Position Optimization Method for a Solar Tracking Device Using the Cast-Shadow Principle

Automated Photovoltaic (PV) Panels are accessible and reliable engines for harnessing energy delivered from the Sun rays. In this paper, we design an efficient solar tracking device composed of an Arduino UNO board, two stepper motors, a pair of specialized L298N circuits and an optocoupler. We also present a novel approach for orienting the solar panel towards the Sun based on the cast-shadow effect as well as a low-cost and sensorless solution for providing an automated variant of the PV panel. The implementation of a dedicated blocking mechanism for the stepper motors managed to reduce the overall power consumption of the system by 86.93% and thus eliminated the device's dependability from the AC network. The experimental results show a 45.21% voltage, 49.71% current and 58.82% power increase over the static PV panel by using monocrystalline solar cells.

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