Design and Analysis of a Dual-Axis Solar Tracker with an In-built Low Cost Self-Cleaning Mechanism

The impending energy crisis due to rapid exhaustion of fossil fuels has necessitated the exploitation of solar energy in more efficient ways. Solar tracking systems track the maximum insolation by mechanically orienting the photovoltaic panel conforming to the actual position of the sun and electrically through MPPT which is inbuilt in solar inverters. Dual axis tracking system tracks both the altitude angle of the sun corresponding to seasonal variations and azimuth angle of the sun corresponding to diurnal changes to harness the maximum efficiency. However, with the passage of time, unwanted particles such as dust, sand, twigs, and dry leaves tend to accumulate on the solar panels thereby decreasing the maximum output power and hence the efficiency. The novelty in this work is that we have designed and analysed a low-cost self-cleaning mechanism inbuilt in a designed dual-axis solar tracker. The cleaning mechanism system has been implemented in the same tracking system by a slight change in the fabrication technology. The design and operating principle, efficiency with and without the in-built self-cleaning mechanism, the future scope have been discussed and analysed in detail.