Philippine E-Journals

Integration of Specular Reflector in a Dual Axis Solar Tracker

Teofrenz Ycot | John Vincent Tiansing | Michaela Aliganga | Rachel Chong | Jun-Jun Obiso

 

Abstract:

Installation of solar panels on rooftops has increased in popularity. Energy conversion is inefficient because solar panels are not always perpendicular to the sun. This problem is addressed by designing a low cost dual axis solar tracker with specular reflector. This tracker moves the panel and reflector assembly in a controlled manner. To measure the output, voltage sensing circuit was incorporated. System performance was tested in both controlled and actual environments. The horizontal axis tracking mechanism effectively pointed to the direction of maximum power output. When the panel is perpendicular to the light source, the system yields maximum energy. The addition of the tracker had greater enhancement than with the reflector only. The tracker boosts the efficiency by 69.55% while the reflector boosts it by 15.12%. Combining the tracker and the reflector yields the best result with 92.33% average efficiency.