Designing an Efficient Solar Photovoltaic Tracking System for Sustainable Electricity Generation

With the advancement of technology, mankind is dependent on devices and infrastructures for day-to-day activities. With digitalization at its prime, humans rely on gadgets at their core, which on the other hand increases the electricity demand. This increasing demand has led to the high production of electricity using conventional means of energy. However, all the conventional sources of energy produce different kinds of pollutants that decreases the overall flora and fauna on earth. The conventional thermal power plant burns fossil fuels, such as natural gas, coal, or oil, to generate heat. Hence, it releases carbon dioxide that has various hazards. Therefore, research aims at the potential benefit of solar energy, as the sun is the biggest source of energy. Sun supplies us with energy every hour that can meet the global energy demand for one year. Solar power is highly scattered, and it needs to be focused and tracked to generate a meaningful amount of energy. In this paper, the methods to meet the current electricity demands are discussed to increase electricity production by following the axis of the sun using a motorized solar panel with a tracking system that follows the sun’s motion from the east in the morning to the west in the evening to harness the maximum intensity of solar irradiation. There are active, manual, and passive type solar trackers. The basic principle is only to always face the maximum intensity of the solar irradiance to generate maximum electricity. A dual-axis solar tracking system is used in this paper as a solar tracker for a typical house. This paper also discusses optimizing the kind of solar tracker that should be used to minimize the cost and maximize the effectiveness. The calculated cost shows that it needs about 8.9 years to get the initial cost back, which is a very good and economical period.