1.

Background and Problem description

A sun tracker is to be designed that maximizes incident sun-light. They orient
the payload attached on it towards the sun. The sunlight has two components
a direct component which comprises of about 90% of energy coming
undiffused from the sun. The remaining is an indirect component which is
diffused sunlight and does not contain much share of solar energy per unit
area of incident light.
Typically solar trackers are deployed in solar power plants or roofs of
buildings with flat Photovoltaic (PV) panels. Their chief function is to minimize
the angle of incidence of direct sunlight from the sun on the PV panel so that
the power generated can be regulated effectively and maximized during the
day time. Since the energy has to be captured from the direct sunlight
component, a typical solar tracker works best when the sun is visible and the
sky is clear. The power lost due to misalignment of the PV panel with the
incident sunlight has a relationship with the incidence angle and time for
which it stays with a particular misalignment angle. Below is table that shows
this.

Sun Earth Relative Motion

The sun appears as a moving point from a fixed location of earth at a given
time. The trajectory of the sun from a fixed location on the earth is unique.
The earth rotates about its own axis tilted at 23.5 degrees spinning 360
degrees about its tilted axis. This 360 degree spinning effect changes the
incident angle of direct sunlight at a fixed location on earth. This variation is
termed as diurnal variation. Range of incidence angle can be upto 150
degrees for (a 10 hour day). Another relative motion that occurs is due to
revolution of earth around sun. This causes a seasonal variation of at most 46
degrees of incident angle of direct sunlight at a particular location.

A sun tracker with a tracking accuracy of 5 degrees is quite effective and

efficient in its operation. An important consideration for implementing
tracking motion executed by the sun tracker is typically 3 times large (150
degree 46 degree) and frequent (daily vs 180 days).
In solar power plant installations, where electricity is generated in the order
of MW, studies have reported that using a solar tracker has a direct impact in
the plant efficiency in terms of generated solar power. Even in rooftop
installations of large buildings, one can see benefits of using solar tracking by
getting 20-32% improvements in mean efficiency throughout the year
depending on the location of the installation. This justifies the fixed cost
overhead incurred for installing such equipment in solar power plants and
rooftops of buildings where a fair share of generated electric power is due to
solar energy.
Feature Selection Matrix
Through the design process, the team discussed the following primary
questions regarding the sun tracker design. The primary functional and nonfunctional requirements of the system were chalked out. They are listed
below:
R1. The system must track the sun to minimize incidence angle of direct
sunlight irrespective of its location on the earth.
Following questions were discussed to fulfill requirement R1
1. Do we need to capture suns diurnal and seasonal variation in our design
for a good performance? If yes, how?
2. Do we need any sensory devices to execute the tracking motion of the
sun? Do we need them to make it location independent?
3. What are the possible mechanisms for executing the motion of the sun
tracker? How are they powered up?
4. What external factors can affect the accuracy of the tracking motion?
Under what circumstances, the performance can deteriorate?

5. What is the existing state of the art or feasible solution for doing this task?
Any patents/licensing issues involved?
R2. It must provide a simple and intuitive interface to an operator for
operation and maintenance activities.
Following questions were put forth to fulfill requirement R2
1. Who are the operators of solar tracker? Describe user profiles.
2. What are the possible interactions of an operator with the solar tracker?
List out most important use cases.
3. Where will this solar tracker be installed? Mention geographic locations
and profile them with their environmental conditions.
4. What are the possible maintenance activities generally carried out on
solar tracking units and other systems designed to be used in locations
mentioned in question 3 above? What mechanisms and technologies work
well in such areas?
5. What are the safety requirements that should be fulfilled for making solar
trackers? Are there any standards?
Req
.
R1
Pro
s/
Con
s

Option 1

Option 2

Single Axis Tracker

Dual Axis Tracker

Time synchronized sensorless

Light dependent sensorbased

Manual human power

Actuator based - Electric

power

Pro
s/
Con
s

Pro
s/
Con
s

Generally Dual-axis trackers are more accurate in pointing directly

at the sun which is usually the brightest spot in the sky, however,
Dual axis comes at the price of higher complexity and lower
reliability
b. Meanwhile, a group of single axis trackers will be all facing the
same direction and producing about the same amount of energy
per hour with a lot less wear and tear
c. But most of the developed world live in temperate climates where
the Sky Clearness Index is rarely better than .5 like most of North
America, not counting the sunny southwest US
a.

Single-axis tracking is one of the most straightforward ways to improve the performance and economics
of a commercial solar installation
Read more at
http://www.redorbit.com/news/business/1580656/customers_recognize_the_power_of_solar_tracking_by_
selecting_raytracker/#M5bsQSYKKBRErR1c.99

2. Features of the sun tracker

a. An autonomous single axis horizontal tracker will be designed to track
the daily motion of the sun.
b. A local time synchronized will be used to track the daily motion to
make it location independent.
c. For seasonal tracking of the motion of the sun, there will be a manually
operated lever to periodically shift the slant angle of the payload
towards sun.
d. The mounting of the sun tracker will be fixed with the ground.
e. To prevent any perturbations from wind/other disturbances like
animals/birds, a locking mechanism will be provided for locking
seasonal variations
f. It can carry a maximum payload of 20 kg; Solar panels of size not more
than 1 m2 can be mounted.
g. The box size of sun tracker should not be more than the 1.5m x 1.5m x
1.5m
h. Height of the operating panel and operating levers of the solar tracker
should be between 4 5 feet.
i. An emergency stop button provided to be operated from distance
during malfunction/accident.

j.

A reset switch to erase all calibrations related to local time will be

provided and brings the tracker to its home position.
k. A constant voltage power source is required to operate the diurnal
tracking of the sun tracker.
l. All moving parts must be enclosed to prevent entry of dust and foreign
entities
3. Specifications
a. Motion specifications

b. Wind loading specifications

c.
4. Concept Design
a. Problem formulation
i. Major use-cases
b. Functional components/subsystem
i. Block-diagrams
ii. Description
c. Idea matrix and selection
5. Design analysis
a. Calculations
i. Tracking algorithm
ii. Wind-loading
iii. Motor calculations

b. Pros and Cons

6. Final design specifications and sketch/model
7. Possible improvements
8. Alternatives
References:
1. http://www.altenergymag.com/content.php?post_type=1690
2.

William David Lubitz, "Effect of Manual Tilt Adjustments on Incident Irradiance on Fixed and Tracking
Solar Panels", Applied Energy, Volume 88 (2011), pp. 1710-1719

Figures:
1. http://permaculturenews.org/2015/10/23/charting-the-suns-motion-in-relationto-your-home-and-permaculture-site/