Summary
Enhancing the performance of a concentrator photovoltaic (CPV) system by integrating a solar tracker to concentrate the solar irradiance on the target area is important. Thus, a dual‐axis elliptic solar tracker is designed, fabricated, and experimentally evaluated. The altitude and solar azimuth angles of the tracker are adjusted based on governing equations to track the sun. The tracker's error is measured using a series of light‐dependent resistors. Then, the tracker is used to assess the CPV system's performance at a solar concentration ratio of 50. The results indicated that the maximum error in solar azimuth and altitude angles equals 0.5°. Furthermore, the measured errors are independent of dust and cloudy weather. By integrating the concentrator PV system and solar tracker, the direct normal irradiance slightly varies throughout the day from 750 to 980 W/m2. At this condition, the maximum measured solar cell temperature is approximately 42°C with a maximum attained electric power of 1.08 W for a solar cell area of 1.012 cm2.
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