Engineering Mechanics

Proceedings Vol. 25 (2019)

ENGINEERING MECHANICS 2019

Copyright © 2019 Institute of Thermomechanics of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague

 

Magnuszewski Ł., Sapiołko K., Rećko M.:
pages 239 - 242, full text

Automatic position control of the solar cell (APCoSC) is a project of the system, whose task is to direct the surface of the photovoltaic cell perpendicular to the sunrays falling on it and to follow the sun. The main parts are the base and pole, on which the cell is mounted. The base consists of a fixed part that provides a stable mounting on the ground, and a rotating part with mounted motor, which can perform a full 360 degree rotation. The mast ends with a handle which, can tilt the solar panel automatically up to 90 degrees vertically by using a motor. The sun position sensor is built of 4 ambient light photosensors (APDS) arranged in the shape of a plus, enclosed in a casing, to which the sun's rays fall through the round opening. The case can be attached directly to the solar cell, or a handle using an adapter, in such a way as to form a parallel plane with the cell. The STM32 microcontroller manages the system and engine operation. The sun position sensor can work at a temperature of -30 to 85 Celsius, which ensures its universal use in many places on the earth. The photovoltaic cell produces the most energy when the sun's rays fall perpendicular to its surface, which is why the automatic tilt adjustment is used. In large cities, APCoSC is used on flat roofs of houses, where there are many obstacles such as other buildings around. The system adapts itself to the position of the sun and selects the most favourable position of the solar panel in real time.

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