Solar power system with solar tracking

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Date
2011
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
University of Management and Technology
Abstract
Renewable energy is rapidly gaining importance as an energy resource as fossil fuel prices fluctuate. One of the most popular renewable energy sources is solar energy. This report describes the design and development of a ‘microcontroller based solar tracking system'. Solar tracking enables more energy to be generated because the solar panel is able to maintain a perpendicular profile to the sun's rays. As such, it is vital that those in engineering fields understand the technologies associated with this area. The project includes the design and construction of a Solar Power system and Microcontroller-Based Solar Tracking Control. These systems are controlled using PIC16F877A Microcontroller. This project also covers the designing and construction of the Solar Power and Tracking mechanical structure together with the associated electronic circuits like Solar Charge Controller and Power Inverter. Two Stepper motors is used in this project. One motor mounted to control the altitude angle, and second motor for the elevation angle. Two pairs of Light sensors (CdS) were installed for detecting the light source position. The PIC16F877A is programmed using PIC Basic Pro language in Proton IDE. A working system will ultimately be demonstrated to validate the design. Problems and possible improvements will also be presented.
Description
Project Advisor-Khan M. Nazir
Keywords
BS-Thesis, Renewable Energy, Microcontroller, Solar Energy
Citation