Empirical Survey of the Solar System Based on the Fusion of GPS and Image Processing

Authors: S. Divya Gnanarathinam, S. Sundaramurthy

Abstract:

The tremendous increase in the population of the world creates the immediate need for the energy resources. All the people in the world need the sustainable energy resources which have low costs. Solar energy is appraised as one of the main energy resources in warm countries. The areas in the west of India like Rajasthan, Gujarat, etc. are immensely rich in solar energy resources. This paper deals with the development of dual axis solar tracker using Arduino board. Depending on the astronomical estimates of the sun from the GPS and sensor image processing outcomes, a methodology is proposed to locate the position of the sun to obtain the maximum solar energy. Based on the outcomes, the solar tracking system figures out whether to use image processing outcomes or astronomical estimates to attain the maximum efficiency of the solar panel. Finally, the experimental values obtained from the solar tracker for both the sunny and the rainy days are being tabulated.

Keywords: Dual axis solar tracker, Arduino board, LDR sensors, global positioning system.

Digital Object Identifier (DOI): doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.1123991

References:

[1] Roth P. et al: Energy Convers. Manage., 2005, 46, 1179-1192
[2] Plesz B., Pánczél S., Timár -Horváth V. and Mizsei J.: 3rd International Workshop on Teaching in Photovoltaics, Proceedings 2006, Prague, 97-101.
[3] M. J. Clifford and D. Eastwood, “Design of a novel passive solar tracker,” Solar Energy, Volume 77, Issue 3, pp. 269-280, September 2004.
[4] R. Grena, “An algorithm for the computation of the solar position,” Solar Energy, vol. 82, pp. 462, 2008.
[5] Homepage: http://www.solar-trackers.com
[6] M. Blanco-Muriel, D. C. Alarcon-Padilla, T. Lopez-Moratalla, and M. Lara-Coira, “Computing the solar vector,” Solar Energy, volume 70, no. 5, pp. 431-441, 2001.
[7] J. J. Michalsky, “Astronomical algorithm for approximate solar position,” Solar Energy, vol. 40, no. 3, pp. 227-235.
[8] V. Poulek and M. Libra, “New solar tracker,” Solar Energy Materials and Solar Cells, vol. 51, pp. 113-120, 1998.
[9] Saravanan C., Dr. M. A. Panneerselvam, I. William Christopher, “A Novel Low Cost Automatic Solar Tracking System”, International Journal of Computer Applications (0975 – 8887) Volume 31– No.9, October 2011E.
[10] Tanvir Arafat Khan Md., S.M. Shahrear Tanzil, Rifat Rahman, S M Shafiul Alam, “Design and Construction of an Automatic Solar Tracking System”, presented at 6th International Conference on Electrical and Computer Engineering ICECE 2010, 18-20 December 2010, Dhaka, Bangladesh.
[11] Y. Yorozu, M. Hirano, K. Oka, and Y. Tagawa, “Electron spectroscopy studies on magneto-optical media and plastic substrate interfaces (Translation Journals style),” World Academy of Science, Engineering and Technology Transl. J. Magn. Jpn., vol. 2, Aug. 1987, pp. 740–741 (Dig. 9th Annu. Conf. Magnetics Japan, 1982, p. 301).
[12] Y. K. Choi, N. H. Lee, K. J. Kim, and Y. Cho, "A Study on the influence to solar radiation by changing the azimuth and tilt of a photovoltaic array," The Transaction of the Korean Institute of Electrical Engineers, volume 62, no. 5, pp. 712-716, 2013.