Chris-D-Solar-Tracker

Chris's BlueStamp Engineering Portfolio for Sun Tracker Project

Project maintained by CD-CD-CD-17 Hosted on GitHub Pages — Theme by mattgraham

Solar Tracker

My project was the Solar Tracker, a device that would rotate a solar panel to the position where the sunlight is brightest. This was achieved through photoresistors placed around the sides of the device and two servos for rotating and tilting the solar panels. The stock version of the kit was simplified by removing the extraneous sensors, associated code, and the lithium battery system, rewriting the code with a different approach, and replacing the servos with stronger ones to support a larger solar panel array.

Engineer School Area of Interest Grade
Christopher D Carrboro High School Civil/Environmental Engineering Incoming Senior

Headstone Image drawing drawing

Final Milestone

After sucessfuly installing the solar panel array, rebuilding the base to be stronger, and reworking the code, I completed my version of the Solar Tracker. Over the course, my biggest challenges were (1) how it would only rotate between two angles, (2) the extra sensors were unnecessary and draining power, (3) multiple code versions had to be tested and changed, (4) the solar panel array was too large for the original setup, and (5) the original servo motors were not strong enough to hold the weight of the solar panel array. To improve on this, I (1) used all four photoresistors to determine the best lighting position, (2) removed the extra sensors and related code, (3) reworked and adjusted that code for different setups, (4) increased the strength and stability of the base, and (5) replaced the original servo motors with higher torque servo motors.

After completing my BluesStamp Engineering Course, I learned Arduino and can now use the program to manipulate robots and analyze code. Also, I improved my skills in electrical and mechanical engineering which will be useful in my future career as an engineer.

Second Milestone

Regarding the code for the Solar Tracker, I chose to go for an approach which made use of all 4 photoresistors and compared their values to rotate to the correct position. This had more success than previously, but still needed some adjustments to the code and photoresistor placement. Originally, the photoresistors were in a fixed position on the base of the Solar Tracker, but in the new version, they would be placed on the edges of the solar panel array. This would allow the code to better adjust to light changes as the photoresistor values would also be changing when the solar panel array rotated. The code has been the largest problem so far, but I am confident it will work.

When the servos would rotate the solar panel, the whole project would shake as it made large turns/tilts. The structure of the Solar Tracker needed to be disassembled and rebuilt to create a taller and more stable base that allows the solar panel array to rotate fully. The wires and copper pillars were extended to accommodate for the height, and a larger backboard was added behind the solar panel array to have a stabler hold for the servos.

First Milestone

The original solar tracker kit included many different sensors and parts that could read temperature and humidity values, change rotation speed through a button, a buzzer to alert when the speed change was happening, and a Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) screen to display those values. However, I wanted the Solar Tracker to be self powering which meant some of these functions were unnecessary and would drain power produced by the solar panel. The first modifications I made were removing the extra features and associated code given by the kit. This left the solar panel and two servo motors, light intensity meter, photoresistors, and the Arduino Uno. The Arduino Uno will adjust the solar panel after reading and comparing the values given by the photoresistors and light intensity meter.

After assembling the kit and testing the code, I noticed the original code only used two photoresistors to control the rotational orientation of the solar panel, while the other two were used to control the tilt of the solar panel. This method seemed inefficient because the solar panel would only rotate 180 degrees and wouldn’t tilt at all. This was the main problem I encountered when creating the Solar Tracker and will be one of the focuses of the Second Milestone.

Schematics

Here is the self-made circuitry schematic: (Made with TinkerCad)

Headstone Image

Code

/*
 * ChrisD_SolarTracker
 */

// include Servo library
#include <Servo.h>

// horizontal servo
Servo horizontal;
int servoh = 90;

int servohLimitHigh = 350;
int servohLimitLow = 0;

Servo vertical;
int servov = 100;

int servovLimitHigh = 235;
int servovLimitLow = 55;

// LDR pin connections
int ldrTR = A2; // LDR top right
int ldrTL = A1; // LDR top left
int ldrBR = A3; // LDR bottom right
int ldrBL = A0; // LDR bottom left

void setup() {
  Serial.begin(9600);
  // servo connections
  horizontal.attach(9);
  vertical.attach(10);
  // move servos
  horizontal.write(90);
  vertical.write(90);
  delay(3000);
}

void loop() {

  int tr = analogRead(ldrTR); // top right
  int tl = analogRead(ldrTL); // top left
  int br = analogRead(ldrBR); // bottom right
  int bl = analogRead(ldrBL); // bottom left

  int dtime = 0; // change for debugging only
  int tol = 50;

  int avt = (tl + tr) / 2; // average value top
  int avd = (bl + br) / 2; // average value bottom
  int avl = (tl + bl) / 2; // average value left
  int avr = (tr + br) / 2; // average value right

  int dvert = avt - avd;  // check the difference of up and down
  int dhoriz = avl - avr; // check the difference of left and right

  // send data to the serial monitor if desired
  Serial.print(tl);
  Serial.print(" ");
  Serial.print(tr);
  Serial.print(" ");
  Serial.print(bl);
  Serial.print(" ");
  Serial.print(br);
  Serial.print("  ");
  Serial.print(avt);
  Serial.print(" ");
  Serial.print(avd);
  Serial.print(" ");
  Serial.print(avl);
  Serial.print(" ");
  Serial.print(avr);
  Serial.print("  ");
  Serial.print(dtime);
  Serial.print("   ");
  Serial.print(tol);
  Serial.print("  ");
  Serial.print(servov);
  Serial.print("   ");
  Serial.print(servoh);
  Serial.println(" ");


  // check if the difference is in the tolerance else change vertical angle
  if (-1 * tol > dvert || dvert > tol) {
    if (avt > avd) {
      servov = ++servov;
      if (servov > servovLimitHigh) {
        servov = servovLimitHigh;
      }
    }
    else if (avt < avd) {
      servov = --servov;
      if (servov < servovLimitLow) {
        servov = servovLimitLow;
      }
    }
    vertical.write(servov);
  }

  // check if the difference is in the tolerance else change horizontal angle
  if (-1 * tol > dhoriz || dhoriz > tol) {
    if (avl > avr) {
      servoh = --servoh;
      if (servoh < servohLimitLow) {
        servoh = servohLimitLow;
      }
    }
    else if (avl < avr) {
      servoh = ++servoh;
      if (servoh > servohLimitHigh) {
        servoh = servohLimitHigh;
      }
    }
    else if (avl = avr) {
      // nothing
    }
    horizontal.write(servoh);
  }
  
  delay(dtime);
  
}

Bill of Materials

Here are the parts used to assemble the Solar Tracker. Separated into two tables, the parts unchanged from the original solar tracker kit are listed first, while the parts that were improved or added are listed in the latter table.

Core Part Description Price Link
Acrylic Board Holds the Arduino Uno and creates structure to stabilize motion $5.84 Link
Arduino UNO REV3 Controlls and executes the code uploaded to it $24.49 Link
M3 8MM Flat Head Screws Holds copper pillars together and creates structure $7.99 Link
Photoresistor Measures strength of light hitting it $1.59 Link
205mm 1 Pin Female-Female Wire Connects photoresitors to Arduino Uno $0.48 Link
Solar Panel Converts light into electrcity through the photoelectric effect $4.66 Link
Modification Part Description Price Link
M3 45MM Copper Pillar Allows for a taller base and creates structure $3.24 Link
500mm 1 Pin Male-Female Wire Extends connection length to allow for a taller base $0.31 Link
Servo Motor Controls the vertical and horizontal rotation of the solar panel array $4.89 Link
Servo Mount Kit Places servos in correct locations to allow for both axises of motion $6.49 Link