Development Environment) via a type B USB cable.

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Features of the Arduino UNO:

Microcontroller: ATmega328

Operating Voltage: 5V

Input Voltage (recommended): 7-12V

Input Voltage (limits): 6-20V

Digital I/O Pins: 14 (of which 6 provide PWM output)

Analog Input Pins: 6

DC Current per I/O Pin: 40 mA

DC Current for 3.3V Pin: 50 mA

Flash Memory: 32 KB of which 0.5 KB used by bootloader

SRAM: 2 KB (ATmega328)

EEPROM: 1 KB (ATmega328)

Clock Speed: 16 MHz

General Pin functions

• LED: There is a built-in LED driven by digital pin 13. When the pin is HIGH value, the LED is
on, when the pin is LOW, it's off.

• VIN: The input voltage to the Arduino/Genuino board when it's using an external power source
(as opposed to 5 volts from the USB connection or other regulated power source). You can supply
voltage through this pin, or, if supplying voltage via the power jack, access it through this pin.

• 5V: This pin outputs a regulated 5V from the regulator on the board. The board can be supplied
with power either from the DC power jack (7 - 20V), the USB connector (5V), or the VIN pin of
the board (7-20V). Supplying voltage via the 5V or 3.3V pins bypasses the regulator, and can
damage the board.

• 3V3: A 3.3 volt supply generated by the on-board regulator. Maximum current draw is 50 mA.

GND: Ground pins.

• IOREF: This pin on the Arduino/Genuino board provides the voltage reference with which the
microcontroller operates. A properly configured shield can read the IOREF pin voltage and select
the appropriate power source or enable voltage translators on the outputs to work with the 5V or
3.3V.

• Reset: Typically used to add a reset button to shields which block the one on the board

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Special Pin Functions

UART: pins 0 (RX) and 1 (TX). Used to receive (RX) and transmit (TX) TTL serial data. These pins are
corresponding pins of the ATmega8U2 USB-to-TTL Serial chip.

• External Interrupts: pins 2 and 3. These pins can be configured to trigger an interrupt on a low
value, a rising or falling edge, or a change in value.

• PWM (Pulse Width Modulation): 3, 5, 6, 9, 10, and 11 Can provide 8-bit PWM output with the
analogWrite() function.

• SPI (Serial Peripheral Interface): 10 (SS), 11 (MOSI), 12 (MISO), 13 (SCK). These pins support
SPI communication using the SPI library.

• TWI (Two Wire Interface) / I2C: A4 or SDA pin and A5 or SCL pin. Support TWI
communication using the Wire library.

• AREF (Analog REFerence): Reference voltage for the analog inputs.

LDR

A photoresistor or light dependent resistor is an electronic component that is sensitive to light. When light
falls upon it, then the resistance changes. Values of the resistance of the LDR may change over many orders
of magnitude the value of the resistance falling as the level of light increases.

It is not uncommon for the values of resistance of an LDR or photoresistor to be several megohms in darkness
and then to fall to a few hundred ohms in bright light.

With such a wide variation in resistance, LDRs are easy to use and there are many LDR circuits available. The
sensitivity of light dependent resistors or photoresistors also varies with the wavelength of the incident light.

LDRs are made from semiconductor materials to enable them to have their light sensitive properties. Many
materials can be used, but one popular material for these photoresistors is cadmium sulphide, CdS, although
the use of these cells is now restricted in Europe because of environmental issues with the use of cadmium.

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Similarly other cadmium based semiconductor materials like cadmium CdSe are also restricted. Other
materials that can be used include lead sulphide, PbS and indium antimonide, InSb.

Although a semiconductor material is used for these photoresistors, they are purely passive devices because
they do not possess a PN junction, and this separates them from other photodetectors like photodiodes and
phototransistors.

Servo Motor

Tiny and lightweight with high output power. Servo can rotate approximately 180 degrees (90 in each
direction), and works just like the standard kinds but smaller. You can use any servo code, hardware or
library to control these servos. Good for beginners who want to make stuff move without building a motor
controller with feedback & gear box, especially since it will fit in small places. It comes with a 3 horns
(arms) and hardware.

Specifications

Size: 32 × 11.5 × 24mm (Include tabs) 23.5 × 11.5 × 24mm

Weight: 8.5g/9.3g

Speed: 0.12sec/60degrees (4.8V) 0.10sec/60degrees (6.0V)

Torque: 1.5kgf-cm (4.8V) 2.0kgf-cm (6.0V)

Voltage: 4.8V-6.0V

Connector type: JR type (Yellow: Signal, Red: VCC, Brown: GND)

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Embedded C

Embedded C is a set of language extensions for the C programming language by the C Standart
Comimttee to address commonality issues that exist between C extensions for different embedded
systems.

Historically, embedded C programming requires nonstandard extensions to the C language in order to

support exotic features such as fixed-point arithmetic, multiple distinct memory banks, and basic I/O
operations. In 2008, the C Standards Committee extended the C language to address these issues by
providing a common standard for all implementations to adhere to. It includes a number of features not
available in normal C, such as fixed-point arithmetic, named address spaces and basic I/O hardware
addressing. Embedded C uses most of the syntax and semantics of standard C, e.g., main() function,
variable definition, datatype declaration, conditional statements (if, switch case), loops (while, for),
functions, arrays and strings, structures and union, bit operations, macros, etc.

A Technical Report was published in 2004 and a second revision in 2006.

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Chapter-3

Plan of work
Model Development lifecycle

WORKING:
When supply is given to the Arduino is it checks the output of both the LDRs which are placed on the solar
panel frame to determine from which direction light intensity is more. During normal condition the output of
both the LDRs will be same and the same will be given to the analog terminals of the Arduino , if the location
of sun changes then the output of LDRs change and they are no longer equal to each other this difference is
considered as error and based on the code the Arduino decides which side the solar panel should tilt so that it
can harness maximum solar energy, this signal is taken from the Arduino and given to the servo motor in
form of digital signal, thus the servo motor rotates in the particular direction for a certain angle till the output
of both the LDRs become same again.

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 Chapter-4

Diagrams
Circuit Diagram

Architecture of Arduino Uno r3

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Servo Motor Block Diagram

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 Chapter-5

Code
#include <Servo.h>
Servo servo ;
int eastLDR = 0;
int westLDR = 1;
int east = 0;
int west = 0;
int error = 0;
int calibration = 600;
int servoposition = 90;
void setup()
{
servo.attach(10);
}
void loop()
{
east = calibration + analogRead(eastLDR);
west = analogRead(westLDR);
if (east < 350 && west < 350)
{
while (servoposition <= 150)
{
servoposition++;
servo.write(servoposition);
delay(100);
}
}
error = east - west;
if (error > 15)
{
if (servoposition <= 150)
{
servoposition++;
servo.write(servoposition);
}
}
else if (error < -15)
{
if (servoposition > 20)
{
servoposition--;
servo.write(servoposition);
}
}
delay(100);}

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 Chapter-6

Analysis &
Design
Hardware Requirements:
• Arduino Uno r3

• LDR

• Bread Board

• Servo Motor

Software Requirements:
• Arduino IDE

Cost Analysis:
Costing Analysis is most frequently used for evaluation of the effectiveness of the system. More
commonly known as economic/benefit analysis the procedure is to determine the benefits and saving that
are expected from a system and compare them with costs, decisions made to design and implement
system. This part of feasibility study gives the top management the economic because very often the top
management does not like to get project of this kind. A simple economic analysis that gives the actual
comparison of costs and benefits.

We used open source hypertext language for the software part and the hardware part was approximately
for 1000-1500/- rupees

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 Chapter-7

Advantages
Advantages:
 Increase Solar Panel Output.

 Maximum efficiency of the panel.

 Maximize Power per unit area.

 Able to grab the energy throughout the day

 Tracking System is Cheaper then installing of New panels for small increase in
power need

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 Chapter-8

Applications
Applications:

• Can be used in Domestic Systems

• Can be used at Commercial Systems

• Can be used for Private Generation Plants

• Can be used for Industrial Systems.

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 Chapter-9

Future
Scope
Future Scope:
Since the prototype we made was a single axis sun tracking solar system, we can also go for Dual axis system
for improved efficiency only thing is that the circuit complexity increases, we can always use better sensors
and more efficient controller for smoother working, we can include smart appliances which will even boost
the systems efficiency.

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 Chapter-10

Conclusion
Our system mainly concentrates on tracking sun at a less cost. In our system, we have made use of
Arduino Uno r3. In order to determine the direction of sun we are using LDR as sensor as it is cheap, cost
efficient and has easier circuit connections

It has been shown that the sun tracking systems can collect maximum energy than a fixed panel system
collects and high efficiency is achieved through this tracker, it can be said that the proposed sun tracking
system is a feasible method of maximizing the light energy received from sun. This is an efficient tracking
system for solar energy collection.

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 Chapter-11

References
1.For Block diagrams, use case diagram:

https://www.lucidchart.com/documents#docs?folder_id=home&browser=icon&sort=saved-desc

2.For Arduino Literature:

https://www.arduino.cc/

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