Sustainable Development & Computing Laboratory, LDDI Department of Electrical Engineering Adrar University Biskra University Adrar, Algeria Biskra, Algeria chog_dji@yahoo.fr, bentouba_s@yahoo.fr hotmar3@gmail.com
Abstract Southern Algeria is the favorite field of solar energy
II. POSITION OF THE SUN [4] in general and photovoltaics in particular. More energy is produced by tracking the solar panel to remain aligned to the sun Any solar application requires knowledge of the apparent at a right angle to light rays [1]. This paper describes a smart movement of the sun for a given point of the earth surface, prototype for solar tracking system based on a PIC16F877A which is characterized by its latitude (positive for the northern microcontroller and an extremal servo-control. Because the sun hemisphere) and longitude (defined relative to the Greenwich does not dramatically change its vertical position during the day, meridian, positive eastward). this system is designed with one degree of freedom to detect the sunlight using a photovoltaic cell. Driven by a smart algorithm, The angular coordinates of the sun represent the apparent the PIC16F877A microcontroller is programmed to detect direction of the sun on its trajectory, for a fixed observer on the sunlight through photovoltaic cells by moving the photovoltaic Earth, in a given moment. These coordinates are expressed in panel to the optimum position with maximum sunlight. azimuth and height, respectively noted A and H. The azimuth A is the angle of the sun azimuth plane with the meridian plane of the place forms, if one defines the azimuth plane of the sun Keywords- PIC; sun tracking; photovoltaic cell component like the vertical plane (orthogonal to the local horizontal plane) containing the presumed specific sun and the point of I. INTRODUCTION observation. The azimuth is measured starting from the direction of the South (azimuth 0 or solar midday - the sun Generally, under various conditions, photovoltaic panels are passes in the meridian line of the place), positively towards the installed according to a fixed slope and orientation. The West and negatively towards the East [9]. The height H of the orientation is selected towards the south or the north according sun is the angle, which forms the apparent direction of the sun to the geographical location of the site to the equator. with the horizontal plane of the place in the azimuth plan of the Therefore, the panel can absorb maximum of energy around sun. It varies between the height at sunrise and sunset midday, where the height of the sun is with the zenith and the (intersection of the place horizon plane with the celestial values of the illumination to the solar radiation are maximum. sphere), and the maximum height, depending on the latitude of In addition, to be able to answer energy requirements, the panel the observation. The variables considered are the latitude, must on one hand have a large surface and on the other hand which depends on the place, the variation which depends on have the best physical characteristics. However, nowadays, the the day, and the time angle. During the day, the moment when cost of solar equipment and materials is very high which the sun passes by the meridian line of the place of the observer, induces more research to optimize methodologies to gain i.e. where it is in the south in our hemisphere is true midday. efficiency in generating energy at lower cost without incidences on performances of the system. Among these For one unspecified moment, time angle AH is the angle, parameters, slope and orientation of the field of sensors are projected in the field of the equator, between the sun and true most important. One of the best suggested solutions is to direct midday; it is worth 15 par hour (360/24:00). It is null at solar the panel towards the south and to incline its structure midday the true (12h TSV), negative morning (-90 to 6:00 according to a preoptimal angle calculated for considered site. TSV), positive the afternoon (-90 to 18:00 TSV). However, this method remains limited, without additional Several parameters can be calculated such as the apparent contribution for the first and the last hours of the day [1,10]. direction of the sun for the moment, the day and the place Another methodology to overcome this drawback is considered, the height to midday, and the azimuth with the tracking systems to minimize incidence angle between the solar sunrise and sunset for the day, and the considered latitude as radiation and the surface. In solar applications using plane well. These three last data are sufficient to determine the panels, using a solar tracker allows to increase the equipment apparent day trajectory of the sun and the latitude. They indeed output. Economically, these systems are beneficial if additional allow to determine three points on the celestial sphere (sunrise, costs relating to the tracker mechanism (e.g. motor, circuits, culmination and sunset) which are enough with the geometrical maintenance, etc.) are lower than the new global cost so it does or analytical characterization to the circular trajectory to the not lead to the same power production as a fixed system [3,8]. sun for the day and the considered latitude.
978-1-4673-7894-9/15/$31.00 2015 IEEE
V. PHOTOVOLTAIC CELLS [6] The sun tracker uses a photovoltaic cell for light detection. Photovoltaic cells are devices that directly produce electricity from sunlight. Many photovoltaic cells are assembled together to form a solar array also known as solar panel. These cells convert light into electricity by converting energy resulting from photons from sunlight knock electrons into a higher state of energy, within the cell itself. Photovoltaic cells are composed of layered materials that include two types of silicon, an anti-reflective coating, and a glass cover. Absorption of a photon by a semiconductor generates a pair of electron hole when its energy is higher than that of the Figure 1. Azimuth A and height H of the sun prohibited bandwidth of material. The internal electric field with the junction, then involves the hole towards the area P and the electron towards the area N. III. THE SOLAR PANORAMA By din of the semi-conductor of area of type P and N, the The solar panorama is a Cartesian representation of solar cell is thus a junction P-N with various parts represented apparent trajectories of the sun for a given latitude. The on the diagram of Figure 4. azimuths are carried there in X-coordinates and heights in Y- coordinates; this representation allows an immediate reading of angular coordinates of the sun for a given date and a moment. Calculation are carried out within PVSYST software.
Figure 4. Operating principle of a PV cell [2]
When a photon comes to strike the zone of transition, it
tears off an electron with the silicon atom, which will move with dimensions NR. While the hole thus created by this wrenching will move with dimensions P. Therefore, it appears a as a voltage at the boundaries of the device. If one closes the cell on an external circuit, a current circulates. This cell, which behaves as a battery, which is sensitive to photons, is called Figure 2. Trajectories of the sun in Adrar (2752N, 017W) solar time. photovoltaic cell. The circuit of Figure 5 may schematically represent a IV. OPERATING PRINCIPLE photovoltaic cell. Our system is composed of a voltage regulator, a sensor, oscillator, a PIC microcontroller, an amplifier, a protection Ip circuit, an H bridge, and a DC motor. The system measures the voltage delivered by the ID photovoltaic cell and converts it into a digital value. According Iph Vp to the developed program, it will decide which direction will be followed by the motor. A reset button is used to reinitialize the system. Figure 5. Equivalent model of a PV cell Photovaltac PIC cell microcontroller Motor Ip: current from a photovoltaic cell (A) Iph : the photo current (A) ID: current diode (A) Figure 3. Schematic of voltage regulator Vp : photovoltaic cell voltage (V) VI. THE MICROCONTROLLER CIRCUIT[3] Containing all these components ensures a long life span at The choice of a PIC microcontroller is directly related to the minimum current leakage. considered application. The ULN2003 is able to run out a maximum current of 500mA by transistor and can afford a maximum voltage of Is necessary in the first time to determine the number 50V. Thus, we can directly easily connect relays needed for the of inputs/outputs necessary for the application. This application. number of inputs/outputs gives us a first family of PIC. Is necessary then to determine if the application requires an Analog-to-digital converter (ADC) which will yields more specific choices within PICs families. Calculation time is an important feature, which can be checked from datasheet of the PIC microcontroller to ensure compatibility between the selected PIC and the assembly. Internal RAM and EEPROM. Length of the application program determines the memory size of the required PIC. According to the above requirements, we used the PIC16F877 microcontroller. The PIC16F877, in addition to its simple programming, contains an analog-to-digital converter, Figure 7. Pinout of the ULN2003 which is practical during measurements achieved on the photovoltaic cell. Figure 6 illustrates the used PIC16F877 as a VIII. THERMAL RELAYS (H BRIDGE) DIL case DIL with 40. To drive the direction of rotation of a motor with D.C. current or step-by-step, polarity should be inverted. Moreover, it is generally advisable to be able to vary the engine speed. The solution is to use an H bridge [2].
Figure 6. Pinout of the PIC 16F877
RA0 to RA5 are inputs/outputs of port A.
RB0 to RB7 are inputs/outputs of the port B. Figure 8. Principle of the H bridge RC0 to RC7 are inputs/outputs of the port C. Individually, each pin of the ports A, B and C cannot In diagrams of Figure 8, the rotation direction of the output more than 20 mA or absorb more than 25 mA. The engine: on diagram A; the engine is stopped .On diagram B; it total of output intensities by the port cannot exceed 50 mA turns in the opposite direction of that of diagram C, and finally and 100 mA for port B. The total of received intensities by on diagram D; it is braked [2]. the port cannot exceed 80 mA and 150 mA for port B. OSC1/CLOCKIN and OSC2/CLOCKOUT are pins of the TABLE I. TABLE OF THE VARIOUS SEQUENCES clock. Quartz or RC circuits can be used as complementary IN1 IN2 Motor state circuits for the clock. Quartz circuits are preferred for their 0 0 STOP better precision than RC oscillators. 0 1 direction 1 VII. MOTOR DRIVER [2] 1 0 direction 2 1 1 STOP The ULN2003 allows us to drive thermal relays. It comprises two transistors, two diodes and two resistances. IX. VOLTAGE REGULATOR illustrates a block diagram of the developed project while The PIC16F877 requires a regulated 5V supply voltage, Figure 11 provides a complete hardware schematic of the which has been provided by a LM7805 voltage regulator. The project. circuit shown in Figure 8 converts an unregulated supply of 12 volts to 5 volts.
Figure 10. Hardware Block Diagram
Figure 9. Schematic of the voltage regulator
X. SIMULATION AND ROUTING
Firstly, we checked operating of the program we developed before transferring it into the microcontroller. That will enable us to save time and increase the lifespan of our PIC. Figure 10
Figure 11. Hardware Schematic Diagram
XI. SYSTEM OPERATION Once the tracker has set its initial position to the sun, the device seeks the optimal position and delivers a signal to the panel driving system, which corrects the orientation and continue tracking the sun. First, the tracker measures light intensity at its present location. It then moves left, the position reached and then exceeded a prefixed angular value . The drive direction is then changed, the device returns to the other direction by the maximum position and the angular position exceeds a value -. This process is repeated continuously. If any of the values are equal, the tracker will return to the center position and check again later. The tracker will wait the sun to move one degree, which corresponds to 4 minutes, before checking the next positions again. Once the tracker has moved 180 degrees, which corresponds to 9 hours, it will return to its starting point and enter into sleep mode [3][7]. The actuators for the repair panel position are activated whenever the angular deviation reaches the set value C as illustrated in in Figure 12. a) The orientation is correct; the sensor oscillates between either sides of the sun position; b) The sun being virtually moving westward, the panel axes and the sensor are at an angle . Soon as value reaches C, the driving motor is activated by establishing a contact in the supply circuit of the solar panel, which is thus reoriented. Figure 13 shows the software flow diagram.
Figure 13. Software Flow Diagram
Cnt: counter of steps;
Memo, RA: registers; MVB: move backward one step procedure; MVF: move forward one step procedure; Thr: Threshold; Figure 12. Panel position relative to the sun (a) correct, (b) deviation of XII. CONCLUSION The high cost of the photovoltaic generators can justify the addition of additional equipment, even sophisticated, making it possible to increase the output of solar systems. Several studies show that solar tracker systems operate during the year with great energetic and economic performances definitely higher compared to a fixed slope. The traditional sun tracker systems are often disorientated when there is an imbalance between the sensor constituent elements [7]. Because of the obstruction partial or total surface of the sensor. Natural impurities can easily distort the stability of the traditional systems [5]. Our system has the advantage of being practically insensitive to these impurities. Only the maximum voltage generated by the photovoltaic [6] A. Hill, What are Photovoltaic Cells?, C. Wilborn. 2015., in press. cell is considered to generate the control signal of the sun [7] A. Chermitti, B. Benyoucef , Dispositif dOrientation de Panneaux tracker. Solaires, Rev. Energ. Ren. Vol. 5.pp 129-138, 2002. [8] D.Chogueur, S.Bentouba and O.Chogueur, " Identification and It can be very useful in the distant sites where maintenance correction of a solar tracking system". ICESD14 Conf , Adrar is not frequent. University, Algeria , 2014. [9] Gerro Prinsloo, "Practical Solar Tracing Design". eBook, ISBN : 978-0- To ensure a good follow-up of the sun, it is necessary that 620-61576-1 , Feb 2015. the mobile system swivels on two axes, the first ensures a [10] Gerro Prinsloo, "Combined Solar Heat and Power With Microgrid follow-up in azimuth and the second in height but as the Storage and Layered Smartgrid Control Towards Supplying Off-Grid movement in this last is far from variable during the day, it is Rural Villages". Energy Sience and Engineering, Jan 2015. enough to change it manually.
REFERENCES
[1] Nader Barsoum and Pandian Vasant, Design Of A Traditional Solar
Tracking System, . AIP Conf. Proc. 1239, 151 ,2010. [2] H. Ben Jaffel and A. Riahi, Design and realization of a sun tracker, Project Graduation, ISET Siliana, Tunis, 2009. [3] Bill Lane, Solar Tracker,. DECE. Cleveland State University. Ohio, April 30, 2008. [4] John A. Duffie, William A. Beckman, Solar Engineering of Thermal Processes,. Jhon Wiley and sons.inc; New Jersey. 4th edition, pp. 35, April, 2013. [5] D. Chogueur, T. Boussoukaia et A.Chikh, " Realization of an automatic guidance device solar panels," STEMA03 conf, Polytechnic military school in Bordj El Bahri, Algeria, March 23-24, 2004.