International Journal of Sustainable Engineering

ISSN: 1939-7038 (Print) 1939-7046 (Online) Journal homepage: https://www.tandfonline.com/loi/tsue20

Solar tracking system – a review

Suneetha Racharla & K. Rajan

To cite this article: Suneetha Racharla & K. Rajan (2017) Solar tracking system
– a review, International Journal of Sustainable Engineering, 10:2, 72-81, DOI:
10.1080/19397038.2016.1267816

To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1080/19397038.2016.1267816

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International Journal of Sustainable Engineering, 2017
VOL. 10, NO. 2, 72–81
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/19397038.2016.1267816

Solar tracking system – a review

Suneetha Racharlaa and K. Rajanb
a
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Research Scholar in St.Peter’s University, Chennai, India; bDepartment of Mechanical Engineering, Dr. M.G.R.
Educational and Research Institute University, Chennai, India

ABSTRACT ARTICLE HISTORY

The generation of power from the reduction of fossil fuels is the biggest challenge for the next half century. Received 7 August 2014
The idea of converting solar energy into electrical energy using photovoltaic panels holds its place in the Accepted 11 January 2016
front row compared to other renewable sources. But the continuous change in the relative angle of the sun
KEYWORDS
with reference to the earth reduces the watts delivered by solar panel. In this context solar tracking system Solar energy; photovoltaic
is the best alternative to increase the efficiency of the photovoltaic panel. Solar trackers move the payload panel; solar tracker; azimuth;
towards the sun throughout the day. In this paper different types of tracking systems are reviewed and passive actuator; latitude
their pros and cons are discussed in detail. The results presented in this review confirm that the azimuth
and altitude dual axis tracking system is more efficient compared to other tracking systems. However in
cost and flexibility point of view single axis tracking system is more feasible than dual axis tracking system.

1. Introduction solar time), the altitude of the sun (the angular height above the
horizon) will vary throughout the year.
Nowadays the energy deficiency problems faced by the world,
In order to derive the solar angles, need to define suitable
more especially the third world countries, are urging researchers
reference frames. Three principal reference frames will be used,
to find an alternative energy source that would complement the
the ecliptic, the equatorial and the horizon reference frames.
conventional fossil fuel. The alternative energy sources include
These reference frames are centred or referenced to the centre
solar, nuclear and wind. Solar energy is the energy generated
of the earth and the apparent motion of the sun is considered
by harnessing the power of the solar radiation. It is the cleanest
for calculations. The sun and other celestial bodies are assumed
source of energy which can pollute the climate the least. The
to lay on the celestial sphere as shown in Figure 2 with a large
power from the sun intercepted by the earth is approximately
radius. The daily rotation of the earth is described by the rotation
1.8 × 1011 MW, which is many thousands of times larger than
of the celestial sphere about the polar axis, and the instantane-
the present consumption rate on the earth from all other in-use
ous position of the sun is given by the hour angle ω, the angle
commercial energy sources. The main problem with the solar
between the meridian passing through the sun and the meridian
energy is its dilute nature. Even in the hottest regions on the
of the site. The celestial sphere is imagined to rotate about the
earth, the solar radiation flux available rarely exceeds 1 kW/m,
fixed Earth to depict the daily, apparent motion of the sun and
which is insufficient for technological utilisation. This problem
other celestial bodies (Figure 2) (Sproul 2007).
can be rectified by a device solar tracker which ensures maxi-
mum intensity of sun rays hitting the surface of the panel from
sunrise to sunset. 1.2. The nomenclature
1.2.1. Declination angle (δ)
1.1. Solar geometry and solar angles It is the angular distance of the sun’s position in north or south
of the earth’s equator (Figure 3). The earth’s axis is tilted 23.34°
The earth’s orbit about the sun is almost circular at an average
from the plane of the earth’s orbit around the sun and the earth
distance of 149.6 million km. The earth’s axis of rotation is tilted
is in its annual path around the sun causes the declination angle
by an angle ε = 23.441° with respect to the normal to the plane of
to vary from 23.45° north on December 21 (Winter Solstice) to
the earth’s orbit (Figure 1) (Mitton 1977). The plane of the earth’s
23.45° south on June 21 (Summer Solstice) ( Li and Lam 2007;
orbit is named as the plane of the ecliptic. The plane passing
Reda and Andreas 2008; Rockwell Automation 2009).
through the earth’s equator is inclined perpendicularly to the
plane of the ecliptic, at an angle ε (angle of obliquity). Based on
1.2.2. The altitude angle or elevation angle (α)
conservation of angular momentum, the earth’s axis of rotation
It shows how high the sun appears in the sky. The angle is meas-
points as a fixed direction in space which means for the same
ured between an imaginary line between the observer and the
location on earth, at a fixed time (for midday as determined by

CONTACT Suneetha Racharla suneetha220@gmail.com

© 2017 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group
 INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SUSTAINABLE ENGINEERING  73

sun and the horizontal plane the observer is standing on. The
altitude angle is negative when the sun drops below the horizon
(Figure 3).

1.2.3. Solar azimuth angle (ϒs)

It is the angular distance between south and the projection of the
line of sight to the sun on the ground. A positive solar azimuth
angle indicates a position east of south, and a negative azimuth
angle indicates west of south (Figure 3).

1.2.4. The latitude (w)

It is a point or location is the angle made by the radial line join-
ing the location to the centre of the earth with the projection
of the line on the equatorial plane. The earth’s axis of rotation
Figure 1. Schematic diagram of earth orbit around sun. Source: Sproul (2007). intersects the earth’s surface at 90° latitude (North Pole) and −90°
latitude (South Pole). Any location on the surface of the earth
then can be defined by the intersection of a longitude angle and
a latitude angle.

2. Components of solar tracking system

The main mechanism of the solar tracking system consists of
the tracking device, tracking algorithm, control unit, positioning
system, driving mechanism and sensing devices. The tracking
algorithm determines the angles which are used to determine the
position of solar tracker. There are two types of algorithms-astro-
nomical algorithms and real-time light intensity algorithms. The
astronomical algorithm is a purely mathematical algorithm based
on astronomical references. The real-time light intensity algo-
rithm is based on real-time light intensity readings. The control
unit performs the tracking algorithm and manages the position-
ing system and the driving mechanism. The positioning system
operates the tracking device to face the sun at the calculated
angles. The positioning system can be electrical or hydraulic. The
driving mechanism is responsible for moving the tracking device
Figure 2. Celestial sphere geometry of the Sun and Earth. Source: Sproul (2007). to the position determined by the positioning system. The sens-
ing devices are group of sensors and measurements that measure
the ambient conditions, the light intensity in case of real-time

Figure 3. Solar angles.

74  S. RACHARLA AND K. RAJAN

light intensity algorithms, and the tilt angle of the tracker by systems in the world deserts. The work focused on the potential
means of an inclinometer or a combination of limit switches and and simulation of the 100 MW. Life cycle analysis (LCA) was
motor encoder counts (Rockwell Automation 2009). applied for the simulation. The potentials were evaluated from
economic viewpoint by LCA method. The results showed that the
cost was reduced by applying tracking system. Suri et al. (2012)
3. Solar tracking system vs. fixed panel produced solar electricity from fixed-inclined and sun-tracking
The amount of output mainly depends on the cosine angle of crystalline silicon (C-SI) photovoltaic modules in South Africa.
incidence which is known as the angle between the sun ray and The work presented a method for estimating the energy output
horizontal surface. The minimum incidence angle gives the max- from fixed-mounted and single-axis tracking flat-plate PV sys-
imum power output. In case of fixed panel except noon time the tems. The simulation used the solar radiation and temperature
angle is maximum for the movement of the sun. The efficient time series representing a historical record of 18 years (1994–
solar tracker is which can correct this problem. The first solar 2011).The results showed that one axis tracker with vertical axis
tracker introduced by Finster in 1962, was completely mechan- inclined 30° north typically gains from 15% up to 35% more
ical. One year later, Saavedra presented a mechanism with an electricity, compared to fixed mounting at optimum tilt. Anyaka,
automatic electronic control, which was used to orient an Eppley Ahiabuike, and Mbunwe (2013) studied the improvement of PV
pyrheliometer (Roth, Georgiev, and Boudinov 2005). Anusha, systems power output using sun-tracking techniques. The work
Chandra, and Reddy (2013) compared the fixed photovoltaic presented the detailed view of sun tracking systems developed
(PV) panel and single axis solar tracking based on real-time clock over the past years. The results prove that the applicability of
using ARM processor. The experiment was conducted using both sun tracking system gives a diverse range of high performance
fixed and tracking system for 6 days. The results showed that solar-based applications (Figure 4).
the solar tracking system increased the efficiency around 40%
and energy received from the sun is improved from 9.00 am 4.1.2. Concentrated photovoltaic
to 6.00 pm Dhanabal et al. (2013) compared the efficiencies of The optics in concentrated photovoltaic (CPV) modules accept
static panels and tracking systems of single axis and dual axis the direct component of the incoming light to maximise the
fixed mount. The readings were taken from morning 8 am to energy collected. The tracking functionality in CPV modules is
evening 6 pm for fixed panel, single axis tracker and dual axis used to orient the optics such that the incoming light is focused to
tracker for every one hour. The results showed the efficiency of a photovoltaic collector. Kerzmann and Schaefer (2013) studied
the single axis tracking system over that of the static panel is the flow rate optimisation of a linear concentrating photovoltaic
calculated to be 32.17% and dual axis tracking system over that system. The work focused on a two-dimensional linear concen-
of the static panel is calculated to be 81.68%. Tudorache, Oancea, trated photovoltaic (LCPV) combined with an active cooling and
and Kreindler (2012) compared the solar tracking PV panel with waste heat recovery system. The results showed that an optimal
a fixed PV panel in terms of electric energy output and efficiency. cooling fluid flow at a rate of 4 gal/min (2.52 × 10−4 m3/s), would
The proposed device automatically searches the optimum PV produce and average of 45.9 kWh of electricity and 15.9 kWh
panel position with respect to the sun by means of a DC motor of heat energy. Tripanagnostopoulos et al. (2005) proposed the
controlled by an intelligent drive unit that receives input signals design and performance aspects for low concentration photo-
from dedicated light intensity sensors. The solar tracking PV voltaic system. The non-uniform distribution of solar radiation
panel produced more energy than fixed one with about 57.55%. on the PV surface reduces the electrical efficiency and can be
Bione, Vilela, and Fraidenraich (2004) compared the pumping rectified by combining the PV with low concentration devices.
systems driven by fixed, tracking and tracking with concentration The diffuse reflectors are used instead of specular reflectors
PVs. The results showed that for a given irradiance, the pumped because of their low cost. The PV temperature reduction is also
water flow rate was significantly different from one another. The a factor so several modes for heat extraction are applied; using
fixed PV, the PV with tracker and the concentrating-tracking water or air cooled hybrid photovoltaic/thermal (PV/T) solar
systems pumped 4.9, 7.4 and 12.6 m3/day, respectively. Hon and systems. Benecke, Van Dyk, and Vorster (2013a) developed the
Kolte (2013) proposed a field programmable gate array (FPGA) optical design of low concentrator photovoltaic modules. This
sensor based standalone solar tracking system which was com- work addressed the necessary procedures that need to be con-
posed of fuzzy logic controller implemented on FPGA sensors, sidered when designing an optical sub-system of LCPV mod-
PV panel, stepper motor, and input-output interface. Xilinx_ISE ule. Various design considerations were taken into account to
software is used for coding of the tracking. The results showed construct a LCPV module that is characterised with respect to
that tracking has maximum efficiency than fixed panels. optical design and electrical performance. Benecke, Van Dyk,
and Vorster (2013b) implemented the design and analysis of a
vertical receiver LCPV system. The work presented the design
4. Different types of solar tracking techniques aspects of the optical and electrical subsystem of LCPV with a
geometric concentration ratio of 4.6. An electrical estimation is
4.1. Based on collectors
conducted by the use of I–V (current–voltage) characteristics
4.1.1. Flat plate photovoltaic panel (PV) obtained under sun as well as under concentration.
In flat-panel photovoltaic applications, trackers are used to min-
imise the angle of incidence between the incoming sunlight and 4.1.3. Concentrated solar power
a photovoltaic panel. Masakazu et al. (2003) proposed a compar- Concentrating solar power or concentrated solar thermal systems
ative study of fixed and tracking system of very large-scale PV use mirrors or lenses to concentrate a large area of sunlight or
 INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SUSTAINABLE ENGINEERING  75

Figure 4. Block diagram for various solar tracking techniques.

solar thermal energy onto a small area. Electrical power is pro- 4.2. Based on the axis
duced when the concentrated light is converted into heat, which
4.2.1. Single axis tracker
drives a heat engine (usually a steam turbine) connected to an
Single axis trackers have one degree of freedom that acts as an
electrical power generator or powers a thermo chemical reac-
axis of rotation. The axis of rotation of single axis trackers is
tion. Tariq et al. (2012) studied the effect of design variation on
typically aligned along a true north meridian. Rizk and Chaiko
saved energy of concentrating solar power prototype. The work
(2008) developed solar tracking system with more efficient use
discussed about the methods to improve the efficiency of the
of solar panels. This work included the potential system bene-
concentrated solar thermal plant. Eljai and Chalqi (2013) imple-
fits of simple tracking solar system of single axis tracker using
mented a modified model for parabolic trough solar receiver
a stepper motor and light sensor. This method was increasing
using concentrated solar thermal energy. The work concen-
power collection efficiency by implementing a device that tracks
trated on the original mathematical model that describes the
the sun to keep the panel at a right angle to sun rays. The power
heat exchange between the main components of a thermal solar
gain was increased 30% over a fixed horizontal array.
collector in an integrated solar combined cycle plant. The solar
plant was an integrated combined cycle thermo-solar power
4.2.1.1. Horizontal single axis tracker. The axis of rotation
plant consists of 256 parabolic trough solar collectors and clas-
for horizontal single axis tracker (HSAT) is horizontal with
sified in 64 parallel loops and each loop is 618 m long. The use
respect to the ground. Backtracking is one of the drawback
of the solar tracking mechanism was to maintain the incident
in computing the disposition of panels (Jacobson, Seaver, and
solar radiation perpendicular to the reflector and to the focal line
Tang 2011). Li, Tang, and Zhang (2012) calculated the optical
of the parabola where a receiver tube contains the heat transfer
performance of HSAT solar panels. From the results it was clear
fluid. The different simulation results showed that both the fluid
that the east-west placed HSAT was worst to boost the energy
temperature and the metal tube temperature grow until reaching
while the north-south placed HSAT increased the efficiency
a certain equilibrium value.
drastically around 36%.
76  S. RACHARLA AND K. RAJAN

4.2.1.2. Vertical single axis tracker. The axis of rotation for single axis tracking in north-south, and dual axis tracking using
vertical single axis trackers (VSATs) is vertical with respect to both tip-tilt and altitude-azimuth tracking. The results showed
the ground. These trackers rotate from east to west over the that the influencing factors are time error, latitude, and azimuth
course of the day. Lorenzo et al. (2002) designed the tracking and tilt angle of the photovoltaic, reflectivity and composite
of photovoltaic systems with a single vertical axis. The vertical transparent coefficient. Arbab, Jazi, and Rezagholizadeh (2009)
single axis tracking also called as azimuth tracking is mainly implemented a computer tracking system of solar dish with
used for the energy gain which can be 40% more compared to two-axis degree freedoms based on picture processing of bar
tilted static panels. This research work deals with the design of shadow. The design was based on computer image processing
VSAT photovoltaic plant in Tudela. The problems of shadowing of a bar shadow to obtain the optimised picture of solar dish
in E–W direction and also N–S direction and the methods to displacements. The system was independent to geographical
rectify were explained in detail. The results clearly specified that location of the solar dish and periodical changes like daily
VSAT boosted the energy gain around 40% per annum. or monthly regulations. Song et al. (2013) implemented a
high precision dual axis tracking system based on a hybrid
4.2.1.3. Tilted single axis tracker. The tracker with axes of strategy designed for concentrated sunlight transmission via
rotation between horizontal and vertical is named as tilted fibres. This system was based on a two-stage tracking process,
single axis tracker. Tracker tilt angles are often limited to which consists of a coarse adjustment based on the coordinate
reduce the wind profile and decrease the elevated end height. calculation algorithm and a fine adjustment using a specially
As a module tracks, it sweeps a cylinder that is rotationally designed photosensitive sensor. In this design optical fibres
symmetric around the axis of rotation (Rockwell Automation were used for the precision tracking of concentrated sunlight.
2009). The advantage of this design is the higher resolution of the sun
sensor because of the use of photosensitive arrays in closer
4.2.1.4. Polar aligned single axis tracker. This method is arrangement. From the results it is clear that system tracked the
scientifically well known as the standard method of mounting sun’s focal spot with a position precision of less than 0.3 mm
a telescope support structure. The tilted single axis is aligned to and the tracking angle precision is 0.1°. Robert et al. (2014)
the polar star. It is therefore called a polar aligned single axis proposed the optimisation of a small scale dual-axis solar
tracker (Li and Lam 2007). tracking system using nanowatt technology. The solar module
was placed first in any one direction and the PV array has to
4.2.2. Dual axis tracking search and stop at the highest current gained by the solar cell.
Dual axis trackers have two degrees of freedom that act as axes of The process was continued for every 30 min from 0600 h up to
rotation normal to one another. The axis that is fixed with respect 1800 h. The results were measured in these positions for current,
to the ground is a primary axis. The axis that is referenced to the voltage and power. An open loop control is used for controlling
primary axis is secondary axis (Jacobson, Seaver, and Tang 2011). the motors. Reis et al. (2010) proposed the modelling of the
performance of low concentration photovoltaic systems. A
4.2.2.1. Tip-tilt dual axis tracker. A tip-tilt dual axis tracker theoretical model was implemented to study the response
is so-named because the panel array is mounted on the top of of voltage-through systems in terms of temperature, power
a pole. Normally the east-west movement is driven by rotating output and energy yield using as inputs. The device was
the array around the top of the pole. The vertical azimuth axis constructed by integrating dual axis system and conventional
is fixed so as to allow great flexibility of the payload connection crystalline Si-module, named as double sun technology. The
to the ground mounted equipment because there is no twisting results concluded that the double sun technology increased the
of the cabling around the pole. Tip-tilt trackers can make to efficiency around 86% compared to fixed panels. Mohammed
minimise up-sun shading and therefore maximise the total et al. (2010) designed a parabolic solar cooker with automatic
power being collected (Al Mohamad 2004; Alata, Al-Nimr, two axes sun tracking system. The solar cooker with automatic
and Qaroush 2005; Al-Naima and Yaghobian 1990; Batayneh, two axes eliminated the standing in the sun for hours to get
Owais, and Nairoukh 2013; Mehleri et al. 2010). frequent tracking and facing the concentrated solar cooker. The
results of the continuous test performed for three days from
4.2.2.2. Azimuth–altitude dual axis tracker. An azimuth– 8:30 to 16:30 h in the year 2008 and showed that the water
altitude dual axis tracker has its primary axis (the azimuth temperature inside the cooker’s tube reached 90 °C in typical
axis) vertical to the ground and the secondary axis (elevation summer days for the maximum registered ambient temperature
axis) is normal to the primary axis. The operation is similar was 36 °C. Rhif (2013) implemented a position control review
to tip-tilt systems but differ in the way the array is rotated for for a photovoltaic system dual axis sun tracker. This work
daily tracking. Instead of rotating the array around the top of presented a sun tracker without using sun sensors. The sun
the pole, they use a large ring mounted on the ground with tracking was performed by changing the solar panel orientation
the array mounted on a series of rollers. The main advantage in horizontal and vertical directions by two motors. The control
of this arrangement is the weight of the array is distributed of these motors was controlled by a microcontroller. Sliding
over a portion of the ring (Reda and Andreas 2008). Liu et al. mode control was used to solve the nonlinear equations. The
(2013) discussed about the influence factors analysis of the simulation results concluded that tracking improves the
best orientation relative to the sun for dual-axis sun tracking. efficiency around 40% than fixed panel. Okpeki and Otuagoma
In this research work different types of tracking systems were (2013) designed and constructed a bi-directional solar tracking
reviewed such as fixed panel, single axis tracking in east-west, system. This research work included the design and fabrication
 INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SUSTAINABLE ENGINEERING  77

Figure 7. Dual axis solar tracker.

Figure 5. Horizontal single axis tracker.

Figure 6. Polar aligned single axis tracker.

of a bi-directional tracker which can rotate in both azimuth

and altitude directions. The two influencing factors of power
output are intensity and wave length of sun light were addressed Figure 8. Position of PV modules in the forenoon and afternoon.
in detail. The results concluded that the efficiency is drastically
more compared to fixed panel and the total cost of the tracker
is very low. Bakos (2013) implemented a two-axis sun tracking based on microcontroller. The microcontroller PIC16F72 was
system for parabolic trough collector efficiency improvement. used to activate the motors to get two ways rotation. Light
Parabolic trough is used with two axis rotation to the sun. detection sensors were used to get the information about sun
The results conclude that parabolic collector is increasing radiation. The results were compared with conventional solar
the energy than flat collector. Rodiek, julie, and steve (2010) tracker without microcontroller and also with fixed panels.
conducted solar photovoltaic array tilt angle and tracking The difference was almost 37% between fixed panel and
performance experiment. Advanced software models were tracking system with microcontroller. Tous, Badran, and Al-
developed to calculate the change of path by the sun throughout Mofleh (2012) studied the thermal evaluation of a sun tracking
the year and to predict the optimum angle for the single axis solar cooker using microcontroller. The work contained the
tracker to obtain maximum energy output for the entire year. implementation of tracking system developed for getting the
Two modelling programs were discussed to predict the optimal solar heating using solar cooker. A microcontroller was used
angle. For the experiment five panels were used in a single axis for rotating the solar heater with the movement of the sun.
to track azimuthally at the tilt angles of 20°, 25°, 32° (latitude), Programmable logic control system was used as control system.
40° and 50°. One more panel was a fixed control panel facing A comparison between fixed and sun tracked cooker showed
south at latitude tilt. The results were taken for one year and that the use of sun tracking increased the heating temperature
they conclude that a higher tilted panel (50°) will produce more by 36%. Ghassoul (2013) proposed design of an automatic
power throughout the year compared to modelling from PV solar tracking system to maximise energy extraction. This solar
Watts that suggests a 32° tilt. tracking system was controlled by a micro chip PIC 18F452
micro controller. The search mechanism PILOT located the
position of the sun and the intelligent panel mechanism rotates
4.3. Based on driver
itself with the PILOT to extract the maximum energy. The main
4.3.1. Active tracker defect in this was the rotation only takes place, if the energy
4.3.1.1. Microcontroller and electro-optical sensor based solar obtained in the new position is higher than that consumed by
tracker. Ray et al. (2012) presented two ways of rotating the panels during the transition. One miniature motor was used
freedom solar tracker by using microcontroller. The work to search the best position for maximum energy extraction. The
included the design of a two ways rotating freedom solar tracker panel’s mechanism rotated to the position automatically when
 78

Table 1. Comparison table for different tracking systems.

Number of
Type of solar system Performance Capabilities axis Possible manufactures Technical restrictions
Single axis solar tracking Horizontal single axis tracker 68% compared to fixed panel Less complicated, less expensive, rigid 1 ARRAY Technologies Inc., USA Occupy lot of space because there are
 S. RACHARLA AND K. RAJAN

system (HSAT) and stable. less likely to be damaged SAHAJ SOLAR, India to be arranged horizontally
during storms WUXI HAOSOLAR Technology co.,
Ltd, China
DEGE Renergie GmbH, Germany
Vertical single axis tracker 62% compared to fixed panel Less complicated, less expensive 1 ARRAY Technologies Inc., USA Easily affected by wind force. So
(VSAT) when loss due to wind force WUXI HAOSOLAR Technology co., support should be taken care
taken into account Ltd, China
DEGE Renergie GmbH, Germany
Tilted single axis tracker (TSAT) 69% compared to fixed panel More suitable for smaller latitudes i.e. 1 ARRAY Technologies Inc., USA The inclination should be calculated
places which are close to equator WUXI HAOSOLAR Technology co., very accurately to avoid shading and
Ltd, China wind loss
DEGE Renergie GmbH, Germany
Polar aligned single axis trackers Still experiments are going More suitable for larger latitudes i.e. 1 ARRAY Technologies Inc., USA Still experiments are going on this.
(PASAT) on. places which are far from equator WUXI HAOSOLAR Technology co., Pros and cons has to be studied
Ltd, China
DEGE Renergie GmbH, Germany
Dual axis solar tracking Tip-tilt dual axis tracker (TTDAT) 78% compared to fixed panel Able to track the sun in both directions 2 ARRAY Technologies Inc., USA Should be attached on a long pole so
system without considering the (east-west as well as north-south). ALL EARTH RENEWABLES,USA wind forces will be very high
extra manufacturing cost of &
dual axis Able to minimise the up-sun shading. TITAN TRACKERS, Europe
DEGE Renergie GmbH, Germany
Azimuth–altitude dual axis 82% compared to fixed panel More suitable for greater latitude 2 ARRAY Technologies Inc., USA Its pivoting mechanism rests on the
tracker (AADAT) without considering the where substantial seasonal variation OPEL SOLAR, Canada ground so occupies a large space
extra manufacturing cost of in sun’s height and arc. DEGE Renergie GmbH, Germany and these are not suitable for north-
dual axis & ern climates with snow build up
The weight of the array is distributed
over a portion of the ring
Passive tracking system 40% compared to fixed panel With the help of passive materials – ZOOMWORKS,USA The cost of the material for an actuator
like SMA (shape memory alloy),the will be very high and availability of
additional parts can be eliminated some materials will be difficult
Also sluggish in moving cold temper-
ature
 INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SUSTAINABLE ENGINEERING  79

Table 2. Comparison table on cost and payback for different tracking systems. 4.3.2 Passive tracker
Type of solar The passive trackers use a boiling point from a compressed fluid
tracker Cost per watt power Projected pay-back which moves from one side to other by the solar heat which
Fixed solar panel $2–2.4/watt depending on 1.5–3.5 years for crystal- creates a gas pressure results the tracker movement (Semma and
the panel size and region line silicon PV systems Imamura 1980). Due to the bad quality of precision orientation,
1–1.5 years for thin film
technologies it is unsuitable for certain types of photovoltaic collectors. In
Single axis solar $1.17/watt premium with 3.0 years of payback on the passive tracker the photovoltaic panels include a hologram
tracking system respect to efficiency tracker investment behind stripes of photovoltaic cells so that sunlight reflects (Tous,
Dual axis solar track- $0.36/watt premium with 3.5–5 years of payback
ing system respect to efficiency cost on tracker invest- Badran, and Al-Mofleh (2012)) on the hologram which allows
ment the cell heat from behind, thereby increasing the modules’ effi-
Passive tracking $1.2–2/watt depending Approximately 5 years of ciency. Moreover, the plant need not require moving while the
system on the tracker size and payback cost
features hologram still reflects sunlight from the needed angle towards
the photovoltaic cells. Ganesh et al. (2011) proposed the design
and development of a sun tracking mechanism using the direct
shape memory alloy (SMA) actuation. The SMA element acts
energy extraction is optimal. The system was designed in such as sensor and actuator position the solar receptor tilted appro-
a way that panels only follow the sun if that contributes to extra priately to face the sun directly at all times during the day. The
energy extraction and at the same time, the energy consumed thermal stimulus required to activate the SMA element is pro-
by the panel driving motor is less than that extracted. Wang vided by the concentration and direct focusing of the incident
and Lu (2013) proposed the design and implementation of sun rays on to the SMA element. The results show the possibility
a sun tracker with a dual-axis single motor for an optical of the design and development of a sun tracking mechanism
sensor-based photovoltaic system. This work proposed a novel using SMA that directly uses sunlight without the need for any
design of a dual-axis solar tracking PV system which utilises additional external power source (Tables 1 and 2).
the feedback control theory along with a four-quadrant light
dependent resistor sensor and simple electronic circuits to
provide robust system performance. The proposed system used 5. Conclusion
a unique dual-axis AC motor and a stand-alone PV inverter to The innovative designs in sun tracking systems have enabled the
accomplish solar tracking. Experiment results indicated that development of many solar thermal and photovoltaic systems for
the developed system increased the energy gain up to 28.31% a diverse variety of applications in recent years compared to the
for a partly cloudy day. traditional fixed panels. Solar systems which track the changes in
the sun’s trajectory over the course of the day collect a far greater
4.3.1.2. Auxiliary bifacial solar cell based solar amount of solar energy, and therefore generate a significantly higher
tracker. Gupta et al. (2013) explained the design, output power. This paper has presented a review of the major types
construction and effectiveness of a hybrid automatic solar of sun tracking systems developed over the past 20 years. It has been
tracking system for amorphous and crystalline solar cells. This shown that these sun tracking systems can be broadly classified
work included the design of a hybrid solar tracking system as single axis and dual axis, depending on their mode of rotation.
implemented by integrating with amorphous and crystalline Further it can be classified as active and passive tracker depending
solar panel, and microcontroller. The experiment consisted of on the actuator. The sub division and their basic principles of each
the analysis on the use of two different materials of solar panel method have been reviewed. Overall, the results presented in this
like Amorphous and Crystalline in a solar tracking system review confirm that the azimuth and altitude dual axis tracking sys-
at stationary, single axis, and dual axis and hybrid axis solar tem is more efficient compared to other tracking systems. However
tracker. The comparison showed that the use of the dual-axis in cost and flexibility point of view single axis tracking system is
tracking system produced 17.87% gain of power output than a more feasible than dual axis. In future the present paper details will
single-axis tracking system. The gain of output power with the be useful in selecting an accurate and particular tracker with respect
hybrid tracking system is further more (52%) than a stationary to region, available space and estimated cost. The present work may
system inclined at 23.5° to the horizontal. be useful to improve the design characteristics of different types of
solar tracking systems to improve performance. The main contri-
4.3.1.3. Date, time and sensor based. In the date/time bution of solar tracking involves in resulting an efficient, profitable
and sensor-based tracking systems, electronic devices like and clean power production in future.
microprocessor calculate the sun’s position from basic formulae
or algorithms from geographical information and send signals
to the electro motor (Figure 5). Disclosure statement
Edwards (1978) presented the operation of a computer No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.
based sun following system for parabolic collectors. The com-
puter continuously varied the speed of each collector actuators Notes on contributors
at regular intervals throughout the day. The results concluded
Suneetha Racharla, is a PhD research scholar in Department of
that for accurate sun following, the system requires a data output
Mechanical Engineering, St. Peter’s University, Chennai, Tamilnadu, India.
from the central controller of only 500 bit/s for 10,000 collectors Her research focuses on renewable energy. She has published five papers in
per day. international/National Journals and conferences.
80  S. RACHARLA AND K. RAJAN

K. Rajan, ME, Ph.D, is a professor in the Department of Mechanical Hon, P. Snehal, and M. T. Kolte. 2013. “FPGA Based Standalone Solar
Engineering, Dr.M.G.R Educational & Research Institute, University, Tracking System.” International Journal of Scientific and Research
Chennai, Tamilnadu, India. His area of research includes thermal engi- Publications 3 (10): 1–5.
neering, IC Engines and renewable energies. He has published more than Jacobson, Larry, Alan Seaver, and Jiashen Tang. 2011. “AstroCalc4R:
75 papers in International/National Journals and Conferences. Software to Calculate Solar Zenith Angle; Time at Sunrise, Local Noon,
and Sunset; and Photosynthetically Available Radiation Based on Date,
Time, and Location.” Northeast Fisheries Science Center Reference
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