An FPGA based solar tracking control system

Abstract

To increase the unit area illumination of sunlight on solar panels, we design a  Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) based solar tracking control system. The design mechanism holds the solar panel and allows the panel to perform an approximate horizontal rotation to track the sun’s movement during the day. A model prototype solar cell movement system with mechanical assemble is constructed to move the panel from 180⁰ East to West. The electronic circuit is designed to sense the intensity of light and to control servo motor for the panel movement. We use the Altera Quartus-II software to perform solar tracking. The design is programmed and  loaded into Altera DE1 FPGA board and tested successfully in the laboratory. This system can achieve more illumination and energy concentration than conventional fixed  solar panel and can improve overall efficiency.