1.

SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

In lieu of the gradual increase in the risks of Global Warming, this study is timely enough

to push through. In recent years, our country have launched many studies in the aspect of aiding rapid increase of the risks of Global Warming and made a lot of achievements. Many organizations around the globe are prioritizing the movement towards green technology and this study is our contribution. The project is free from harmful emissions and it is also less expensive than those that are present in the market today, because it harnesses and produces low-cost and renewable energy.

The amount of solar energy available on the earth depends on the geographical latitude and the time of day and year at a given location, and this source of energy is abundant in nature, so nobody is going to take advantage and monopolize the supply of this.

A solar tracker is designed employing the new principle of using small solar cells to function as self-adjusting light sensors, providing a variable indication of their relative angle to the sun by detecting their voltage output. By using this method, the solar tracker was successful in maintaining a solar array at a sufficiently perpendicular angle to the sun. The power increase gained over a fixed horizontal array was in excess of 30%.

A tracking system is somewhat more complicated to set up but allows the entire array to move throughout the course of the day and follow the sun. This means that the system will produce about 30-40% more power each day than a fixed array. So, if they produce so much more power, why doesnt everyone put them in? The reason is that while they produce more power, they also add about 30% to the cost of a system. So, from a cost per kWh produced point of view, it is almost even. In fact, as the price of panel falls, it will become better value to just put on a bigger system, rather than a more effective system. However, on an off grid system, one thing has a big impact that changes this and makes trackers highly valuable. Trackers change the pattern of production, not just the total output.

Since the panel adjusts itself according to where there is high solar energy, it acquires greater energy than those available in the market. The energy acquired from the sun can be used not only to power up a household at night but also to power up the solar panel itself.

This project has also the capability of powering itself up. The proponents found the need to come up with this innovation because if not, then wed need separate energy to make this work, which entails another cost one of the problems were trying to resolve. Since the project acquires more energy because it adjusts itself towards the location of where there is high radiation concentration, the energy is harnessed to power up the household with or without solar and the remaining energy is used to power the machine itself as well.

The use of dual axis solar tracking system would greatly improve the power gain from the solar tracker available in the market. And also the project would not only focus on making the project more efficient than what is available in market but also make it economically feasible so that underprivileged people can also afford it. In addition to his, the system would innovate into a self powering system to reduce the maintenance of human operator.

2.

STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

The problem with solar panels present in the market is that they have a narrow range of

sensitivity, once they have been set up in a particular location, they just acquire the radiation in that area and not the maximum possible because the sun isnt in the same place throughout the day. And as of today, the in cost for installing a home solar tracking system is beyond affordable since there are additional equipment used and electricity is needed to power it up. In addition, solar tracking devices that are available today are not self-powered so there goes the dilemma on how to get energy from the acquired solar power to make the solar panel work without compromising the harnessed energy for supplying the household appliances.

3.

SCOPE AND LIMITATIONS

In this project, the self-powered dual axis solar radiation tracker will be consisting of

two parts: the solar tracking system and self powering system of the device. The tracking system will be the one that will make the device tilt according to where there is maximum solar intensity. On the other hand, the self powering system will allow the device to power itself without human interference and energy supplied from external source.

The main goal is to keep the solar photovoltaic panel perpendicular to the sun throughout the day in order to make it more efficient in providing energy to the household and powering itself up.

The proponents purposely kept the scope of this project within what was believed to be attainable within the boundaries of the allotted timeline. As such, many improvements can be made upon this initial design. That being said, it is felt that this design represents a functioning miniature scale model which could be replicated to a much larger scale.

The limitations of this project are: The project can only withstand from fair up to windy weather, exposure to rains can cause it to collapse.

The project is mechanical made and is not controlled by any microcontroller making the error of detecting the exact location of high solar intensity a bit more, compared to that of the data acquired by a microcontroller.

The proponents purposely excluded the use of microcontroller because they dont prioritize algorithm or software.