Design of an Automated System to Optimize the Capture of Solar Energy in Photovoltaic Panels

Abstract

This article presents the design of an automated solar tracker system to increase the efficiency of low-cost photovoltaic panels. The proposed meetings follow the sun's movement across the sky at any time of the day using two axes, which perform an azimuthal activity and estimate the solar height. The axes are controlled by a program that uses an astronomical model implemented within a Raspberry Pi module. The program receives the date and time data through the Wi-Fi network and the geographic coordinates through a GPS module for updating the position of the solar tracker in real time. The proposed design can be applied to most commercial photovoltaic panels with maximum measurements of 2m x 1.05m x 4 cm.