The document summarizes a 6-month internship project report on developing a solar tracking system. It provides background on the company where the internship was completed, Visesh Transmission Pvt. Ltd., an engineering company in Bangalore, India. It then describes the purpose and components of a solar tracking system, including photovoltaic panels, motors, microcontrollers, and actuators. The system works by using a microcontroller programmed with the sun's position over the year to orient the solar panels towards the sun for maximum efficiency. Solar tracking can increase energy output by 30% compared to fixed panels.
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6 Month Industrial Training Project Report on Solar Tracking System
1. SYNOPSIS OF 6 MONTHS INDUSTRIAL
TRANINING PROJECT REPORT
ON
SOLAR TRACKING SYSTEM
HELD AT
VISESH TRANSMISSION PVT.LTD
SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENT FOR
THE
AWARD OF THE DEGREE OF
BACHELORS OF TECHNOLOGY
(ELECTRONICS AND COMMUNICATION ENGINEERING)
SUBMITTED BY:-
MD LAHSANUL HAQUE
100290415039
FEROZEPUR COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY,
FEROZEPUR, PUNJAB
June 2013 to November 2013
2. Table of Contents
Sr. No CONTENTS Page
No.
1. About Company(vtpl) 1
2. Introduction 2
3. What is a Solar Tracker? 3
4. Need for a Sun Tracking System 4
5. Condition for Maximum Output 5
6. Basic Components 5-6
7. The Working 6-7
8. Applications 7
9. Advantages & Disadvantages 7
10. Conclusion 8
11. REFERENCES 8
3. page.1
COMPANY PROFILE
Visesh Transmissions Pvt Ltd
A Manufacturing Company
Automation or Mechanical or Industrial Engineering
B-109, Devsandra industrial estate,Mahadevapura
Bangalore,India.
Visesh Transmissions Pvt Ltd's Summary
Established in 1994, we have a pride of our place for Credibility in Gear
Engineering. We constantly update the technology. Our unique strength is derived
from decades of experience in gear Technology for various End Applications. We
design and Manufacture Gear Boxes and Gear Systems covering wide ranges of
Electro Mechanical & Mechanical Power transmissions Applications Covering Gear
drives used in Industrial,Transport & Mobile and Agricultural Machinery, Defense
& Military needs.
Visesh Transmissions Pvt Ltd's Experience
Manufacturing Company
Visesh Transmissions Pvt Ltd
Privately Held:- 200 employees; Machinery industry
April 1994 – Present (19 years 3 months)
Websites:-www.viseshtransmissions.com
Interests:-
Specialized in Motorized Linear Actuators, Agricultural Machinery Gear Drives, Lifts, Worm
reducers, Universal Joints.
4. Page-2
INTRODUCTION
Extracting usable electricity from the sun was made possible by the discovery of the photoelectric
effect.
Subsequent development of the solar cell, which is a semi-conductive material that converts
visible light into a direct current.
Solar arrays, a series of solar cells electrically connected, generates a DC voltage which can be
used on a load.
Solar arrays are being used increasingly as efficiencies reach higher levels, and are especially
popular in remote areas where placement of electricity lines are not economically viable.
For further optimization of these panels solar trackers are being implemented, which enhances the
efficiency of panels by 30-35 %.
Solar energy is a very large, inexhaustible source of energy. The power from the sun intercepted
by the earth is approximately 1.8*1011
MW, which is many thousands of times larger than the
present consumption rate on the earth of all commercial energy sources.
Solar energy could supply all the present and future energy needs of the world on a continuing
basis. This makes it one of the most promising of the unconventional energy sources.
Solar energy has two other factors in the favor.
Firstly, unlike fossil fuels and nuclear power, it is environmentally clean source of energy.
Secondly, it is free and available in adequate quantities in almost all parts of the world where
people live. Also it has no heavy mechanical section and is free from noise.
5. Page-3
What is a solar Tracker?
• A solar tracker is a generic term used to describe devices that orient or align various
payloads toward the sun.
• Example for payloads is photovoltaic panels, reflectors, Collectors, lenses or other optical
devices.
• The system focuses on the optimization of the electric energy produced by photovoltaic
cells through the development of a sun-tracking system.
• A solar tracker is a device that orients a payload toward the sun. Payloads can
be photovoltaic panels, reflectors, lenses or other optical devices.
• In flat-panel photovoltaic (PV) applications, trackers are used to minimize the angle of
incidence between the incoming sunlight and a photovoltaic panel. This increases the
amount of energy produced from a fixed amount of installed power generating capacity. In
standard photovoltaic applications, it is estimated that trackers are used in at least 85% of
commercial installations greater than 1MW from 2009 to 2012.
• In Concentrated photovoltaic and concentrated solar thermal (CSP) applications, trackers
are used to enable the optical components in the CPV and CSP systems. The optics in
concentrated solar applications accepts the direct component of sunlight light and therefore
must be oriented appropriately to collect energy. Tracking systems are found in all
concentrator applications because such systems do not produce energy unless pointed at
the sun.
• Sunlight has two components, the "direct beam" that carries about 90% of the solar energy,
and the "diffuse sunlight" that carries the remainder - the diffuse portion is the blue sky on
a clear day and increases proportionately on cloudy days. As the majority of the energy is
in the direct beam, maximizing collection requires the sun to be visible to the panels as
long as possible.
6. Page-4
Need For A Sun Tracking System
• From dawn to dusk the sun keeps changing the angle from 0-90 rising and 90-180
declining.
• In a year of 365 days the sun moves approximately 22.5 degrees north to 22.5 degrees
south of the equator.
• We get maximum energy from the sun when
- The angle of the sun is degrees
- The sun’s position is 0 +/- 5 degrees of the equator
• For the fluctuation factors mentioned previously, fixed solar panel does not give higher
efficiencies.
• A tracking system helps the solar panels keep oriented to the sun at the optimum possible
angle.
• The tracking system improves the efficiency of solar panels by 30% for single axis and an
additional 6% for dual axis
7. Page-5
Conditions For MaximumOutput
• The difference between the incident ray and the reflected ray should be equal to zero, i.e.
the rays should be perpendicular to the panel
• The altitude is directly proportional to the efficiency of the system up to a certain limit.
• Very clear sky and clean atmosphere contributes a bit more to the efficiency of the system.
Basic Components
The Solar Panel
Stepper Motor
Actuator
Microcontroller
A Display Unit (Optional)
Interfacing Cables
PANEL STEPPER MOTOR
8. Page-6
MICROCONTROLLER ACTUATORS
DISPLAY CABELS
The Working
• Interfacing between hardware and microcontroller.
• Inputs to microcontroller.
• Controlling constraints.
INPUTS TO MICROCONTROLLER:-
• The various positions of the sun over a year for a particular geographical location is given
as the primary input to the microcontroller.
• The irradiance of the sun for a particular geographical location over a year is the secondary
input for the microcontroller.
• The real time clocking is enabled in the microcontroller.
CONTROLLING:-
• The microcontroller is programmed to orient the panel at optimum position against the sun,
via comparing to the inputs given.
• The microcontroller is set with a lower tolerance for the voltage produced.
• If the voltage produced is above the tolerance then it holds the position of the panel.
• If the voltage falls below the tolerance, then the panel changes the position in the forward
direction.
• This voltage tolerance varies according to various seasons. Like summer has the highest
voltage tolerance value.
• A second voltage tolerance is given, so as to switch off the system when it falls beyond
the tolerance.
9. Page-7
• This will help in cloudy and rainy days.
• A panel will be reset to its default position at the end of the day and starts again the next
day. This is accomplished by a timer & angle limits.
APPLICATION
• Can be used for small & medium scale power generations.
• For power generation at remote places where power lines are not accessible.
• For domestic backup power systems.
Advantages
• Solar tracking systems continually orient photovoltaic panels towards the sun and can help
maximize your investment in your PV system.
• One time investment, which provides higher efficiency & flexibility on dependency over
other sources.
• Tracking systems can help reducing emissions and can contribute against global
warming.
• Bulk implementations of tracking systems help reduced consumption of power by other
sources.
• It enhances the clean and emission free power production.
DISADVANTAGES
• Initial investment is high on solar panels.
• It’s a bit of difficult for servicing, as the tracking systems are not quite popular regionally.
• Moving parts and gears which will require regular maintenance.
• May require repair or replacement of broken parts over a long run.
10. Page-8
Conclusion
• On one hand we can see the world’s energy resources depletion to be a major problem.
• On the other hand global warming, which is a major concern?
• Switching to solar power, which is clean and green and enhancing its efficiency by using
sun trackers is a great option in the near future.
References
• http://www.solarpoweristhefuture.com
• http://www.scientificamerican.com
• http://en.wikipedia.org