The Design and Implementation of maximum power tracking

system by automatic control of solar panel direction according

to the sun direction (Model Sunflower)
Index
Technical Specifications

IEEE Reference Citation

Project Abstract

Project Block Diagram

Introduction

Solar Cell Description

Flowchart

Explanation of each block

ATMega8 / 168 / 328 Microcontrollers

LCD Interfacing

Regulated Power Supply

DC Motor Interfacing

Software Tools

Advantages

Applications

Conclusion

Reference
 A PROJECT REPORT ON
The Design and Implementation of maximum power tracking system by
automatic control of solar panel direction according to the sun direction
(Model Sunflower) Using ARDUINO
Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements

For the award of the degree

BACHELOR OF TECHNOLOGY
IN
____________________________________ ENGINEERING

SUBMITTED BY

-------------------- (-------------)
--------------------- (-------------)
--------------------- (------------)

DEPARTMENT OF _______________________ ENGINEERING

__________COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING
AFFILIATED TO ___________ UNIVERSITY
 CERTIFICATE

This is to certify that the dissertation work entitled The Design and Implementation of
maximum power tracking system by automatic control of solar panel direction
according to the sun direction (Model Sunflower) Using ARDUINO is the work done
by ____________________________ submitted in partial fulfillment for the award of
‘BACHELOR OF ENGINEERING (B.E)’ in Electronics and Communication
Engineering from _______ College of Engineering affiliated to _________ University,
Hyderabad.

________________ ____________

(External Guide) (Internal Guide)

______________
(External Examiner)
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

The satisfaction and euphoria that accompany the successful completion of any task
would be incomplete without the mentioning of the people whose constant guidance and
encouragement made it possible. We take pleasure in presenting before you, our project,
which is result of studied blend of both research and knowledge.

We express our earnest gratitude to our internal guide, Assistant Professor

______________, Department of ECE, our project guide, for his constant support,
encouragement and guidance. We are grateful for his cooperation and his valuable
suggestions.
We express our thanks to the Head of the Department, Principal and College
management for all their support and encouragement.
We express our earnest gratitude and heartfelt thanks to M/S Wine Yard Technologies for
their technical support and guidance to complete the project in time.
Finally, we express our gratitude to all other members who are involved either directly
or indirectly for the completion of this project.

For: Project Associates

 DECLARATION

We, the undersigned, declare that the project entitled The Design and Implementation
of maximum power tracking system by automatic control of solar panel direction
according to the sun direction (Model Sunflower) Using ARDUINO, being submitted
in partial fulfillment for the award of Bachelor of Engineering Degree in Electronics and
Communication Engineering, affiliated to _________ University, is the work carried out
by us.

__________ _________ _________

__________ _________ _________
TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS
Technical Specifications:
Title of the project : The Design and Implementation of
maximum power tracking system by automatic control of
solar panel direction according to the sun direction (Model
Sunflower) Using ARDUINO
Domain : Renewable Energy Management, Embedded
Design, Energy System
Software : Embedded C, ARDUINO IDE
Microcontroller : ATMega8 / 168 / 328

Power Supply : +5V, 750mA Regulated Power Supply

Display : 16 X 2 Alphanumeric LCD

Crystal : 16MHz

Applications : Emergency lighting, water heaters, Hotels,

Hostels and House hold applications and

Industrial applications
IEEE Reference
The Design and Implementation of maximum power tracking system by
automatic control of solar panel direction according to the sun direction
(Model Sunflower) Using ARDUINO
IEEE Reference:

A microprocessor controlled automatic sun tracker

Koyuncu, B.; Balasubramanian, K.
Consumer Electronics, IEEE Transactions on
Volume 37, Issue 4, Nov 1991 Page(s):913 - 917
Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/30.106958

Summary:

A microcontroller -based automatic sun-tracking system is proposed. This unit

controls the movement of a solar panel that rotates and follows the motion of the sun.
There are two limit switches attached to the panel to mark its maximum angular positions
in the east and west. The status of the limit switches is read by the microprocessor and
indicates that the maximum angular position in either direction has been reached and the
panel should not be driven any further. As the plane of the panel is always kept normal to
the direction of the sun, maximum thermal energy is obtained from the solar panels
Abstract
 Abstract

Solar energy systems have emerged as a viable source of renewable energy over
the past two or three decades, and are now widely used for a variety of industrial and
domestic applications. Such systems are based on a solar collector, designed to collect the
sun’s energy and to convert it into either electrical power or thermal energy. In general,
the power developed in such applications depends fundamentally upon the amount of
solar energy captured by the collector, and thus the problem of developing tracking
schemes capable of following the trajectory of the sun throughout the course of the day
on a year-round basis has received significant coverage in this project. In Aden city
(Yemen), the improvement in the performance of a solar cooker during summer was
found to be as much as 40% for higher elevation angle and 70% for lower elevation
angle, based on the developed tracking algorithms. Moreover, it was shown that the
amount of solar energy captured by a tilted collector could be increased by more than
40% by adjusting the tilt angle on a seasonal basis.

This project is designed with ATMega8 / 168 / 328 MCU. Two LDRs are used to
monitor the solar light condition. These LDR output is interfaced to Microcontroller
through transistor. The controller continuously checks the voltage level of the LDRs and
operates the motor to face the panel to maximum level of intensity. The day / night
condition is also monitored by these two LDRs to disable the tracking in night condition.
The motor is driven by H-bridge.

This project uses regulated 12V, 500mA power supply. 7805 three terminal
voltage regulator is used for voltage regulation. Bridge type full wave rectifier is used to
rectify the ac out put of secondary of 230/12V step down transformer.
BLOCK DIAGRAM
 Contrast
Control

BLOCK DIAGRAM:

16 X 2 LCD

High Transistor H Bridge

Sensitive Switching Driver
LDR Circuit ATMega8 / 168
/ 328

DC
Motor

Mechanical
Crystal Coupling to Solar
Reset Panel

Step Rechargeabl
Bridge Filter e Battery
down Rectifier Circuit Regulator
T/F

Power supply to all sections

Introduction
 Introduction
The green energy also called the regeneration energy, has gained much attention
nowadays. Green energy can be recycled, much like solar energy, water power, wind
power, biomass energy, terrestrial heat, temperature difference of sea, sea waves, morning
and evening tides, etc [1, 2]. Among these, solar energy is the most powerful resource
that can be used to generate power. So far the efficiency of generating power from solar
energy is relatively low. Thus, increasing the efficiency of generating power of solar
energy is very important. In the past, solar cells have been hooked with fixed elevating
angles. They do not track the sun and therefore, the efficiency of power generation is low.
For example, the elevating angle of a solar cell for the largest volume of illumination in
daytime is 23.5°in southern Taiwan. Since the fixed-type solar panel can not obtain the
optimal solar energy, the transformation efficiency of solar energy is limited.
Many scholars have proposed different methods for tracking the sun [3-9]. Many
different light source sensors, light intensity sensors, intelligent vision techniques, and
CCD equipments were applied to compute the absorbed time of the sun radiation in
everyday for measuring the volume of solar energy. So far the majority of solar cell
panels worldwide are hooked with fixed angles. Thus, it is clear that the method of
tracking the sun is a technique worthy of being developed. In this paper, the main goal is
to design and implement a solar tracking control system using field programmable gate
array (FPGA). The CdS light sensitive resistors are used. From the experimental results,
the proposed tracking system is verified more efficiently in generating energy than the
fixed system.
SOLAR CELL DESCRIPTION
 The solar cell is composed of the semiconductors of the P-N junctions [10-11]. It
can convert light into electric energy. Therefore we can assume that electricity produced
using sunlight shining on the solar cell can be used like common electricity. The
equivalent circuit of the solar cell is shown in Fig. 1. The current supply I ph represents
the electric current generated from the sun beaming on the solar cell. Rj is the non-linear
impedance of the P-N junction. Dj is a P-N junction diode, Rsh and Rs represent the
equivalent lineup with the interior of the materials and connecting resistances in series.
Usually in general analysis, Rsh is large, and the value of Rs is small. Therefore in order
to simplify the process of analysis, one can ignore Rsh and Rs . The symbol Ro represents
the external load. I and V represent the output current and the voltage of the solar cell,
respectively. From the equivalent circuit, and based on the characteristics of the P-N
junction, (1) presents the connection between the output current I and the output voltage
V:

Where np represents the parallel integer of the solar cell; ns represents the series
connected integer of the solar cell; q represents the contained electricity in an electro
(1.6×10−19 Columbic); k is the Boltzmann constant (1.38×10−23 J / °K ); T is the

temperature of the solar cell (absolute temperature °K ); and A is the ideal factor of the
solar cell ( A = 1 ~ 5 ). The current sat I in (1) represents the reversion saturation current
of the solar power. Further, sat I can be determined by using the following formula:
 MCU

Where Tr represents the reference temperature of the solar cell; Irr is the reversion
saturation current at the time when the solar cell reaches its temperature Tr ; and EGap is
the energy needed for crossing the energy band gap for the semiconductor materials. (the
crystalline EGap ≅ 1.1eV ). From the study we are able to know that when the
temperature is fixed, the stronger the sunlight is, and the higher the open-circuit voltage
and short-circuit current are. Here we can see the obvious effects of illumination on the
short-circuit current, rather than the open-circuit current. Therefore the solar cell can
provide higher output rate as the sunlight becomes stronger, i.e. solar cell facing the sun.
Explanation of Each Block
Solar Panel:
This is a photo voltaic cell. This converts light energy into electrical energy. The
output voltage of the solar panel depends on the amount of light falling on the panel.

Voltage Sampling Circuit:

The output voltage of the solar panel is given to voltage sampling circuit. This is a
voltage divide network. The sample voltage is given to Analog to Digital converter
circuit.

High Sensitivity LDR

This is a light dependent resistor. The resistance of the device is inversely
proportional to the amount of light falling on its surface. This is used to detect the day –
night mode.

Transistor Switching Circuit

In this section a NPN transistor is used as a switch. The transistor is driven into
saturation and cut off region based on the output voltage of the LDR. This sends a logic
HIGH or LOW signal to microcontroller.

H-BRIDGE:
 An H-bridge is an electronic circuit which enables DC electric motors to be run
forwards or backwards. These circuits are often used in robotics. H-bridges are available
as integrated circuits, or can be built from discrete components.

DC Motor

The DC motor is used to rotate the solar panel. The DC motor makes actual and
exact number of turns or degrees of rotation instructed by the microcontroller.

16X2 LCD:

16 X 2 LCD is used to display the operating instructions and status of the output.
HD44780U is used in the project. The HD44780U dot-matrix liquid crystal display
controller and driver LSI displays alphanumeric, Japanese kana characters, and symbols.
It can be configured to drive a dot-matrix liquid crystal display under the control of a 4-
or 8-bit microprocessor. Since all the functions such as display RAM, character generator,
and liquid crystal driver, required for driving a dot-matrix liquid crystal display are
internally provided on one chip, a minimal system can be interfaced with this
controller/driver. A single HD44780U can display up to one 8-character line or two 8-
character lines. The HD44780U has pin function compatibility with the HD44780S which
allows the user to easily replace an LCD-II with an HD44780U. The HD44780U
character generator ROM is extended to generate 208 5X8 dot character fonts and 32
5X10 dot character fonts for a total of 240 different character fonts.

Contrast Control:
It is a simple variable resistor (preset) with linear characteristics. This is used to adjust
the contrast of the display.
Reset:
Reset control circuit is used to reset the microcontroller at any stage of work. This
section also comprises of auto power on reset. If the reset switch is pressed, the
microcontroller restarts and the function will start from the begin. This circuit is
connected to 9th pin of microcontroller.

Crystal:
 A crystal is used to supply clock frequency to the microcontroller. The clock
frequency is 11.0592MHz. 11.0592 MHz crystals are often used because it can be
divided to give you exact clock rates for most of the common baud rates for the
UART, especially for the higher speeds (9600, 19200). Despite the "oddball" value, these
crystals are readily available and commonly used.

Power Supply Section:

This project needs 5V regulated DC power supply. This power supply is built with
a full wave bridge rectifier, C- filter and a three terminal voltage regulator. An LED is
provided for visual identification of the power supply. 230V / 18V step down transformer
is used to step down the AC 230 V to 18V AC.

230V AC D.C
50Hz Output

Step down Bridge

transformer Rectifier Filter Regulator

Fig13: Power supply

ATMEGA 328 Microcontrollers
 The ATmega88 through ATmega328 microcontrollers are said by Atmel to be the
upgrades from the very popular ATmega8. They are pin compatible, but not functionally
compatible. The ATmega328 has 32kB of flash, where the ATmega8 has 8kB. Other
differences are in the timers, additional SRAM and EEPROM, the addition of pin change
interrupts, and a divide by 8 prescaler for the system clock.

The schematic below shows the Atmel ATmega328 circuit as it was built on the test
board. The power supply is common and is shared between all of the microcontrollers on
the board. The ATmega328 is in a minimal circuit. It is using its internal 8 MHz RC
oscillator (divided by 8). With the ATmega328 I needed to both burn a bootloader and
download Arduino sketches. The boot loader is programmed using the ISP programming
connector, and the Arduino sketches are uploaded via the 6-pin header. Be aware that
programming the Arduino bootloader into the ATmega88, ATmega168, or ATmega328
micrcontroller will change the clock fuses, requiring the addition of an external crystal.
The crystal shown on the schematic is only required when the ATmega328 is going to be
used as an Arduino, although it may be desired in any real world application. I typically
run them at 16 MHz, but they will run as high as 20 MHz
PIN DIAGRAM:
Pin Descriptions

VCC: Digital supply voltage

GND: Ground

Port B (PB7:0) XTAL1/XTAL2/TOSC1/TOSC2

Port B is an 8-bit bi-directional I/O port with internal pull-up resistors (selected for each
bit). The Port B output buffers have symmetrical drive characteristics with both high sink
and source capability. As inputs, Port B pins that are externally pulled low will source
current if the pull-up resistors are activated. The Port B pins are tri-stated when a reset
condition becomes active, even if the clock is not running.

Depending on the clock selection fuse settings, PB6 can be used as input to the inverting
Oscillator amplifier and input to the internal clock operating circuit.
Depending on the clock selection fuse settings, PB7 can be used as output from the
inverting Oscillator amplifier.
If the Internal Calibrated RC Oscillator is used as chip clock source, PB7.6 is used as
TOSC2.1 input for the Asynchronous Timer/Counter2 if the AS2 bit in ASSR is set.

Port C (PC5:0)

Port C is a 7-bit bi-directional I/O port with internal pull-up resistors (selected for each
bit). The PC5..0 output buffers have symmetrical drive characteristics with both high sink
and source capability. As inputs, Port C pins that are externally pulled low will source
current if the pull-up resistors are activated. The Port C pins are tri-stated when a reset
condition becomes active, even if the clock is not running.

PC6/RESET

If the RSTDISBL Fuse is programmed, PC6 is used as an I/O pin. Note that the electrical
characteristics of PC6 differ from those of the other pins of Port C. If the RSTDISBL
Fuse is unprogrammed, PC6 is used as a Reset input. A low level on this pin for longer
than the minimum pulse length will generate a Reset, even if the clock is not running.
Port D (PD7:0)

Port D is an 8-bit bi-directional I/O port with internal pull-up resistors (selected for each
bit). The Port D output buffers have symmetrical drive characteristics with both high sink
and source capability. As inputs, Port D pins that are externally pulled low will source
current if the pull-up resistors are activated. The Port D pins are tri-stated when a reset
condition becomes active, even if the clock is not running.

AVCC

AVCC is the supply voltage pin for the A/D Converter, PC3:0, and ADC7:6. It should be
externally connected to VCC, even if the ADC is not used. If the ADC is used, it should
be connected to VCC through a low-pass filter. Note that PC6..4 use digital supply
voltage, VCC.

AREF
AREF is the analog reference pin for the A/D Converter.

ADC7:6 (TQFP and QFN/MLF Package Only)

In the TQFP and QFN/MLF package, ADC7:6 serve as analog inputs to the A/D
converter.

These pins are powered from the analog supply and serve as 10-bit ADC channels.
SCHEMATIC DIAGRAM:
LCD Interfacing
LIQUID CRYSTAL DISPLAY:

LCD stands for Liquid Crystal Display. LCD is finding wide spread use replacing
LEDs (seven segment LEDs or other multi segment LEDs) because of the following
reasons:

1. The declining prices of LCDs.

2. The ability to display numbers, characters and graphics. This is in contrast to
LEDs, which are limited to numbers and a few characters.

3. Incorporation of a refreshing controller into the LCD, thereby relieving the CPU
of the task of refreshing the LCD. In contrast, the LED must be refreshed by the
CPU to keep displaying the data.

4. Ease of programming for characters and graphics.

These components are “specialized” for being used with the microcontrollers,

which means that they cannot be activated by standard IC circuits. They are used

for writing different messages on a miniature LCD.

 Pin Logic
Function Name Description
Number State
Ground 1 Vss - 0V
Power supply 2 Vdd - +5V
Contrast 3 Vee - 0 - Vdd
D0 – D7 are interpreted as
0
4 RS commands
1
D0 – D7 are interpreted as data
Write data (from controller to
0 LCD)
Control of 5 R/W
1 Read data (from LCD to
operating
controller)
0 Access to LCD disabled
1 Normal operating
6 E
From 1 to Data/commands are transferred to
0 LCD
7 D0 0/1 Bit 0 LSB
8 D1 0/1 Bit 1
9 D2 0/1 Bit 2
10 D3 0/1 Bit 3
Data / commands
11 D4 0/1 Bit 4
12 D5 0/1 Bit 5
13 D6 0/1 Bit 6
14 D7 0/1 Bit 7 MSB
 A model described here is for its low price and great possibilities most frequently

used in practice. It is based on the HD44780 microcontroller (Hitachi) and can display

messages in two lines with 16 characters each . It displays all the alphabets, Greek letters,

punctuation marks, mathematical symbols etc. In addition, it is possible to display

symbols that user makes up on its own. Automatic shifting message on display (shift left

and right), appearance of the pointer, backlight etc. are considered as useful

characteristics.

Pins Functions

There are pins along one side of the small printed board used for connection to the

microcontroller. There are total of 14 pins marked with numbers (16 in case the

background light is built in). Their function is described in the table below:

LCD screen:

LCD screen consists of two lines with 16 characters each. Each character consists

of 5x7 dot matrix. Contrast on display depends on the power supply voltage and whether

messages are displayed in one or two lines. For that reason, variable voltage 0-Vdd is

applied on pin marked as Vee. Trimmer potentiometer is usually used for that purpose.

Some versions of displays have built in backlight (blue or green diodes). When used

during operating, a resistor for current limitation should be used (like with any LE diode).
LCD Basic Commands:

All data transferred to LCD through outputs D0-D7 will be interpreted as

commands or as data, which depends on logic state on pin RS:

RS = 1 - Bits D0 - D7 are addresses of characters that should be displayed. Built

in processor addresses built in “map of characters” and displays corresponding symbols.
Displaying position is determined by DDRAM address. This address is either previously
defined or the address of previously transferred character is automatically incremented.

RS = 0 - Bits D0 - D7 are commands which determine display mode. List of

commands which LCD recognizes are given in the table below:
Command RS RW D7 D6 D5 D4 D3 D2 D1 D0 Execution Time
Clear display 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1.64mS
Cursor home 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 x 1.64mS
Entry mode set 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 I/D S 40uS
Display on/off control 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 D U B 40uS
Cursor/Display Shift 0 0 0 0 0 1 D/C R/L x x 40uS
Function set 0 0 0 0 1 DL N F x x 40uS
Set CGRAM address 0 0 0 1 CGRAM address 40uS
Set DDRAM address 0 0 1 DDRAM address 40uS
Read “BUSY” flag
0 1 BF DDRAM address -
(BF)
Write to CGRAM or
1 0 D7 D6 D5 D4 D3 D2 D1 D0 40uS
DDRAM

Read from CGRAM

1 1 D7 D6 D5 D4 D3 D2 D1 D0 40uS
or DDRAM

List of commands which LCD recognizes

I/D 1 = Increment (by 1) R/L 1 = Shift right

0 = Decrement (by 1) 0 = Shift left

S 1 = Display shift on DL 1 = 8-bit interface

0 = Display shift off 0 = 4-bit interface

D 1 = Display on N 1 = Display in two lines

0 = Display off 0 = Display in one line

U 1 = Cursor on F 1 = Character format 5x10 dots

 0 = Cursor off 0 = Character format 5x7 dots

B 1 = Cursor blink on D/C 1 = Display shift

0 = Cursor blink off 0 = Cursor shift

LCD Connection:

Depending on how many lines are used for connection to the microcontroller,

there are 8-bit and 4-bit LCD modes. The appropriate mode is determined at the

beginning of the process in a phase called “initialization”. In the first case, the data are

transferred through outputs D0-D7 as it has been already explained. In case of 4-bit LED

mode, for the sake of saving valuable I/O pins of the microcontroller, there are only 4

higher bits (D4-D7) used for communication, while other may be left unconnected.

Consequently, each data is sent to LCD in two steps: four higher bits are sent first

(that normally would be sent through lines D4-D7), four lower bits are sent afterwards.

With the help of initialization, LCD will correctly connect and interpret each data

received. Besides, with regards to the fact that data are rarely read from LCD (data

mainly are transferred from microcontroller to LCD) one more I/O pin may be saved by

simple connecting R/W pin to the Ground. Such saving has its price. Even though

message displaying will be normally performed, it will not be possible to read from busy

flag since it is not possible to read from display.

LCD Initialization:

Once the power supply is turned on, LCD is automatically cleared. This process

lasts for approximately 15mS. After that, display is ready to operate. The mode of

operating is set by default. This means that:

1. Display is cleared

2. Mode

DL = 1 Communication through 8-bit interface

N = 0 Messages are displayed in one line

F = 0 Character font 5 x 8 dots

3. Display/Cursor on/off

D = 0 Display off

U = 0 Cursor off

B = 0 Cursor blink off

4. Character entry

ID = 1 Addresses on display are automatically incremented by 1

 S = 0 Display shift off

Automatic reset is mainly performed without any problems. Mainly but not

always! If for any reason power supply voltage does not reach full value in the course of

10mS, display will start perform completely unpredictably. If voltage supply unit can not

meet this condition or if it is needed to provide completely safe operating, the process of

initialization by which a new reset enabling display to operate normally must be applied.

Algorithm according to the initialization is being performed depends on whether

connection to the microcontroller is through 4- or 8-bit interface. All left over to be done

after that is to give basic commands and of course- to display messages.

Procedure on 8-bit initialization.
LEAD ACID BATTERY
Lead-acid batteries are the most common in PV systems because their initial cost is
lower and because they are readily available nearly everywhere in the world. There are
many different sizes and designs of lead-acid batteries, but the most important
designation is that they are deep cycle batteries. Lead-acid batteries are available in both
wet-cell (requires maintenance) and sealed no-maintenance versions. AGM and Gel-cell
deep-cycle batteries are also popular because they are maintenance free and they last a lot
longer.
Lead acid batteries are reliable and cost effective with an exceptionally long life.
The Lead acid batteries have high reliability because of their ability to withstand
overcharge, over discharge vibration and shock. The use of special sealing techniques
ensures that our batteries are leak proof and non-spillable. Other critical features include
the ability to withstand relatively deeper discharge, faster recovery and more chances of
survival if subjected to overcharge. The batteries have exceptional charge acceptance,
large electrolyte volume and low self-discharge, which make them ideal as zero-
maintenancebatteries.

Lead acid batteries are manufactured/ tested using CAD (Computer Aided
Design). These batteries are used in Inverter & UPS Systems and have the proven ability
to perform under extreme conditions. The batteries have electrolyte volume, use PE
Separators and are sealed in sturdy containers, which give them excellent protection
against leakage and corrosion.

Features
 Manufactured/tested using CAD
 Electrolyte volume
 PE Separators
 Protection against leakage
Number of batteries needed:

If you use the numbers from the sample load numbers link at the end of the page,
you turn out needing 6310W peak and a total of 20950Wh/day. This comes out at 51
Amps peak and a total of 174 Amp Hours in a day at 120 Volts. To handle these peak
loads, it is important to use electrical wiring of the correct gauge to carry the current. 51
Amps @ 120 Volts (or 526 Amps@12vDC) is hazardous. One should not forget that
batteries have a limited life span. Any system should be designed such that you can easily
replace batteries without disrupting much of your load. You may need to diagnose to
determine what batteries have lost their ability to retain a charge.

Battery connections:
Lead-acid batteries are normally available in blocks of 2V, 6V or 12V. In most
cases, to generate the necessary operating voltage and the capacity of the batteries for the
Solar Inverter, many batteries have to be connected together in parallel and/or in series.
Following three examples are shown:

Parallel Connection:
Series Connection:
Parallel-Series Connection:
Power Supply Design
POWER SUPPLY:

The input to the circuit is applied from the regulated power supply. The a.c. input

i.e., 230V from the mains supply is step down by the transformer to 12V and is fed to a

rectifier. The output obtained from the rectifier is a pulsating d.c voltage. So in order to

get a pure d.c voltage, the output voltage from the rectifier is fed to a filter to remove any

a.c components present even after rectification. Now, this voltage is given to a voltage

regulator to obtain a pure constant dc voltage.

230V AC D.C
50Hz Output

Step down Bridge

transformer Rectifier Filter Regulator

Fig: Power supply

Transformer:

Usually, DC voltages are required to operate various electronic equipment and

these voltages are 5V, 9V or 12V. But these voltages cannot be obtained directly. Thus the

a.c input available at the mains supply i.e., 230V is to be brought down to the required

voltage level. This is done by a transformer. Thus, a step down transformer is employed

to decrease the voltage to a required level.

Fig11: Transformer

Rectifier:

The output from the transformer is fed to the rectifier. It converts A.C. into
pulsating D.C. The rectifier may be a half wave or a full wave rectifier. In this project, a
bridge rectifier is used because of its merits like good stability and full wave rectification.

The Bridge rectifier is a circuit, which converts an ac voltage to dc voltage using

both half cycles of the input ac voltage. The Bridge rectifier circuit is shown in the figure.
The circuit has four diodes connected to form a bridge. The ac input voltage is applied to
the diagonally opposite ends of the bridge. The load resistance is connected between the
other two ends of the bridge.

Fig 12: Rectifier Circuit

For the positive half cycle of the input ac voltage, diodes D1 and D3 conduct,
whereas diodes D2 and D4 remain in the OFF state. The conducting diodes will be in
series with the load resistance RL and hence the load current flows through RL.

For the negative half cycle of the input ac voltage, diodes D2 and D4 conduct
whereas, D1 and D3 remain OFF. The conducting diodes D2 and D4 will be in series
with the load resistance RL and hence the current flows through RL in the same direction
as in the previous half cycle. Thus a bi-directional wave is converted into a unidirectional
wave.
Fig13: Rectifier output Waveforms
Filter:

Capacitive filter is used in this project. It removes the ripples from the output of rectifier
and smoothens the D.C. Output received from this filter is constant until the mains
voltage and load is maintained constant. However, if either of the two is varied, D.C.
voltage received at this point changes. Therefore a regulator is applied at the output stage.

Voltage regulator:

As the name itself implies, it regulates the input applied to it. A voltage regulator
is an electrical regulator designed to automatically maintain a constant voltage level. In
this project, power supply of 5V and
12V are required. In order to obtain
these voltage levels, 7805 and 7812
voltage regulators are to be used.
The first number 78 represents
positive supply and the numbers 05,
12 represent the required output voltage levels. The L78xx series of three-terminal
positive regulators is available in TO-220, TO-220FP, TO-3, D2PAK and DPAK packages
and several fixed output voltages, making it useful in a wide range of applications. These
regulators can provide local on-card regulation, eliminating the distribution problems
associated with single point regulation. Each type employs internal
current limiting, thermal shut-down and safe area protection, making it
essentially indestructible. If adequate heat sinking is provided, they
can deliver over 1 A output current. Although designed primarily as
fixed voltage regulators, these devices can be used with external
components to obtain adjustable voltage and currents.
DC MOTORS
DC motor
A DC motor is an electric motor that runs on direct current (DC) electricity.

DC Motor Connections
Figure shows schematically the different methods of connecting the field and armature
circuits in a DC Motor. The circular symbol represents the armature circuit, and the
squares at the side of the circle represent the brush commutator system. The direction of
the arrows indicates the direction of the magnetic fields.

Brushed
The brushed DC motor generates torque directly from DC power supplied to the motor by
using internal commutation, stationary permanent magnets, and rotating electrical
magnets.It works on the principle of Lorentz force , which states that any current carrying
conductor placed within an external magnetic field experiences a torque or force known
as Lorentz force. Advantages of a brushed DC motor include low initial cost, high
reliability, and simple control of motor speed. Disadvantages are high maintenance and
low life-span for high intensity uses. Maintenance involves regularly replacing the
brushes and springs which carry the electric current, as well as cleaning or replacing the
commutator. These components are necessary for transferring electrical power from
outside the motor to the spinning wire windings of the rotor inside the motor.
 Brushed DC motor

Brushless
Brushless DC motors use a rotating permanent magnet in the rotor, and stationary
electrical magnets on the motor housing. A motor controller converts DC to AC. This
design is simpler than that of brushed motors because it eliminates the complication of
transferring power from outside the motor to the spinning rotor. Advantages of brushless
motors include long life span, little or no maintenance, and high efficiency.
Disadvantages include high initial cost, and more complicated motor speed controllers.

Torque and speed of a DC motor

The torque of an electric motor is independent of speed. It is rather a function of flux and
armature current.

Characteristics of DC motors
DC motors respond to load changes in different ways, depending on the arrangement of
the windings.
 Shunt wound motor
A shunt wound motor has a high-resistance field winding connected in parallel with the
armature. It responds to increased load by trying to maintain its speed and this leads to an
increase in armature current. This makes it unsuitable for widely-varying loads, which
may lead to overheating.

Series wound motor

A series wound motor has a low-resistance field winding connected in series with
the armature. It responds to increased load by slowing down and this reduces the
armature current and minimizes the risk of overheating. Series wound motors were
widely used as traction motors in rail transport of every kind, but are being phased out in
favor of AC induction motors supplied through solid state inverters. The counter-emf aids
the armature resistance to limit the current through the armature. When power is first
applied to a motor, the armature does not rotate. At that instant the counter-emf is zero
and the only factor limiting the armature current is the armature resistance. Usually the
armature resistance of a motor is less than 1 Ω; therefore the current through the armature
would be very large when the power is applied. Therefore the need arises for an
additional resistance in series with the armature to limit the current until the motor
rotation can build up the counter-emf. As the motor rotation builds up, the resistance is
gradually cut out.

Permanent magnet motor

A permanent magnet DC motor is characterized by its locked rotor (stall) torque and its
no-load angular velocity (speed).

Principles of operation
In any electric motor, operation is based on simple electromagnetism. A current-carrying
conductor generates a magnetic field; when this is then placed in an external magnetic
field, it will experience a force proportional to the current in the conductor, and to the
strength of the external magnetic field. As you are well aware of from playing with
magnets as a kid, opposite (North and South) polarities attract, while like polarities
(North and North, South and South) repel. The internal configuration of a DC motor is
designed to harness the magnetic interaction between a current-carrying conductor and an
external magnetic field to generate rotational motion.

Let's start by looking at a simple 2-pole DC electric motor (here red represents a magnet
or winding with a "North" polarization, while green represents a magnet or winding with
a "South" polarization).

Every DC motor has six basic parts -- axle, rotor

(a.k.a., armature), stator, commutator, field
magnet(s), and brushes. In most common DC motors (and all that Beamers will see), the
external magnetic field is produced by high-strength permanent magnets. The stator is the
stationary part of the motor -- this includes the motor casing, as well as two or more
permanent magnet pole pieces. The rotor (together with the axle and attached
commutator) rotates with respect to the stator. The rotor consists of windings (generally
on a core), the windings being electrically connected to the commutator. The above
diagram shows a common motor layout -- with the rotor inside the stator (field) magnets.

The geometry of the brushes, commutator contacts, and rotor windings are such that
when power is applied, the polarities of the energized winding and the stator magnet(s)
are misaligned, and the rotor will rotate until it is almost aligned with the stator's field
magnets. As the rotor reaches alignment, the brushes move to the next commutator
contacts, and energize the next winding. Given our example two-pole motor, the rotation
reverses the direction of current through the rotor winding, leading to a "flip" of the
rotor's magnetic field, driving it to continue rotating.

In real life, though, DC motors will always have more than two poles (three is a very
common number). In particular, this avoids "dead spots" in the commutator. You can
imagine how with our example two-pole motor, if the rotor is exactly at the middle of its
rotation (perfectly aligned with the field magnets), it will get "stuck" there. Meanwhile,
with a two-pole motor, there is a moment where the commutator shorts out the power
supply (i.e., both brushes touch both commutator contacts simultaneously). This would
be bad for the power supply, waste energy, and damage motor components as well. Yet
another disadvantage of such a simple motor is that it would exhibit a high amount of
torque "ripple" (the amount of torque it could produce is cyclic with the position of the
rotor).

So since most small DC motors are of a three-pole

design, let's tinker with the workings of one via an
interactive animation.

You'll notice a few things from this -- namely,

one pole is fully energized at a time (but two
others are "partially" energized). As each brush transitions from one commutator contact
to the next, one coil's field will rapidly collapse, as the next coil's field will rapidly charge
up (this occurs within a few microsecond). We'll see more about the effects of this later,
but in the meantime you can see that this is a direct result of the coil windings' series
wiring:
 The use of an iron core armature (as in the Mabuchi, above) is quite common, and
has a number of advantages. First off, the iron core provides a strong, rigid support for
the windings -- a particularly important consideration for high-torque motors. The core
also conducts heat away from the rotor windings, allowing the motor to be driven harder
than might otherwise be the case. Iron core construction is also relatively inexpensive
compared with other construction types.

But iron core construction also has several disadvantages. The iron armature has a
relatively high inertia which limits motor acceleration. This construction also results in
high winding inductances which limit brush and commutator life.

In small motors, an alternative design is often used which features a 'coreless' armature
winding. This design depends upon the coil wire itself for structural integrity. As a result,
the armature is hollow, and the permanent magnet can be mounted inside the rotor coil.
Coreless DC motors have much lower armature inductance than iron-core motors of
comparable size, extending brush and commutator life.

DC motor behavior
High-speed output
This is the simplest trait to understand and treat -- most DC motors run at very high
output speeds (generally thousands or tens of thousands of RPM). While this is fine for
some BEAM bots (say, photo poppers or solar rollers), many BEAM bots (walkers,
heads) require lower speeds -- you must put gears on your DC motor's output for these
applications.

Back EMF
Just as putting voltage across a wire in a magnetic field can generate motion, moving a
wire through a magnetic field can generate voltage. This means that as a DC motor's rotor
spins, it generates voltage -- the output voltage is known as back EMF. Because of back
EMF, a spark is created at the commutator as a motor's brushes switch from contact to
contact. Meanwhile, back EMF can damage sensitive circuits when a motor is stopped
suddenly.

Noise (ripple) on power lines

A number of things will cause a DC motor to put noise on its power lines: commutation
noise (a function of brush / commutator design & construction), roughness in bearings
(via back EMF), and gearing roughness (via back EMF, if the motor is part of a
gearmotor) are three big contributors.

Even without these avoidable factors, any electric motor will put noise on its power lines
by virtue of the fact that its current draw is not constant throughout its motion. Going
back to our example two-pole motor, its current draw will be a function of the angle
between its rotor coil and field magnets:

Since most small DC motors have 3 coils, the coils' current curves will overlay each
other:

Added together, this ideal motor's current will then look something like this:
Reality is a bit more complex than this, as even a high-quality motor will display a
current transient at each commutation transition. Since each coil has inductance (by
definition) and some capacitance, there will be a surge of current as the commutator's
brushes first touch a coil's contact, and another as the brushes leave the contact (here,
there's a slight spark as the coil's magnetic field collapses).

As a good example, consider an oscilloscope trace of the current through a Mabuchi FF-
030PN motor supplied with 2 V (1ms per horizontal division, 0.05 mA per vertical
division):
In this case, the peak-to-peak current ripple is approximately 0.29 mA, while the average
motor current is just under 31 mA. So under these conditions, the motor puts about less
than 1% of current ripple onto its power lines (and as you can see from the "clean" traces,
it outputs essentially no high-frequency current noise). Note that since this is a 3-pole
motor, and each coil is energized in both directions over the course of a rotor rotation,
one revolution of the rotor will correspond to six of the above curves (here, 6 x 2.4 ms =
0.0144 sec, corresponding to a motor rotation rate of just fewer than 4200 RPM).

Motor power ripple can wreak havoc in Nv nets by destabilizing them inadvertently.
Fortunately, this can be mitigated by putting a small capacitor across the motor's power
lines (you'll only be able to filter out "spiky" transients this way, though -- you'll always
see curves like the ones above being imposed on your power). On the flip side of this
coin, motor power ripple can be put to good use -- as was shown above, ripple frequency
can be used to measure motor speed, and its destabilizing tendencies can be used to
reverse a motor without the need for discrete "back-up" sensors.

H-BRIDGE:

An H-bridge is an electronic circuit which enables DC electric motors to be run

forwards or backwards. These circuits are often used in robotics. H-bridges are available
as integrated circuits, or can be built from discrete components.
 Fig14: H-Bridge Circuit

The two basic states of an H-bridge.The term "H-bridge" is derived from the
typical graphical representation of such a circuit. An H-bridge is built with four switches
(solid-state or mechanical). When the switches S1 and S4 (according to the first figure)
are closed (and S2 and S3 are open) a positive voltage will be applied across the motor.
By opening S1 and S4 switches and closing S2 and S3 switches, this voltage is reversed,
allowing reverse operation of the motor.

Using the nomenclature above, the switches S1 and S2 should never be closed at
the same time, as this would cause a short circuit on the input voltage source. The same
applies to the switches S3 and S4. This condition is known as shoot-through.

Operation
The H-Bridge arrangement is generally used to reverse the polarity of the motor,
but can also be used to 'brake' the motor, where the motor comes to a sudden stop, as the
motors terminals are shorted, or to let the motor 'free run' to a stop, as the motor is
effectively disconnected from the circuit. The following table summarizes operation.

S1 S2 S3 S4 Result
1 0 0 1 Motor moves right

0 1 1 0 Motor moves left

0 0 0 0 Motor free runs

0 1 0 1 Motor brakes
H-Bridge Driver:

The switching property of this H-Bridge can be replaced by a Transistor or a

Relay or a MOSFET or even by an IC. Here we are replacing this with an IC named
L293D as the driver whose description is as given below.

Features:
 600mA OUTPUT CURRENT CAPABILITY
 PER CHANNEL
 1.2A PEAK OUTPUT CURRENT (non repetitive)
 PER CHANNEL
 ENABLE FACILITY
 OVERTEMPERATURE PROTECTION
 LOGICAL "0" INPUT VOLTAGE UP TO 1.5 V
 (HIGH NOISE IMMUNITY)
 INTERNAL CLAMP DIODES
DESCRIPTION:

The Device is a monolithic integrated high voltage, high current four channel
driver designed to accept standard DTL or TTL logic levels and drive inductive loads
(such as relays solenoids, DC and stepping motors) and switching power transistors. To
simplify use as two bridges each pair of channels is equipped with an enable input. A
separate supply input is provided for the logic, allowing operation at a lower voltage and
internal clamp diodes are included. This device is suitable for use in switching
applications at frequencies up to 5 kHz. The L293D is assembled in a 16 lead plastic
package which has 4 center pins connected together and used for heat sinking The
L293DD is assembled in a 20 lead surface mount which has 8 center pins connected
together and used for heat sinking.
BLOCK DIAGRAM

Fig: Block Diagram of H-Bridge

ABSOLUTE MAXIMUM RATINGS:

PIN CONNECTIONS:
Fig: Pin Diagram of L293D H-Bridge
LIGHT DEPENDENT RESISTOR:

An LDR is an input
transducer
(sensor) which
converts
brightness
(light) to
resistance. It is
made from cadmium
sulphide (CdS) and
the resistance
decreases as the brightness of light falling on the
LDR increases.

LDR’s or Light Dependent Resistors are very useful especially in light/dark

sensor circuits. Normally the resistance of an LDR is very high, sometimes as high as
1,000,000 ohms, but when they are illuminated with light, the resistance drops
dramatically.

Thus in this project, LDR plays an important role in controlling the electrical
appliances based on the intensity of light i.e., if the intensity of light is more (during
daytime) the loads will be in off condition. And if the intensity of light is less (during
nights), the loads will be switched on.
 Fig:

In the above circuit we are controlling the load with an LDR device which in turn
depends on the transistor and a switch i.e., nothing but the operation of the above circuit
behaves like a transistor as a switch.
A transistor is a semi conductor device commonly used to amplify or switch electronic
signals.

In electronics, a switch is an electrical component that can break an electrical circuit,

interrupting the current or diverting it from one conductor to another.

• Transistor can be used as an electronic switch, in grounded-emitter configuration.

• Transistors are commonly used as electronic switches, for both high power
applications including switched mode power supply and low power applications
such as logic gates.

• In a grounded-emitter transistor circuit, such as the light-switch circuit shown, as

the base voltage rises the base and collector current rise exponentially, and the
collector voltage drops because of the collector load resistor.

• If the emitter-base and base-collector are in forward bias then it act as a switch.

• At that instant the collector to emitter is shorted, it act as a closed switch.

SOFTWARE TOOLS
SOFTWARE TOOLS

Installation of required software applications

Installation of AVR studio

Please insert the Supplied CD to your CD ROM. You will found the
following Item in the CD.
Doble Click to AVR studio icon

Follow the steps

Click finish to complete the installation

Installation of WINAVR

Please insert the Supplied CD to your CD ROM. You will found the
following Item in the CD. Double Click on WINAVR icon
Select language English
Click next to continue

Click on ‘ I Agree’ Tab

Please type the path of WINAVR as above

Click on Install
It will start the installation. Than Click Next

Click Finish to Complete the installation

Installation of Java
Double click on JAVA icon. And follow the step below.
Click Accept to continue

Click Next to continue

ADVANTAGES
Advantages:

 Highly sensitive

 Works according to the sun direction

 Fit and Forget system

 Night – Day mode sensing

 Low cost and reliable circuit

 Complete elimination of manpower

APPLICATIONS
Applications:

 Street lights

 Garden Lights

 Solar water heater

 Hotels, hostels and house hold applications

 Offices

 Industries
CONCLUSION
 CONCLUSION

This project presents a solar tracking power generation system. The tracking

controller based on the closed loop algorithm is designed and implemented with

ARDUINO MCU in embedded system domain. Set up on the solar tracking system, the

light sensitivity resistors are used to determine the night – day vision. The proposed solar

tracking power generation system can track the sun light automatically. Thus, the

efficiency of solar energy generation can be increased. Experimental work has been

carried out carefully. The result shows that higher generating power efficiency is indeed

achieved using the solar tracking system. The proposed method is verified to be highly

beneficial for the solar power generation.

REFERENCE
 REFERENCE

Text Books:

Website:
www.howstuffworks.com
www.answers.com
www.radiotronix.com
www.WineYardProjects.com

Magazines:
Electronics for you
Electrikindia