Arduino Projects

How to Design A Solar Tracker Robot With Arduino

This blog post details the design and construction of a uniaxial solar tracker that would follow the direction of the sun, ensuring maximum harvest of the solar panel. Most homes face the problem of peak harvest of sunlight. This project design would help reduce this challenge.

Components Needed For Solar Tracker Project Design

ITEM DESCRIPTIONQUANTITY
VOLTAGE REGULATOR1
LDR2
TRANSFORMER1
LEDs1
RESISTORS, 10K and 1K6
ATMEGA328P1
CONNECTING WIRES3YARD
CASING1
VERO BOARD2
Bridge Rectifier1
16MHz Crystal Oscillator1
1000uF electrolytic Capacitor3
SOLDERING IRON1
BREAD BOARD3
CAPACITOR4
1A FUSE1
VARISTOR1
0.01uF Capacitor1
Pushbutton1
Servo Motor MG9901
22pF Capacitor2
MISCELLANEOUS5
Table of components list for the project design

Solar Tracker Robot: The Circuit Diagram

Solar Tracker Robot: The circuit diagram

Explanation for Circuit Diagram of Solar Tracker Robot

The schematic diagram shown above was done with Proteus IDE, It used two Light Dependent Resistors (LDRs) to sense and measure the average amount of sun intensity, hence move the solar panel to the direction of the sun. The LDR is connected in series with a 10K resistor. This forms a voltage divider and we can use the program code to do a bit of calculations to determine where best to position the solar panel.

The project design doesn’t use an Arduino board but a standalone version. The brain of the project is the Atmega328P IC. It is powered by the 5V power supply circuit that is shown above. This is a linear power supply circuit diagram; one can also opt for an already made power supply unit.

The Arduino Source Code

#include <Servo.h> 
 
Servo tracker;  // create servo object to control a servo 
int eastLDRPin = 0;  //Assign analogue pins
int westLDRPin = 1;
int eastLDR = 0;   //Create variables for the east and west sensor values
int westLDR = 0;
int error = 0;
int calibration = 10;  //Calibration offset to set error to zero when both sensors receive an equal amount of light
int trackerPos = 90;    //Create a variable to store the servo position

void setup() 
{ 
  tracker.attach(9);  // attaches the servo on pin 11 to the servo object
  Serial.begin(9600);
   tracker.write(90);
   delay(5000);
} 
 
 
void loop() 
{ 
  eastLDR = calibration + analogRead(eastLDRPin);    //Read the value of each of the east and west sensors
  westLDR = analogRead(westLDRPin);
  error = eastLDR - westLDR;          //Determine the difference between the two sensors.
  if(error>15)        //If the error is positive and greater than 15 then move the tracker in the east direction
  {
   
    tracker.write(180);              // tell servo to go to position in variable 'pos' 
    delay(500);                       // waits 15ms for the servo to reach the position 
  
  }
 else if(error<-15)  //If the error is negative and less than -15 then move the tracker in the west direction
  {
                   
    tracker.write(0);              // tell servo to go to position in variable 'pos' 
    delay(500);                       // waits 15ms for the servo to reach the position 
   }
         
  Serial.print(eastLDR);
  Serial.print("   ");
  Serial.print(westLDR);
  Serial.print("   ");
  Serial.println(error);
  delay(500);
}

Conclusion

Solar trackers are important because they can significantly increase the energy output of solar panels. By tracking the sun’s movement across the sky, solar trackers ensure that the panels are always perpendicular to the sun’s rays, which allows them to capture the most sunlight possible. This can increase energy production by up to 40%, depending on the location and climate

Read More

smartechlabs

Recent Posts

IoT Smart Home With Bluetooth Voice Control & Energy Monitoring

The Future of Homes Is Smart https://youtu.be/dxeC41gVSQ4 Imagine walking into your house, saying “lights on”,…

3 weeks ago

How Smart Weather Stations Revolutionize Farming

Weather plays a pivotal role in farming, influencing everything from planting schedules to irrigation needs.…

3 weeks ago

How IoT is Revolutionizing Precision Farming for Smallholders

Introduction Imagine a world where farming decisions are guided not just by intuition but by…

3 weeks ago

AI-Powered Crop Harvesting: Benefits and Challenges

Introduction Imagine a world where robots and artificial intelligence (AI) handle the backbreaking work of…

3 weeks ago

AI Models for Predicting Drought Impact on Crop Yields

Introduction AI models for drought prediction, and made you ever wondered how farmers and researchers…

3 weeks ago

DIY IoT Hydroponic & Aquaculture Monitor with Arduino Nano, ESP-01, and Blynk

https://youtu.be/PpIlTJ0myoM Introduction: Why Bother Monitoring Water Anyway? IoT Aquaculture project If you’ve ever tried growing…

1 month ago

This website uses cookies.