A high power generation, low power consumption solar tracker

This paper discusses the design, programming and results of a device that achieved low power consumption. The system has dual-axes tracking controlled by a Programmable Logic Controller (PLC) using a formula which were pre-calculated using the altitude and azimuth of the sun. The designed solar trac...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Ahmad, Salsabila, Shafie, Suhaidi, Ab Kadir, Mohd Zainal Abidin
Format: Conference or Workshop Item
Language:English
Published: IEEE 2012
Online Access:http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/39224/1/A%20high%20power%20generation%2C%20low%20power%20consumption%20solar%20tracker.pdf
Description
Summary:This paper discusses the design, programming and results of a device that achieved low power consumption. The system has dual-axes tracking controlled by a Programmable Logic Controller (PLC) using a formula which were pre-calculated using the altitude and azimuth of the sun. The designed solar tracker was tested under several weather conditions in tropical climate environments. On a clear and sunny day, the power generated from the tracker is significantly higher than the non-tracking surface unit, whilst the power consumed by motors and controller are 0.05% and 5.84%, respectively. Overall, the power consumption of the tracker is only 5.89% of the total power generated.