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Efficient Photovoltaic Solar Panel with Mirror

Actuation
Abhiram Bhuvanendran1, Vighneswar Praful1, Anjali B S1, J Ramprabhakhar2
1
Department of Electronics and Communication Engineering, Amrita School of Engineering, Bengaluru, Amrita Vishwa
Vidyapeetham, India
2
Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering, Amrita School of Engineering, Bengaluru, Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham,
India
e-mail: bs_anjali@blr.amrita.edu

Abstract— This paper is to design and develop a microcontroller of the system. In this paper, a new solar tracking mechanism
based solar mirror actuation system. In recent years solar energy with a mirror booster is introduced. Mirror increases the
has rapidly become an alternative means of power source all over output power generated by the solar panel since more
the world. Solar energy becomes profitable when maximum irradiance will be present on its surface compared to the
irradiance is available on the surface of the panel, but during off-
condition where the mirror booster is not present [4]. The
noon conditions, the irradiance on the surface reduces thereby
resulting in less power generation by the panel. This paper deals designed tracker has a precise control mechanism. The design
with the design and construction of the solar-tracking system and implementation methodology of a small prototype of
with a mirror by using ATmega168 microcontroller programmed single axis solar tracking system with a mirror booster is
by Arduino. The mirror reflecting more irradiance is used to presented. This paper proposes a new solar power generation
maximize the efficiency. The mirror will travel from East to West system is composed of solar tracking with mirror booster
and vice-versa, while the solar panel is kept in the North-South actuated by a microcontroller programmed by Arduino
direction at a particular angle with respect to surface level. The programming board in order to provide maximum irradiance
prototype is a programmed ATmega168 microcontroller which to the surface of the solar panel during off noon conditions [5].
controls the system by communicating with a current sensor,
In this experiment is manually sampled and proper resistance
voltage divider measurements and motor driver based on the
movement of the sun. The performance and characteristics of the (load) applied to obtain maximum power for any given
proposed system are experimentally analyzed. environmental conditions. In this study, a prototype is
developed and tested to verify the performance of the
proposed solar power generation system.
Keywords— Arduino, DC Motor, Solar Panel, Mirror
II. SOLAR TRACKING
I. INTRODUCTION
The current dependence on fossil fuels for energy is one of Solar tracking involves tracking the position of the sun by
the greatest concerns of our generation. The problem is that means of actuating a panel according to the various position of
the extraction of these fuels requires some input energy and the sun. But this is not restricted to the solar panel only as
the returns have to be greater than the amount of energy even reflectors or lenses can also be made to do the same to
invested. Since the fossil fuel supplies are getting strained, increase the irradiance on the surface of the solar panel. One
they are also becoming increasingly expensive. Also the way to achieve this is by actuating a mirror with the help of an
pollutants released are dangerous [1]. algorithm developed after collecting data on the Sun’s position
Solar energy is gaining importance since it causes less throughout the day [5],[6].
pollution, no noise and the cost of fossil fuel energy is rising. A. Solar Panel
A major factor in favour of solar energy is the decreasing cost A group of photovoltaic cells connected together either in
of solar cells [2],[3]. This enables small capacity distributed series or parallel makes the Solar panel. A series connection is
power generation systems with solar energy to be widely used needed for a higher voltage output whereas a parallel
in residential applications in the near future. Unless high connection gives a higher current output. Mostly poly silicone
efficient solar panels are used, the only way to enhance the cells are used in the making of solar cells although much
performances by increasing the intensity of light falling on it research is going into other materials such as Gallium Arsenide
i.e. .by increasing the irradiance on the surface of the panel. to increase the efficiency of the cell. All such materials use the
Solar trackers are the most appropriate and proven technology energy from the photon to produce a flow of current with the
that increases the efficiency of the solar panel by keeping the respective materials producing different levels of efficiency in
panels always aligned with the sun. Even though the the conversion of light energy to electricity.
technology for trapping solar energy is already in existence,
the process proposed is used to increase the overall efficiency

978-1-5386-5314-2/18/$31.00 ©2018 IEEE 1218


B. Principle of Photovoltaic Cell received from the voltage divider and current sensor are
When a photon whose energy is greater than the band gap processed by the microcontroller.
of silicon strikes a Si cell, the electron in the valence band of
Si gets excited to the conduction band. This result in the
creation of electron hole pairs and this effect are propagated
throughout the Si structure. This results in the generation of a
potential difference and a flow of electrons which produce
current. This is the principle of a photovoltaic effect.
C. DC Motor
The motor chosen for the proposed system is a DC motor-
Standard motor (FN130 KT/15210). It is used to achieve the
desired speed in moving the panel according to suns position.
7.4 V, 12300 rpm DC motor is used for aligning the mirror.
The most important effect of using DC motor with in single
axis tracker system is to get the mechanical stability of the Fig. 1 Circuitry for Measurement of Voltage and Current
mirror without spending much power for DC motors. When The microcontroller will send data to the bidirectional
the mirror is not desired to move, the DC motors are not standard DC motors via motor driver IC to ensure that the
driven and is kept in stable position due to mechanical lock reflector is positioned in such a way to provide maximum
mechanism in the gear system of DC motors. So the electrical irradiance to the solar panel. The motor driver controls the
efficiency of the solar panel has also been increased in this rotation of the motors either to rotate clockwise or
manner. anticlockwise. The mirror reflector is attached to the motors
D. Control Unit will react according to the direction of the motor. Thus the
mirror reflector will automatically track the suns maximum
ATmega168 is the microcontroller used to actuate the
intensity throughout the day.
mirror in this project. This is programmed using Arduino
software with data gathered about the timings and position of
A. Boosting the Solar Panel
the Sun experimentally. ATmega168 analyzes the data and
generates a logic signal to drive the DC motor to turn the
Solar energy provides clean and green energy but is not
mirror reflector to its desired position. The position of the PV
gaining wide acceptance with respect to its potential as an
panel is aligned towards the sun in the North-South direction.
alternate energy source.
Putting the PV panel in this position accounts for
comparatively maximum irradiance irrespective of the
position of movement of sun from East-West in different
month as compared to placing the panel in East-West direction
and actuating the solar panel to face the sun perpendicularly,
this will require double-axis actuation which is complex and
costly to implement [2].
E. L293d Motor Driver
L293d is a motor driver IC that is able to turn the DC
motor in clockwise and anti-clockwise directions. This 16 pin
IC can also control 2 DC motors at the same time in any
direction. This motor driver works on the principle of H-
bridge. H-bridge is an electric circuitry that enables voltage
flow in both directions. To turn the motor in the clockwise and
anti-clockwise direction the voltage needs to change direction Fig. 2 PV Characteristics at 11 am
which is made possible with this circuit. L293d has two of this This is because of low wattage outputs and less efficiency
electric circuitry within to control 2 DC motors. It finds huge which is disappointing. Tracking the sun definitely increases
applications in robotics and allied fields. the yield of the solar panel. This work aims to do the same
III. WORKING OF SYSTEM AND DESCRIPTION with the help of an external mirror.
This paper shows the hardware implementation and its The first step of this experiment was to figure out at what
experimental results that validate the proper operation of the optimum position the solar panel will be providing as
proposed system. For the controlling circuit, microcontroller maximum output power depending on the position of solar
ATmega168 acts as a brain that controls the movement of the panel, mirror reflector and resistance load of the system.
motor and in turn the mirror via the L293D motor driver. Data

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initializes with a particular position in the morning,
incrementally actuate the mirror as per the time till evening
and then return back to its initial position. The experimental
setup is shown in Fig.6.

Fig. 3 VI Characteristics at 11 am

Fig. 6 Complete Hardware Model

V. RESULTS AND OBSERVATION

The solar panel used to conduct this experiment has the


following features:
Power Rating: 10 W
Short Circuit Current = 0.61A
Open Circuit Voltage = 22.32 V,
Maximum Power Current = 0.5 A
Maximum Power Voltage = 18 V
Fig. 4 PV Characteristics at 2 pm IWOM- Current without mirror
VWOM- Voltage without mirror
PWOM- Power without mirror
IWM- Current with mirror
VWM-Voltage with mirror
PWM-- Power with mirror
At 9 am over 11 days, the solar panel received an average
of 6.378 W without mirror reflectors. With mirror, the output
was 7.38 W which is 15.71 % change.
At 11 am over 11 days, the solar panel received an average
of 7.09 W without mirror reflectors. With mirror, the output
was 7.88 W which is 11.14 % change. This increase is shown
as PV and VI characteristics in Fig. 2 and Fig. 3.
At 2 pm over 11 days, the solar panel received an average
of 6.46 W without mirror reflectors. With mirror, the output
was 7.29 W which is 12.84 % change shown in Fig.4 and Fig.
Fig. 5 VI Characteristics at 2 pm 5.
At 4 pm over 11 days, the solar panel received an average
IV. EXPERIMENTAL MODEL
of 6.12 W without mirror reflectors. With mirror, the output
VI (Voltage v/s Current) and PV (Power v/s Voltage) was 7.26 W which is 18.62 % change.
characteristics for different position of solar panel and
corresponding mirror position measured using circuit shown VI. CONCLUSION
in Fig.1. After collecting these data, the ideal position for The micro controller based solar tracking system using
keeping the solar panel stationary is determined and mirror reflector as actuator has been designed and
accordingly the required position of actuation of the mirror implemented. In this paper existing solar tracking system is
reflector for providing maximum irradiance to solar panel is replaced with a mirror reflector to increase the out power
determined and the algorithm is coded and dumped into the efficiency. Data collected on a particular day during off noon
ATmega168 microcontroller using Arduino Uno programming conditions are shown in table 1.
mode. Voltage and Current measurement is also taken and
these values are passed to the microcontroller. The algorithm

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TABLE 1
DATA COLLECTED ON A PARTICULAR DAY DURING OFF NOON CONDITIONS
Time angle Irr-wom Irr-wm Rload Vwom Iwom Vwm Iwm Pwom Pwm

10 8.5 0.55 9.4 0.57 4.675 5.358


20 13.6 0.56 14.5 0.58 7.616 8.410
30 15.4 0.53 18.8 0.55 8.162 10.34
40 17.5 0.51 20.1 0.56 8.925 11.25
50 18.4 0.44 19.1 0.51 8.096 9.741
60 20.4 0.32 19.2 0.34 6.528 6.528
70 20.3 0.29 20.9 0.31 5.887 6.479
80 20.1 0.27 21.4 0.25 5.427 5.35
90 19.7 0.24 21.1 0.20 4.728 4.22
9:00 am 45 941 1194
100 19.5 0.16 20.9 0.18 3.120 3.762
10 8.3 0.55 9.8 0.60 4.565 5.88
20 14.4 0.52 15.3 0.58 7.488 8.874
30 17.6 0.51 18.1 0.59 8.976 10.67
40 18.5 0.50 19.1 0.61 9.250 11.65
50 19.5 0.44 20.8 0.49 8.580 10.19
60 20 0.42 20.3 0.47 8.400 9.541
70 20.1 0.36 20.6 0.38 7.236 7.828
80 19.8 0.30 20.1 0.31 5.940 6.231
90 19.6 0.24 19.9 0.27 4.704 5.373
11:00 am 45 1023 1348
100 19.7 0.15 20.1 0.17 2.955 3.417
10 7.1 0.56 9.1 0.60 3.976 5.460
20 9.9 0.56 12.4 0.61 5.544 7.546
30 11.8 0.55 14.5 0.59 6.490 8.555
40 15.6 0.59 17.3 0.61 9.204 10.55
50 19.2 0.44 20.6 0.52 8.448 10.71
60 20.2 0.42 20.8 0.44 8.484 9.152
70 19.9 0.38 21.3 0.37 7.562 7.881
80 20.6 0.26 21.5 0.25 5.356 5.375
90 20.1 0.22 20.9 0.23 4.422 4.807
2:00 pm 45 978 1157
100 20 0.16 20.7 0.18 3.200 3.726
10 7.5 0.56 9.3 0.60 4.200 5.580
20 11.2 0.55 12.8 0.58 6.160 7.424
30 13.2 0.54 16.1 0.59 7.128 9.499
40 16.4 0.52 17.9 0.56 8.528 10.02
50 18.2 0.44 18.9 0.49 8.008 9.261
60 20.1 0.33 19.4 0.37 6.633 7.178
70 19.4 0.32 20.3 0.35 6.208 7.105
80 19.8 0.23 20.1 0.27 4.554 5.427
90 19.9 0.20 20.2 0.22 3.980 4.444
4:00 pm 45 964 1258
100 20.1 0.15 20.3 0.16 3.015 3.248

The output efficiency of solar cells is less and this reduces [3] Pankaj Kumar Sharma, Anurag Shukla “Design of an Automatic Solar
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[5] Shahjahan Ahmed, Mohammed MahmudulAlam Mia,
SushantaAcharjee, Md. Abdul AwalAnsary, “More Efficient Use Of
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