- By:
- Forrester, Christina D; Maxey, Lonnie C; Evans Iii, Boyd M; Lapsa, Melissa V
- Publication Date:
- November 14, 2010
- Conference Name:
- Solar 2008
- Conference Location:
- San Diego, California, United States of America
- Conference Sponsor:
- American Solar Energy Society
Abstract
A versatile single-board controller for two-axis solar tracking applications has been developed and tested on operating solar tracking systems with over two years of field experience. The operating experience gained from the two systems and associated modifications are discussed as representative examples of the practical issues associated with implementing a new two-axis solar tracker design. In this research, open and closed loop control methods were evaluated; however, only the open loop method met the 0.125� tracking accuracy requirement and the requirement to maintain pointing accuracy in hazy and scattered cloudy skies. The open loop algorithm was finally implemented in a microcontroller-based tracking system. Methods of applying this controller hardware to different tracker geometries and hardware are discussed along with the experience gained to date.
