Design and Simulation of a Solar Tracking System for Optimum Energy Absorption

Nowadays the importance and dependence on solar power source is remarkably increasing as there is a strong need to have clean, cheap and renewable energy compared with other types of energy sources. In this paper, we present a complete design and analysis of an electronic circuit that can be used for optimum solar energy absorption and tracking. The proposed electronic circuit will accurately track the sun light and face the solar panel in the direction of maximum solar energy absorption. The presented design starts with an array of light intensity photo sensors (Light Dependent Resistor (LDR)) followed by a number of processing steps to finally deliver a suitable dc voltage for driving a dc motor, which is required to move and align the solar panel to the direction of maximum solar intensity. There is a continuous controlling and tracking functions using the light intensity information from the three photo sensors. The presented design is implemented using an Op-Amp and general purpose electronic components without a requirement to any special purpose electronic item for tracking. The design also provides an ability of monitoring the various stages using a number of LEDs distributed along the parts of the electronic circuit.