Experimental evaluation of the open-loop control method for a dual-axis solar tracker

Abstract

These days, societies need for energy increased due to the expansion of societies, industries, and technology. The production of electricity from renewable energy sources such as solar energy, which does not harm the environment and has little pollution, has attracted the attention of many researchers and engineers. This article will present a new plan for the dual polar axis solar tracker, its design and construction in laboratory dimensions, and the experimental evaluation of its performance using the open-loop control method. For this purpose, after examining the advantages and disadvantages of the previous designs, a new and different conceptual design for the tracker is proposed. Among the features of the proposed tracker, we can point out the ability to combine, install and operate quickly and easily, the self-locking feature, and the ability to rotate 360 degrees around both axes. This tracker has no restrictions for use in different geographical areas, including areas near the North or South Pole and in the early and late hours of the day when the direction of the sun's radiation is strongly inclined. In the following, the detailed design of the proposed detector and the presentation of the open-loop control method will be discussed. Finally, by conducting experimental tests, the production power of the proposed detector is evaluated in comparison with a fixed solar panel. Based on the results, the electricity energy produced from the proposed solar tracker is 49% more than the fixed solar panel.