Sun Tracking Solar Panel Project with Arduino

AS we talk about Renewable energy sources. A name solar energy source come in our mind. So, this project is related to Solar energy. It helps to get more Sunlight and more energy from the sun. In this Sun Tracking Solar Panel Project with Arduino, we work on the movement of the solar tracking system. the sun moves in the sky and the density of the sunlight change with the time. when the sun rises, means in the morning

 

if something is in that direction it will definitely get more sunlight. and after some time it gets less sunlight because the position of the sun has changed. so, to get more sunlight you have to move with the sun. the sun tracking solar panel project system follows the sun with their position. so the system gets more sunlight than the normal solar system.

 

 

In this project, the solar panel placed over a plate. which moves in two directions with the help of servo motor. the solar panel system having some sensors which track the sun. the system moves in 2 axes that’s why we call it dual axis system. it moves in a negative and positive direction in the x-axis. and same in the y-axis. there are more projects on Arduino you must see the smart irrigation system

 

There are Two servo motors used in the Sun Tracking Solar Panel project. one is for the horizontal movement and another is for the vertical movement. so, with the help of these two motors, the system moves in both directions. when the system needs to move in the horizontal direction the horizontal servo motor starts to rotate. and when the system needs to move in the verticle direction.

 

 

There are Four LDR used in the projects to track the sun. You can see the placement of LDR in the below image. four led placed at the four different sections. these all LDR track the sunlight. 

 

 

the Working principle of Sun Tracking Solar Panel Project. 4 LDR placed in four different directions. in all LDR there is a comparison of the amount of light. on which LDR have more light the movement of the system occurs in that direction. For ex:-  if the upper right LDR have more light than the other 3 LDR then the movement of the system occurs in the Upper right direction. the working for other three LDR will same. we have to calibrate the servo with the value of LDR. 

 

 

1. Arduino Uno  

2.Servo Motors

3.LDR 

4.Resistor

 

1. Arduino:-

Arduino is an open Source Development Board having ATmega328p.For the beginner, we have Arduino Tutorial on another webpage.

 

2. Servo Motors:- 

Servo Motors is widely used in robotics and embedded projects due to its accuracy and efficiency. Servo motor is a setup of DC motor and some electronics components. which is a feedback circuit. We can say servo motor is a dc motor with feedback. 

 

3. LDR(Light Dependent Resistor):-

LDR is Resistor basically. it’s resistivity change according to the intensity of light. It gives maximum resistance when it is in dark. and gives minimum resistance when it is in Light. 

 

4. Resistor:- 

Resistor opposes the flow of current in any conductor. here resistor blocks the extra current driven to the LDR. so we calibrate the LDR value accurately. 

 

To construct the Project see the below images. 

 

 

in this picture, you can see clearly the position of the LDR. Placed four LDR in that manner with a cross structure. this structure helps in to not interact with the other LDR. this cross structure having wall among all the LDR. which help to track the sunlight.

 

 

 

In this picture, you can see the image of the Vertically placed servo motor. which help to move the solar panel in one direction as you can see in the image.

 

In this image a horizontally place motor under the whole setup. which rotate the setup according to the sunlight grab by the LDR.

 

Circuit Diagram for Sun Tracking Solar Panel Project with Arduino

 

 

#include <Servo.h>
Servo servohorizontal;
int servoh = 0;
int servohLimitHigh = 160;
int servohLimitLow = 20;

Servo servoverticle; 
int servov = 0; 
int servovLimitHigh = 160;
int servovLimitLow = 20;
//Assigning LDRs


int ldrtopl = 2; //top left LDR green
int ldrtopr = 1; //top right LDR yellow
int ldrbotl = 3; // bottom left LDR blue
int ldrbotr = 0; // bottom right LDR orange

 void setup () 
 {
  servohori.attach(10); // horizontal servo connect to the pin 10
  servohori.write(0);
  servoverti.attach(9); //verticle servo connect on the pin 9
  servoverti.write(0);
  delay(500);
 }

void loop()
{
  servoh = servohori.read();
  servov = servoverti.read();
  //capturing analog values of each LDR
  int topl = analogRead(ldrtopl);
  int topr = analogRead(ldrtopr);
  int botl = analogRead(ldrbotl);
  int botr = analogRead(ldrbotr);
  // calculating average
  int avgtop = (topl + topr) / 2; //average of top LDRs
  int avgbot = (botl + botr) / 2; //average of bottom LDRs
  int avgleft = (topl + botl) / 2; //average of left LDRs
  int avgright = (topr + botr) / 2; //average of right LDRs

  if (avgtop < avgbot)
  {
    servoverti.write(servov +1);
    if (servov > servovLimitHigh) 
     { 
      servov = servovLimitHigh;
     }
    delay(10);
  }
  else if (avgbot < avgtop)
  {
    servoverti.write(servov -1);
    if (servov < servovLimitLow)
  {
    servov = servovLimitLow;
  }
    delay(10);
  }
  else 
  {
    servoverti.write(servov);
  }
  
  if (avgleft > avgright)
  {
    servohori.write(servoh +1);
    if (servoh > servohLimitHigh)
    {
    servoh = servohLimitHigh;
    }
    delay(10);
  }
  else if (avgright > avgleft)
  {
    servohori.write(servoh -1);
    if (servoh < servohLimitLow)
     {
     servoh = servohLimitLow;
     }
    delay(10);
  }
  else 
  {
    servohori.write(servoh);
  }
  delay(50);
}

Upload the code into Arduino and assemble the components

 

note:- this code is for Arduino Uno if you are using Nano Or mega just Change pin according to your need.