704.DESIGN AND EXPERIMENTAL ANALYSIS OF LOW-COST AUTOMATED SOLAR TRACKING SYSTEM

Authors

  • Anačkova Maja Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, "Ss. Cyril and Methodius" University in Skopje, P.O. Box 464, MK-1001 Skopje, Republic of North Macedonia https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8213-1682
  • Angjelkovski Mario Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, "Ss. Cyril and Methodius" University in Skopje, P.O. Box 464, MK-1001 Skopje, Republic of North Macedonia
  • Jovanovska Evgenija Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, "Ss. Cyril and Methodius" University in Skopje, P.O. Box 464, MK-1001 Skopje, Republic of North Macedonia
  • Pejovski David Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, "Ss. Cyril and Methodius" University in Skopje, P.O. Box 464, MK-1001 Skopje, Republic of North Macedonia
  • Rajčevski Filip Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, "Ss. Cyril and Methodius" University in Skopje, P.O. Box 464, MK-1001 Skopje, Republic of North Macedonia

Keywords:

dual-axis tracker, Arduino, LDR sensors, closed-loop control, tolerance band

Abstract

This paper presents a low cost dual-axis light tracking prototype developed as a basis for future photovoltaic (PV) solar tracker systems. The device uses an Arduino microcontroller and four light resistors (LDRs) arranged in four sensing quadrants. The controller continuously samples and compares the quadrant signals to estimate the light direction and drives two SG90 servo motors to position the platform in azimuth and elevation. To improve stability and reduce unnecessary actuation, the control strategy applies averaged sensor sampling, differential error evaluation, and a tunable tolerance band (dead zone) that suppresses micro-adjustments under small intensity variations. This prototype is more energy efficient and simple to implement, making it suitable for educational demonstrations and preliminary research. Future work will integrate a photovoltaic module (solar panel) and external electrical measurements to quantify the improvements in energy yield over fixed - tilt configurations.

References

Alijanov, D. D., Topvoldiyev, N. A. (2021): Solar tracker system using Arduino, ISJ Theoretical & Applied Science, Vol 101 (9), pp. 249–253, DOI: 10.15863/TAS.2021.09.101.18

Morón, C., Ferrández, D., Saiz, P., Vega, G., Díaz, J. P. (2017): New prototype of photovoltaic solar tracker based on Ar¬duino, Energies, vol. 10, No. 9, 1298. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/en10091298

Kaur, T., Mahajan, S., Verma, S., Gambhir, J. (2016): Arduino based low cost active dual axis solar tracker, Pro¬ceed¬ings of the 2016 IEEE 1st International Conference on Power Electronics, Intelligent Control and Energy Systems (ICPEICES), pp. 1–5.

Wang, J. M., Lu, C. L. (2013): Design and implementation of a sun tracker with a dual-axis single motor for an optical sensor-based photovoltaic system, Sensors, Vol. 13, No. 3, pp. 3157–3168. https://doi.org/10.3390/s130303157

MESJ

Downloads

Published

30-06-2026

How to Cite

[1]
A. Maja, A. Mario, J. Evgenija, P. David, and R. Filip, “704.DESIGN AND EXPERIMENTAL ANALYSIS OF LOW-COST AUTOMATED SOLAR TRACKING SYSTEM”, MESJ, vol. 44, no. 1, pp. 47–53, Jun. 2026.

Issue

Vol. 44 No. 1 (2026): MECHANICAL ENGINEERING SCIENTIFIC JOURNAL

Section

Articles