LAPSE:2021.0302
Published Article
LAPSE:2021.0302
Construction and Automation of a Microcontrolled Solar Tracker
April 30, 2021
A solar tracker can be defined as an electromechanical system capable of following the apparent path of the Sun, in order to orient an array of solar panels and/or collectors directly to the solar rays, maximizing the collected energy. Accordingly, the present work describes the process of building and automating a micro-controlled solar tracker. Two mobile structures were built, one equipped with high-precision step motors and four luminosity sensors separated in quadrants by a cross structure, and the other equipped with DC motors and the 275 Wp solar panel, allowing the design and evaluation of the behavior of each structure separately. The control and automation system is centralized in an Arduino MEGA2560 microcontroller, which runs the tracking and positioning algorithms. The built prototype allows us to carry out studies of solar tracking strategies based on sensor and control systems applied to DC motors.
Keywords
microcontroller, photovoltaic, Renewable and Sustainable Energy, solar tracker
Suggested Citation
da Rocha Queiroz J, da Silva Souza A, Gussoli MK, de Oliveira JCD, Andrade CMG. Construction and Automation of a Microcontrolled Solar Tracker. (2021). LAPSE:2021.0302
Author Affiliations
da Rocha Queiroz J: Federal Institute of Paraná, Ivaiporã 86870-000, Brazil
da Silva Souza A: Federal Institute of Paraná, Ivaiporã 86870-000, Brazil
Gussoli MK: Department of Mechanical Engineering, State University of Maringá, Maringá 87020-900, Brazil [ORCID]
de Oliveira JCD: Department of Mechanical Engineering, State University of Maringá, Maringá 87020-900, Brazil [ORCID]
Andrade CMG: Department of Chemical Engineering, State University of Maringá, Maringá 87020-900, Brazil [ORCID]
Journal Name
Processes
Volume
8
Issue
10
Article Number
E1309
Year
2020
Publication Date
2020-10-19
Published Version
ISSN
2227-9717
Version Comments
Original Submission
Other Meta
PII: pr8101309, Publication Type: Journal Article
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LAPSE:2021.0302
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doi:10.3390/pr8101309
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Apr 30, 2021
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License
CC BY 4.0
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[v1] (Original Submission)
Apr 30, 2021
 
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Apr 30, 2021
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https://psecommunity.org/LAPSE:2021.0302
 
Original Submitter
Calvin Tsay
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