Solar tracking system for solar panel

[Diego Quexada]

Hi everyone i am working on a solar tracking system for a.solar panel that i made wheighting about 30kg , i was wondering where to start looking for books where they may give examples of.such devices with mechanisms and control theory or if.by any chance you have knowledge on the subject and could give me.any advise, that would be awesome:)
Pd : please excuse my grammar.

 

[benny_91]

Hi everyone i am working on a solar tracking system for a.solar panel that i made wheighting about 30kg , i was wondering where to start looking for books where they may give examples of.such devices with mechanisms and control theory or if.by any chance you have knowledge on the subject and could give me.any advise, that would be awesome:)
Pd : please excuse my grammar.

I like the concept. Is this system already in use or is it your own unique idea?

 

[Diego Quexada]

I have only seen on youtube a company called sedona solar technology make tracking systems that claim to increase by 40% the efficiency. I would like to do something similar and even try things like cooling methods.

 

[Nidum]

Easiest way is to get data for sun's traverse at different times of year for your GPS location and preset motion control system to track .

 

[Mech_Engineer]

Here is a home-built solar tracking system which achieves what you're looking for I think: http://www.instructables.com/id/Solar-Tracker-in-the-Internet-Cloud/

Alternatively, this is kind of a cool tracking system which uses 4 light detectors and a pointing system, so it constantly tries to point at the brightest point in the sky (the sun) rather than calculate where the sun will be: http://www.instructables.com/id/Arduino-Solar-Tracker/

 

[Tom.G]

Think of a four-sided pyramid. Place it on the solar panel so the edges of the pyramid are parallel to the rotation axiis of the positioner. i.e. the 'top' and 'bottom' sides would be parallel the the Elevation axis. Place a small photosensor on each pyramid face. When the 'top' and 'bottom' sensors have equal output, the Elevation is correct. The same for holds for the Azimuth sensing. As long as the pyramid maintains its orientation relative to the solar panel, it doesn't have to be physically on the solar panel, just attached to the same moving platform. The actual control circuitry can be either analog or digital, whichever is more convenient for you.

 

[Steven Tyminski]

My friend Al Nichols built a simple and efficient solar tracking system from a photocell and uses it to keep his solar over in line with the sun.
Here is Al's site: http://www.alnichols.com/

 

[Tom.G]

Al Nichols built a simple and efficient solar tracking system from a photocell

Any details available? I couldn't find any info on his website.

 

[Steven Tyminski]

Please contact Al Nichols directly.
He used to have full plans for the cooker on his site.
The thing could cook a 20 pound turkey in 4 hours on sun power alone.