A novel design and simulation of a mechanical coordinate based photovoltaic solar tracking system

Various methods have been developed to increase electrical energy production gains in photovoltaic (PV) systems. These can be classified as solar tracking systems, cooling systems and methods of reducing the effect of shading. In order to maximise the PV energy yield, the PV systems must follow the sun. In this study, the effect of solar tracking systems on the energy yield gains of PV systems is investigated, and various types of solar tracking systems are discussed in detail. To ensure accuracte tracking of the postion of the sun, a new, low-cost, system has been developed that employs a global positioning system (GPS) module, compass and accelerometer. With this necessary angle information a dual-axis coordinate-based solar tracking system was designed using the Arduino Mega 2560 microcontroler with home-built control software. The system is validated by comparing it to a fixed angle system and an energy yield gain of 33–38% is found.