Intelligent Arduino Based Automatic Solar Tracking System Using Light Dependent Resistors (LDRs) and Servo Motor

Rufai Hassan; Bashir Abubakar

doi:doi:10.11648/j.optics.20200902.11

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Intelligent Arduino Based Automatic Solar Tracking System Using Light Dependent Resistors (LDRs) and Servo Motor

Rufai Hassan, Bashir Abubakar

Published in Optics (Volume 9, Issue 2)

Received: 18 June 2020 Accepted: 14 July 2020 Published: 11 December 2020

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Abstract

With the advancement of technology things are becoming Simpler and easier in every aspect of life. Automation is the use of control systems and information technologies to reduce the need for human work. Sun is an abundant source of energy and this solar energy can be harnessed successfully using solar photovoltaic cells and photovoltaic effect to convert solar energy into electrical energy. But the conversion efficiency of a normal Photovoltaic (PV) cell is low. One of the main reason for this is that the output of Photovoltaic (PV) cell is dependent directly on the light intensity and with the position of the sun in the sky changing continuously from time to time; the absorption efficiency of an immobile solar panel would be significantly less at certain time of the day and year; for the solar photovoltaic cells are maximum productive when they are perpendicular to the sun and less productive otherwise. So to maximize the energy generation and improve the efficiency; intelligent solar trackers come into play. This paper presents the design and construction of an intelligent Arduino Based solar tracking system using Light Dependent Resistors (LDRs) and Servo-motor for tracking the movement of the sun so as to get maximum power from the solar panels as they follow the sun. It uses Light Dependent Resistors (LDRs) to sense the position of the sun which is communicated to a Arduino Uno microcontroller which then commands a set of two servo-motors to re-orient the panel in order to stay perpendicular to the sun rays. The design was constructed successfully and tested.

Published in	Optics (Volume 9, Issue 2)
DOI	10.11648/j.optics.20200902.11
Page(s)	13-18
Creative Commons	This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright	Copyright © The Author(s), 2020. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Microcontroller Arduino Board, Photovoltaic Panel, Proteus Program, Sensors Light Dependent Resistors (LDRs), Servo Motor

References

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[19]	Zhang K, Si C, Zhu Z, Guo C, Shi Q. A Two-Dimensional Solar Tracking Stationary Guidance Method Based on Feature-Based Time Series. Journal of Mathematical Problems in Engineering. 2018; 2018: 1-12. https://doi.org/10.1155/2018/3420649.
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APA Style

Rufai Hassan, Bashir Abubakar. (2020). Intelligent Arduino Based Automatic Solar Tracking System Using Light Dependent Resistors (LDRs) and Servo Motor. Optics, 9(2), 13-18. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.optics.20200902.11

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ACS Style

Rufai Hassan; Bashir Abubakar. Intelligent Arduino Based Automatic Solar Tracking System Using Light Dependent Resistors (LDRs) and Servo Motor. Optics. 2020, 9(2), 13-18. doi: 10.11648/j.optics.20200902.11

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AMA Style

Rufai Hassan, Bashir Abubakar. Intelligent Arduino Based Automatic Solar Tracking System Using Light Dependent Resistors (LDRs) and Servo Motor. Optics. 2020;9(2):13-18. doi: 10.11648/j.optics.20200902.11

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@article{10.11648/j.optics.20200902.11,
  author = {Rufai Hassan and Bashir Abubakar},
  title = {Intelligent Arduino Based Automatic Solar Tracking System Using Light Dependent Resistors (LDRs) and Servo Motor},
  journal = {Optics},
  volume = {9},
  number = {2},
  pages = {13-18},
  doi = {10.11648/j.optics.20200902.11},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.optics.20200902.11},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.optics.20200902.11},
  abstract = {With the advancement of technology things are becoming Simpler and easier in every aspect of life. Automation is the use of control systems and information technologies to reduce the need for human work. Sun is an abundant source of energy and this solar energy can be harnessed successfully using solar photovoltaic cells and photovoltaic effect to convert solar energy into electrical energy. But the conversion efficiency of a normal Photovoltaic (PV) cell is low. One of the main reason for this is that the output of Photovoltaic (PV) cell is dependent directly on the light intensity and with the position of the sun in the sky changing continuously from time to time; the absorption efficiency of an immobile solar panel would be significantly less at certain time of the day and year; for the solar photovoltaic cells are maximum productive when they are perpendicular to the sun and less productive otherwise. So to maximize the energy generation and improve the efficiency; intelligent solar trackers come into play. This paper presents the design and construction of an intelligent Arduino Based solar tracking system using Light Dependent Resistors (LDRs) and Servo-motor for tracking the movement of the sun so as to get maximum power from the solar panels as they follow the sun. It uses Light Dependent Resistors (LDRs) to sense the position of the sun which is communicated to a Arduino Uno microcontroller which then commands a set of two servo-motors to re-orient the panel in order to stay perpendicular to the sun rays. The design was constructed successfully and tested.},
 year = {2020}
}

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TY  - JOUR
T1  - Intelligent Arduino Based Automatic Solar Tracking System Using Light Dependent Resistors (LDRs) and Servo Motor
AU  - Rufai Hassan
AU  - Bashir Abubakar
Y1  - 2020/12/11
PY  - 2020
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.optics.20200902.11
DO  - 10.11648/j.optics.20200902.11
T2  - Optics
JF  - Optics
JO  - Optics
SP  - 13
EP  - 18
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2328-7810
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.optics.20200902.11
AB  - With the advancement of technology things are becoming Simpler and easier in every aspect of life. Automation is the use of control systems and information technologies to reduce the need for human work. Sun is an abundant source of energy and this solar energy can be harnessed successfully using solar photovoltaic cells and photovoltaic effect to convert solar energy into electrical energy. But the conversion efficiency of a normal Photovoltaic (PV) cell is low. One of the main reason for this is that the output of Photovoltaic (PV) cell is dependent directly on the light intensity and with the position of the sun in the sky changing continuously from time to time; the absorption efficiency of an immobile solar panel would be significantly less at certain time of the day and year; for the solar photovoltaic cells are maximum productive when they are perpendicular to the sun and less productive otherwise. So to maximize the energy generation and improve the efficiency; intelligent solar trackers come into play. This paper presents the design and construction of an intelligent Arduino Based solar tracking system using Light Dependent Resistors (LDRs) and Servo-motor for tracking the movement of the sun so as to get maximum power from the solar panels as they follow the sun. It uses Light Dependent Resistors (LDRs) to sense the position of the sun which is communicated to a Arduino Uno microcontroller which then commands a set of two servo-motors to re-orient the panel in order to stay perpendicular to the sun rays. The design was constructed successfully and tested.
VL  - 9
IS  - 2
ER  -

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Author Information

Rufai Hassan

Department of Computer Engineering, School of Engineering Technology, Federal Polytechnic, Bali, Nigeria
Bashir Abubakar

Department of Computer Engineering, School of Engineering Technology, Federal Polytechnic, Bali, Nigeria

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Plain Text BibTeX RIS

APA Style

Rufai Hassan, Bashir Abubakar. (2020). Intelligent Arduino Based Automatic Solar Tracking System Using Light Dependent Resistors (LDRs) and Servo Motor. Optics, 9(2), 13-18. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.optics.20200902.11

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ACS Style

Rufai Hassan; Bashir Abubakar. Intelligent Arduino Based Automatic Solar Tracking System Using Light Dependent Resistors (LDRs) and Servo Motor. Optics. 2020, 9(2), 13-18. doi: 10.11648/j.optics.20200902.11

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AMA Style

Rufai Hassan, Bashir Abubakar. Intelligent Arduino Based Automatic Solar Tracking System Using Light Dependent Resistors (LDRs) and Servo Motor. Optics. 2020;9(2):13-18. doi: 10.11648/j.optics.20200902.11

Copy | Download

@article{10.11648/j.optics.20200902.11,
  author = {Rufai Hassan and Bashir Abubakar},
  title = {Intelligent Arduino Based Automatic Solar Tracking System Using Light Dependent Resistors (LDRs) and Servo Motor},
  journal = {Optics},
  volume = {9},
  number = {2},
  pages = {13-18},
  doi = {10.11648/j.optics.20200902.11},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.optics.20200902.11},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.optics.20200902.11},
  abstract = {With the advancement of technology things are becoming Simpler and easier in every aspect of life. Automation is the use of control systems and information technologies to reduce the need for human work. Sun is an abundant source of energy and this solar energy can be harnessed successfully using solar photovoltaic cells and photovoltaic effect to convert solar energy into electrical energy. But the conversion efficiency of a normal Photovoltaic (PV) cell is low. One of the main reason for this is that the output of Photovoltaic (PV) cell is dependent directly on the light intensity and with the position of the sun in the sky changing continuously from time to time; the absorption efficiency of an immobile solar panel would be significantly less at certain time of the day and year; for the solar photovoltaic cells are maximum productive when they are perpendicular to the sun and less productive otherwise. So to maximize the energy generation and improve the efficiency; intelligent solar trackers come into play. This paper presents the design and construction of an intelligent Arduino Based solar tracking system using Light Dependent Resistors (LDRs) and Servo-motor for tracking the movement of the sun so as to get maximum power from the solar panels as they follow the sun. It uses Light Dependent Resistors (LDRs) to sense the position of the sun which is communicated to a Arduino Uno microcontroller which then commands a set of two servo-motors to re-orient the panel in order to stay perpendicular to the sun rays. The design was constructed successfully and tested.},
 year = {2020}
}

Copy | Download

TY  - JOUR
T1  - Intelligent Arduino Based Automatic Solar Tracking System Using Light Dependent Resistors (LDRs) and Servo Motor
AU  - Rufai Hassan
AU  - Bashir Abubakar
Y1  - 2020/12/11
PY  - 2020
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.optics.20200902.11
DO  - 10.11648/j.optics.20200902.11
T2  - Optics
JF  - Optics
JO  - Optics
SP  - 13
EP  - 18
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2328-7810
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.optics.20200902.11
AB  - With the advancement of technology things are becoming Simpler and easier in every aspect of life. Automation is the use of control systems and information technologies to reduce the need for human work. Sun is an abundant source of energy and this solar energy can be harnessed successfully using solar photovoltaic cells and photovoltaic effect to convert solar energy into electrical energy. But the conversion efficiency of a normal Photovoltaic (PV) cell is low. One of the main reason for this is that the output of Photovoltaic (PV) cell is dependent directly on the light intensity and with the position of the sun in the sky changing continuously from time to time; the absorption efficiency of an immobile solar panel would be significantly less at certain time of the day and year; for the solar photovoltaic cells are maximum productive when they are perpendicular to the sun and less productive otherwise. So to maximize the energy generation and improve the efficiency; intelligent solar trackers come into play. This paper presents the design and construction of an intelligent Arduino Based solar tracking system using Light Dependent Resistors (LDRs) and Servo-motor for tracking the movement of the sun so as to get maximum power from the solar panels as they follow the sun. It uses Light Dependent Resistors (LDRs) to sense the position of the sun which is communicated to a Arduino Uno microcontroller which then commands a set of two servo-motors to re-orient the panel in order to stay perpendicular to the sun rays. The design was constructed successfully and tested.
VL  - 9
IS  - 2
ER  -

Copy | Download