Application of plataforma solar de almer´ia (psa) algorithm for maximizing efficiency of solar panel

The increasing demand for energy, the continuous reduction in existing sources of fossil fuels and the growing concern regarding environment pollution, have pushed mankind to explore new technologies for the production of electrical energy using clean, renewable sources, such as solar energy, wind energy, etc. Among the non-conventional, renewable energy sources, solar energy affords great potential for conversion into electric power, able to ensure an important part of the electrical energy needs of the planet. While the output of solar cells depends on the intensity of sunlight and the angle of incidence, it means to get maximum output; the solar panels must remain in front of sun during the whole day. But due to rotation of earth, panels cannot maintain their position always in front of sun. This problem results in decrease of their output. Thus to get a constant output, an automated system is required which should be capable to constantly rotate the solar panel to receive maximum solar energy.The project is carried out to built automated sun tracking system using Programmable Logic Controller (PLC); sun’s apparent position is calculated using Plataforma Solar de Almer´ıa (PSA) algorithm with input as geographical latitude, longitude, year, month, day, and time. With sun angles obtained by PSA algorithm, stepper motor adjusts solar panel so that to obtain maximum output. Programming in PLC is carried out in Ladder Diagram (LD) for stepper motor drive sequence and for calculation of solar angles Function Block Diagram (FBD) is used. Observation for increase in output is carried out for one day for both fixed and tracking system and it is observed that there is increase in power of 35.75%.