RAJYA STARIYA BAL VAIGYANIK

PRADARSHANI (RSBVP 2024-25)

Name of the theme: Science and Technology for Sustainable Future
Name of the Sub-theme: Resource Management
Name of the Exhibit: Solar Tracking System
Name and class of the Participant: Presha Hodar from class 8th
Name of the Guide/Teacher: Anil Kumar sir

INTRODUCTION
A solar tracker is a device that orients solar panels toward the sun to maximise
•
energy capture

In this project, we designed a simple solar tracker using two Light Dependent
•
Resistors (LDRs) as light sensors, a servo motor for movement, and an Arduino to

control the system.

The solar tracker detects the sun's direction by comparing the light intensity on
•
both LDRs and adjusts the position of the solar panel accordingly using the servo

motor.
 Objectives
The primary objective of this project was to create a functional solar tracker that:
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1. Tracks the position of the sun and aligns the solar panel towards it.
2. Moves the servo motor to adjust the solar panel's position based on the light detected
by the LDRs.

3. Uses simple electronic components and coding to achieve efficient solar tracking.
Components
1. Arduino UNO: Acts as the main controller to read sensor data and control the servo
•
motor.

2. LDR Sensors: Used to detect the intensity of light from different directions (East and
•
West).

3. Servo Motor: Controls the movement of the solar panel by rotating it towards the
•
sun.

4. Resistors (10kΩ): Used in conjunction with the LDRs to form a voltage divider circuit.
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5. Wires and Breadboard: For circuit connections.
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6. Solar Panel: A small solar panel can be attached to the servo to demonstrate the
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real-world application.
 All components of in detail

 Arduino UNO
Arduino is probably the first thing that comes to mind for most hobbyists and students

when they think about embedded systems. It has certainly gained its name among the

electronics community. Easy-to-use programming environment and vast support from

the online community have made it the first choice for anyone who wants to make cool

electronics projects. It’s cheaper, easy to use, and easily available everywhere. Here is

the working mechanism of Components in Arduino UNO Board: -

• USB - B Socket: - The USB socket on the UNO has two functions. One is for
communication, to connect with the computer through a USB port, and also to
load the firmware into the Arduino with the help of the bootloader. The
second is to power the Arduino. You can use the USB port to power the Uno
directly from any USB port.
• ISCP Pins: - In the UNO you can find two 6-pin connectors. One is near the USB – TTL
Chip and the other one is at the end of the board. These pins are used to program
those two microcontrollers. The USB–TTL chip on this board is an ATMgega16U. The
connector 1 is used to program the USB-TTL firmware into this chip. And the
connector 2 is used to burn the bootloader into the microcontroller.
• Reset Button: - As the name indicates this tactile switch is used to reset the
ATMega328 microcontroller. It’s connected to the PC6/Reset pin, which is pulled up
through a 10K. When the switch is pressed the pin is pulled to the ground and the
chip will reset.
• USB-TTL Interface Chip: - To communicate with the computer, the Arduino relies on a USB-
TTL interface. In UNO, ATMega16U with custom firmware acts as a USB–TTL interface chip.
• Crystal Oscillator/ Ceramic resonator: - For a microcontroller to work it needs a clock
source. The clock circuit determines the speed with which the microcontroller operates.
How many instructions per second it will execute is dependent on the clock frequency. The
ATMega series microcontrollers can use two types of clock sources. One is an internal RC
oscillator that is already built into the microcontroller. But the drawback of using the
internal oscillator is that its maximum frequency is limited and it is not that accurate. That is
where the second option comes into place, i.e., using an external clock generator. In this
case, we will be using a Quartz crystal oscillator or a ceramic resonator for this purpose. In
the picture below, you can see two components are marked. The first one is a 16MHz
crystal oscillator used for the ATMega16U2 chip and the second one is a 16MHz resonator
used for the ATMega328P microcontroller.
• Power Path control: - If you inspect a UNO, you can find an LM358. You might think what’s
its role here. It’s used as a comparator to control the input power path. When the input
power is provided through the barrel jack or Vin pin the power path control circuit will cut
off the USB power pin from the circuit which in fact will protect the USB port.
• Voltage Regulator: - The ATMega328 and ATmega16U2 have a maximum input voltage of
around 5V and most modules or accessories work on either 5V or 3.3V. The Arduino can
accept 7-12V through the Vin pin or the DC barrel jack. So, to step it down, there are two
regulators onboard. One is a 5V regulator (marked as 1) for the microcontrollers and the
other one is a 3.3V regulator which is used to provide 3.3V through 3.3V pin.
• DC Barrel Jack: - The DC barrel jack is used to supply power to the UNO. We can supply 7-
12V through it and hence we can use a 12V DC adapter or 9V DC adapter on this Jack to
power the Arduino board.
• Digital and Analog I/O: - The Arduino UNO has 14 digital I/O pins and 6 Analog inputs. The
digital I/O pins are 5V logic level and you can also use the Analog pins as digital I/O too.
Arduino UNO supports 6-channel 10-bit ADC inputs through A0-A5, which can be sampled
and analyzed using UNO.
• Status LEDs and Inbuilt LED: - Uno has 4 LEDs onboard. One is used as a power indicator
and two are used to show the activity of the Rx and Tx pin. The other one is tied to the
Digital pin 13, which can be used to test the Arduino board or simply as an indicator.
• ATMega328P – The Brain: - Last but not least is the main component on the Arduino board
– the ATMega328P Microcontroller. UNO uses a 28Pin DIP version of ATMega328P.
Atmega328P is pre-programmed with a bootloader that allows you to directly upload the
program to Arduino through USB without the need for an external programmer.

 LDR Resistor [light detecting resistor]

An electronic component like LDR or light-dependent resistor is responsive to light.

Once light rays drop on it, then immediately the resistance will be changed. The
resistance values of an LDR may change over several orders of magnitude. The
resistance value will be dropped when the light level increases.

The resistance values of LDR in darkness are several megaohms whereas in bright
light it will be dropped to hundred ohms. So due to this change in resistance, these
resistors are extremely used in different applications. The LDR sensitivity also
changes through the incident light’s wavelength.

The designing of LDRs can be done by using semiconductor materials to allow their
light-sensitive properties. The famous material used in this resistor is CdS (cadmium
sulfide), even though the utilization of this material is currently restricted in
European countries due to some environmental issues while using this material.
Likewise, CdSe (cadmium selenide) is also restricted and additional materials that
can be employed mainly include PbS (lead sulfide), and InS (indium antimonide).

 Servo Motor

A servo motor is a type of motor that can rotate with great precision. Normally this type of
motor consists of a control circuit that provides feedback on the current position of the
motor shaft, this feedback allows the servo motors to rotate with great precision. If you
want to rotate an object at some specific angles or distance, then you use a servo motor. It
 is just made up of a simple motor which runs through a servo mechanism. If the motor is
powered by a DC power supply, then it is called DC servo motor, and if it is AC-powered
motor then it is called AC servo motor. A servo motor usually comes with a gear
arrangement that allows us to get a very high torque servo motor in small and lightweight
packages. Due to these features, they are being used in many applications like toy cars, RC
helicopters and planes, Robotics, etc.

 Resistors (10kΩ)

A resistor is a passive two-terminal electrical component that implements electrical

resistance as a circuit element. In electronic circuits, resistors are used to reduce
current flow, adjust signal levels, to divide voltages, bias active elements, and
terminate transmission lines, among other uses. High-power resistors that can
dissipate many watts of electrical power as heat may be used as part of motor
controls, in power distribution systems, or as test loads for generators. Fixed
resistors have resistances that only change slightly with temperature, time or
operating voltage. Variable resistors can be used to adjust circuit elements (such as a
volume control or a lamp dimmer), or as sensing devices for heat, light, humidity,
force, or chemical activity.

Resistors are common elements of electrical networks and electronic circuits and are
ubiquitous in electronic equipment. Practical resistors as discrete components can
be composed of various compounds and forms. Resistors are also implemented
within integrated circuits.
  Solar penal

A solar panel is a device that converts sunlight into electricity by using

photovoltaic (PV) cells. PV cells are made of materials that produce
excited electrons when exposed to light. The electrons flow through a
circuit and produce direct current (DC) electricity, which can be used to
power various devices or be stored in batteries. Solar panels are also
known as solar cell panels, solar electric panels, or PV modules.

Solar panels are usually arranged in groups called arrays or systems. A

photovoltaic system consists of one or more solar panels, an inverter
that converts DC electricity to alternating current (AC) electricity, and
sometimes other components such as controllers, meters, and trackers.
Most panels are in solar farms or rooftop solar panels which supply the
electricity grid

Working Principle
• The system relies on the light intensity detected by the two LDRs,
each placed on either side of the solar panel (East and West)
• The LDRs' resistance decreases when exposed to more light,
which results in lower voltage readings
• The Arduino continuously reads the analog values from the LDRs
and compares them. Based on the difference in light intensity, the
Arduino moves the servo motor to turn the solar panel toward
the LDR detecting more light.

• The servo motor rotates the panel toward the direction with more
light until the LDR readings are balanced, indicating that the solar
panel is aligned with the sun.
Circuit Design
• LDR Circuit: Two LDRs are connected to analog
pins A0 and A1 on the Arduino, forming a
voltage divider with 10kΩ resistors. The
voltage changes as the light falling on the LDR
changes, providing input to the Arduino.
• Servo Motor: The signal pin of the servo motor
is connected to pin 2 on the Arduino, while the
power and ground pins are connected to 5V
and GND respectively

Results
• The solar tracker successfully detects light
intensity and adjusts the panel's position
accordingly. The servo motor rotates the
panel to face the direction where the sun
 is more intense, ensuring maximum
exposure. This demonstrates a simple yet
effective method of solar tracking that can
be expanded for larger systems

Comparison
• Fixed Solar Panels: Typically produce around
15-25% of the solar energy available in a given
area.
• Solar Panels with Tracking Systems: Can
increase energy production by approximately
20-50% compared to fixed systems. Single-axis
trackers often yield around 20-30% more
energy, while dual-axis trackers can achieve
even higher increases, sometimes approaching
40-50%.
 Applications
1. Solar panel systems for homes or industries.
2. Solar tracking for research and educational purposes.
3. Improved energy harvesting in portable solar devices

Conclusion
• This project successfully demonstrates the use
of light-dependent sensors (LDRs) and a servo
motor to create a functional solar tracker. By
ensuring that the solar panel is always facing
the sun, this system can increase the efficiency
of solar energy collection. Future
improvements could include adding vertical
tracking and using more advanced sensors for
increased accuracy.

Future Improvements
1. Dual-Axis Tracking: Introduce a second servo
motor to add vertical tracking for greater
efficiency.
2. Power Management: Use solar power to
make the tracker self-sustaining.
3. Advanced Sensors: Implement more precise
sensors, such as photodiodes, to improve the
accuracy of light detection.
 4. IoT Integration: Monitor the panel's
performance using IoT (Internet of Things)
platforms like Blynk for remote data tracking
and control