Design, Construction and Test of a Solar Tracking System Using Photo Sensor

Abstract

For optimal harnessing of solar radiation, it is important to orient the solar collectors or PV modules with the changing direction of the daily solar irradiation. A solar tracking system consisting of a photo sensor was designed and tested in Kumasi, Ghana. The solar tracking system, include a quadrate array of sensor made up of four Light Dependent Resistor, Potentiometer, Servo motors and a Microcontroller. The designed system has a maximum angle of tolerance to be 2 degrees for any noticeable response of the system to the movement of the sun. An experiment was carried out on the working system to demonstrate the design functionality. Problems and possible improvements were also presented.