Proceedings of the Third International Conference on Artificial Intelligence and Smart Energy (ICAIS 2023)

IEEE Xplore Part Number: CFP23OAB-ART; ISBN: 978-1-6654-6216-7

Arduino based Dual Axis Smart Solar Tracking

System
2023 Third International Conference on Artificial Intelligence and Smart Energy (ICAIS) | 978-1-6654-6216-7/23/$31.00 ©2023 IEEE | DOI: 10.1109/ICAIS56108.2023.10073860

M . Karthik1, R. Vishnu2, M . Vigneshwar3, M . Logaeshwar4

1
Assistant Professor, Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering, Sri Ramakrishna Engineering College,
Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India.
2, 3, 4
UG Students, Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering, Sri Ramakrishna Engineering College,
Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India.
1
karthik.m@srec.ac.in
servo will move in the direction where the top pair of
LDRs receives more light.
Abstract- One of the most important concerns across
the globe is energy crisis. The potential solution for If the bottom LDRs are receiving more light, the servo
moves downward. The angle of deflection of the solar
this problem is renewable energy. In recent years,
panel is calculated by comparing the analogue value
solar panels have been employed more frequently to
from two LDRs which are left and right. The LDR’s in
transform solar energy into electrical energy. It is the left side will produce more light energy than the right
reasonably priced and almost completely safe for the side. The horizontal side of the servo motor moves in
environment. The electromagnetic radiation that is one direction. The current solar tracker, which was
used to produce electricity is released by it. The intended to collect energy throughout the day, was
major goal is to develop a workable autonomous traveling along a single path. A trajectory like this meant
solar tracking system that moves the solar panel so that the solar panels' (payloads') orientation was not
that it remains always perpendicular to the sun. In optimum for the Sun's varying positions from dawn to
this system, the sensor will be a photoresistor. The dark. The predicted annual power generation figures as a
horizontal and the vertical axes on the dual axis solar result did not meet expectations. Instead of using single
panel are rotated, so that the efficiency of the device axis solar panels, our solution uses dual axis panels.
can be increased. Hence, the dual axis provides Therefore, the dual axis solar panel tracker resolves the
precise control of planet elevation relative to the issue with the current system, which is that the angle of
sun. This will provide better efficiency of the panel. rotation is not optimal and output efficiency is not as
planned. Here the two servo motors are fixed to the
Keywords- Dual Axis, Renewable, Solar Panels, framework of the solar panel. Some amount of sunlight
Tracking, Energy. hitting the solar panel is detected by LDR’s. Our
project's main goal is to design and build a system that
I. INTRODUCTION tracks the sun continuously and positions solar panels
perpendicular to its rays. The Sun Tracking Solar Panel
A system called a solar tracker places an object in Using Arduino project is built around an Arduino
relation to the sun at an angle. Then the position of the
controller board, which manages all of the project's
solar panels remains perpendicular to the direction of operations. Solar energy is captured using a solar panel.
sun rays and can determine it easily. Sun direction is
Additionally, the solar panel is connected to a motor
more crucial and useful for solar tracker. Solar trackers because a panel facing the sun may collect more solar
change the direction of the solar panel faces are changed energy. From sunup until sundown, this system's solar
by the solar tracker with the Sun position in the sky.
panels will travel in the direction of the sun.
Maximum amount of light energy falls on the solar panel
from which a smaller number of light rays is reflected. II. LITERATURE REVIEW
Power can be created using that energy. The majority of
the light sensors are LDRs. The solar panel's frame is Published in the 2009 Third UKSim European
Symposium on computer modelling and simulation,
supported by two servo motors. The amount of sunlight
Nader Barsoum's paper, "Implementation of a prototype
that reaches LDRs is measured. The top, bottom, left,
for a classical solar tracking system”.This paper is about
and right LDRs are the four LDRs. For east-west
moving a solar panel along with the direction of
tracking, the analogue values of the two top LDRs and
the two bottom LDRs are compared, and the vertical sunlight; it uses a gear motor to control the position of
the solar panel which obtains its data from an Arduino.

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 Proceedings of the Third International Conference on Artificial Intelligence and Smart Energy (ICAIS 2023)
IEEE Xplore Part Number: CFP23OAB-ART; ISBN: 978-1-6654-6216-7

Aleksandar Stejpanovic, Ferid Softic, Zlatko Bundalo, to the computer. Through the USB cable, the computer
“Arduino Based Solar Tracking system”Serbia, Nis, serially uploads the application to the board. The
October 7-9, 2009. Published. It explains the planning ARDUINO UNO power supply pinout is shown in
and building of a solar panel tracking system. Solar Figure 1.
tracking makes it possible to create more electricity
since it keeps the solar array pointed at the sun.

A Review on Solar Tracking Systems and Their

Classification, Priti Debbarma* and B.B. Bhowmik,
2018 IJRAR January 2019, Volume 06. Dual axis
trackers are used in locations where the sun is monitored
throughout the day from east to west as well as during
the seasons from east to north or south.

A Study-Level Dual-Axis Active Solar Tracker by

Sheetal Sharma ICSCAN EEE 2021, Solar panels that
are fixed in place produce less electricity when the Sun
is rising and setting. By following the Sun, the
photovoltaic plant's energy output can be boosted.

III. ARDUINO UNO

The Arduino Uno microcontroller board is based on the

ATmega328P. Six analogue inputs, fourteen digital
input/output pins, six of which can be used as PWM
outputs, an ICSP header, a USB port, a power jack, and
a reset button are all included. Additionally, a 16 MHz
quartz crystal is included.
The affordable, versatile, and user-friendly Arduino
UNO microcontroller board is open-source and
programmable. Any variety of electronic projects could
make use of it. This board's output devices include
relays, LEDs, servos, and motors, and it can connect
with other Arduino boards, Arduino shields, and
Raspberry Pi boards.
The release of Arduino Software 1.0 was designated by
the use of the Italian term "uno," which means "one."
The Arduino reference versions were the Uno board
software version 1.0. The Uno board, the first in a line of
USB Arduino "boards," acts as the platform's
benchmark. The Arduino index of boards contains a
comprehensive list of all previous, current, and out-of-
date boards.
Fig.1. ARDUINO UNO Power Supply Pin Out
IV. ARDUINO UNO POWER SUPPLY PINOUT

Barrel Jack - The Arduino board is powered by an

external power source using the barrel jack, also known V. BLOCK DIAGRAM
as the DC Power Jack. Typically, an adapter is Figure 2 depicts the suggested block diagram
connected to the barrel jack. The manufacturer advises for intelligent dual axis solar tracking with ARDUINO
keeping the voltage between 7 and 12 volts, but the
board can be powered by an adaptor that runs between 5
and 20 volts.
USB B-port—The USB Interface is where the USB
cable is plugged in. The device can be powered from the
5V supply using this port. This board can be connected

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 Proceedings of the Third International Conference on Artificial Intelligence and Smart Energy (ICAIS 2023)
IEEE Xplore Part Number: CFP23OAB-ART; ISBN: 978-1-6654-6216-7

UNO. sunlight. Additionally, when they send a signal to the

Arduino, it will direct two servo motors to position the
solar panel such that it is as efficient as possible.

VII. SOFTWARE SIMULATION

Proteus Simulation of LDR

Fig. 2. Block Diagram of Proposed System

The four light dependent resistor (LDR) observes/

receives light from a source like sun etc. and in which
the light falls at maximum intensity it will act and
work accordingly. And the Arduino will be controlling
all the activities of LDR and servo motor LDR Intensity = 1
simultaneously. The servo motor turns vertical/ LDR Intensity = 2
horizontal according to the LDR command from
Arduino, it acts towards that and solar panel will yield
more efficiency than previous methodology.

VI. WORKING
Two single axis solar trackers are combined to form a
dual axis solar tracker. Two Light Dependent Resistor
(LDR) sensors are used in single-axis solar trackers.
Let's say that vertical single-axis solar tracker is used
here, wherein two LDR sensors are placed horizontally
and a barrier is placed between these two sensors. In this
situation, both sensors monitor the sunlight; if the left
LDR sensor detects more solar energy than the right side
of LDR, this indicates that the sun is on the left side of
the plate, and the solar plate must be rotated in the right
side of the vertical axis. A servo motor 995G is utilized ⮚ LDRs input connected to Arduino A0 pin and
to spin the axis of the solar tracker since it is a strong, read the varying voltage in LDR.
little servo motor that can easily rotate the solar panel of ⮚ Connect the 1K ohm resistor for sharing the
a dual axis tracker. The single axis solar tracker is voltage.
simply expanded upon by the dual axis solar tracker. ⮚ Then, using a serial monitor to read the analog
value.
Vertical and horizontal single axis sun trackers are ⮚ Virtual terminal = Serial monitor RX to
combined to form a dual axis solar tracker. Four LDR ARDUINO’S T TX to ARDUINO’S RX
sensors were utilized in this dual axis sun tracker; the
left and right LDRs controlled the vertical axis while the
up and down LDRs controlled the horizontal axis. Two Proteus Simulation of Servo
servo motors are utilized in this project, one for the
vertical axis and the other for the horizontal axis of the
solar tracker, in this way it becomes a dual axis solar
tracker. LDR serves as a light detector in this instance. It
also goes by the name of photo resistor.
Actually, the device is light-sensitive. The resistance
diminishes when light shines on it, as depicted in the
graph. Four LDRs are being used in this project to detect

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 Proceedings of the Third International Conference on Artificial Intelligence and Smart Energy (ICAIS 2023)
IEEE Xplore Part Number: CFP23OAB-ART; ISBN: 978-1-6654-6216-7

When measured in kg/cm, the majority of hobby servo

motors are rated at 3kg/cm, 6kg/cm, or 12kg/cm
(kilograms per centimeter). This kg/cm number can be
used to calculate how much weight your servo motor can
lift at a certain distance. In figure 3, the servomotor is
depicted.

PIN 1 - 5V

PIN 2 - ARDUINO PIN 9

PIN 3 – GND Fig. 3. Servomotor

Overall Circuit Software Simulation LDR

A photo-resistor is a device whose resistance depends on

the electromagnetic radiation that is incident onto it.
They are therefore light-sensitive gadgets. Additionally,
they are referred to as photo conductors,
photoconductive cells, or just photocells. The translated
digital values read from the LDR through the Arduino
will be between 800 and 1023 when there is enough light
around it or on its surface.
Depending on the light intensity, the resistance of the
LDR sensor decreases significantly when it is exposed to
or experienced by light, down to a few ohms. LDRs are
nonlinear devices with variable sensitivity to applied
light's wavelength. When the LDR is running between
3.3 and 5 volts, its resistance can sometimes reach
1,000,000 ohms, but when it emits light, this resistance
automatically decreases. The resistance of an LDR, or
RLDR, can vary from 100 in bright light to over 10M in
VIII. HARDWARE REQUIREM ENTS total darkness. This change in resistance is translated
into a change in voltage.
Servo Motor
They are constructed of highly resistant semiconductor
materials. The basis for LDR is photo conductivity. An
A type of motor with incredibly accurate rotational
optical phenomenon known as photo conductivity occurs
capabilities is a servo motor. A control circuit that when light is absorbed by a material, increasing the
provides feedback on the motor shaft's current location is material's conductivity. The resistance of the most used
often present in this sort of motor. The servo motors can LDR type decreases as the amount of light striking the
rotate quite precisely thanks to this feedback. It is made device increases. The following resistances are
up of a simple motor that powers a servo mechanism. frequently included in an LDR's resistance: 5000 in the
When a motor is driven by an AC power supply, it is daytime Dark = 20000000Ω. As a result, it is clear that
referred to as an AC servo motor rather than a DC servo there is a significant difference between these data. The
motor. The gear structure of a servo motor allows us to figure 4 shown below would look something like this
manufacture extremely high torque servo motors in variant put on a graph.
small and light designs.

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 Proceedings of the Third International Conference on Artificial Intelligence and Smart Energy (ICAIS 2023)
IEEE Xplore Part Number: CFP23OAB-ART; ISBN: 978-1-6654-6216-7

Fig. 4. LDR

IX. HARDWARE IMPLEMENTATION Stage 1: In first stage, the panel will be horizontal so that
it will be at the maximum level with a turning angle of
The hardware implementation of dual axis solar panel 90 degree which is used for low latitudes. The proposed
tracker is shown in Figure 5. model has one degree of freedom on the North to South
axis direction and rotates the solar tracker panel.

Stage 2: The errors are rectified and a finite rotation of

180 degree of vertical position is achieved and used for
Fig. 5. Dual Axis Solar Panel T racker high latitudes. The developed model has one degree of
freedom on the east - west axis direction and rotate the
X. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION solar tracker panel used for high latitudes.
The two-axis solar tracking system is put to the test in
the ordinary torch light. When this happens, the
maximum light intensity is correctly detected by LDR
sensors, which then cause the solar panel to rotate in that
direction. The two-axis solar tracking system tracks the
sun's precise location. Every day and every year, the
Solar Panel rotates from East to West and from North to
South in the direction of the Sun, which is the primary
source of light (in accordance with seasonal movement).
The created dual axis solar tracking device will greatly
increase energy efficiency as it tracks the daily as well as
seasonal movements of the sun. The size of the solar
panel and the cost of energy production will be lower
compared to fixed solar panels because of an increase in
efficiency. Stage 3: A result of 270-degree rotation has been
achieved according to the light intensity.

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 Proceedings of the Third International Conference on Artificial Intelligence and Smart Energy (ICAIS 2023)
IEEE Xplore Part Number: CFP23OAB-ART; ISBN: 978-1-6654-6216-7

Future Challenges."Journal of Electrical Engineering 4, no. 2

(2022): 77-85.
[5] Aswin, P., T . Mathi, R. Vikraman, and S. Chitra. "Design and
Implementation of MPPT based Solar Powered Wireless Battery
Charger." Journal of Ubiquitous Computing and Communication
T echnologies 4, no. 1 (2022): 16-27.
[6] https://www.electronicshub.org/arduino-solar-tracker/
[7] http://www.electroschematics.com/10182/arduino-solar-tracker-
servo/

Stage 4: Here, a complete full rotation of 360 degree has

been achieved and it may absorb luminosity at any
dimension.

XI. APPLICATIONS
Tracking on two axes since they follow the sun both
vertically and horizontally, these trackers aid in
obtaining the maximum solar energy generation at a
given period. They are frequently used to position a
mirror and guide sunlight along a predetermined axis
towards an immovable receiver.
The main class of light sensor is the LDR. The two
primary applications of solar trackers are directing space
observatories to determine the direction of the Sun and
placing photovoltaic (PV) panels (solar panels) such that
they remain perpendicular to the Sun's rays.

XII. CONCLUSION
The performance of a dual axis tracker has greatly
improved since it properly aligns with the direction of
the sun and records its movement. The suggested system
is economical as well because a minor change to the
single axis tracker led to a noticeable increase in system
power. We've successfully finished our project with the
following observation after plenty of trial and error.That
location of numerous light sources (i.e., diffused The
panel adjusts its position in response to the greatest
intensity of light that is directed perpendicularly at it
when source light strikes the panel. It calculates the
vector sum of the light sources and shifts the panel to
light sources) are present on the panel.

.REFERENCES

[1] Ribeiro, G. A. G., L. Queiroz, G. Martins, and H. A. Pereira. "A

low-cost prototype for sun tracking." In 2012 10th IEEE/IAS
International Conference on Industry Applications, pp. 1 -7.
IEEE, 2012.
[2] Rani, Prachi, Omveer Singh, and Shivam Pandey. "An analysis
on arduino based single axis solar tracker." In 2018 5th IEEE
Uttar Pradesh Section International Conference on Electrical,
Electronics and Computer Engineering (UPCON), pp. 1-5. IEEE,
2018.
[3] Bouzakri, Hicham, and Ahmed Abbou. "Study and realization of
a monoaxial solar tracker over an equatorial mount." In 2019 7th
International Renewable and Sustainable Energy Conference
(IRSEC), pp. 1-6. IEEE, 2019.
[4] Karuppusamy, P. "An Overview of Solar Cell T echnology and its

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