Design and Implementation of a Hybrid Solar Tracker System to Maximize Energy Harvesting in KSA

Solar tracking systems have become increasingly popular due to their ability to maximize power generation from photovoltaic (PV) panels. However, unpredictable weather conditions, such as overcast or cloudy days, can disrupt the panels' desired orientation. While the panels are typically positioned to be oriented towards the radiation of the sun on sunny days, diffused radiation during overcast or cloudy days disrupts the best location. The main aim of this paper is to create a new dual-axis sun-tracker (DAST) system that can adjust the orientation of PV panels in the Saudi Arabian Kingdom to achieve the highest achievable electrical output energy from PV panels. In order to accomplish this goal, hybrid dual-axis systems that combine sensor-based technology (ST) (Closed loop control) with the Solar Position Algorithm (SPA) (Open loop control) has been developed. Moreover, this paper thoroughly examines the impact of PV Solar trackers on the generation of solar energy and offers a solution for maximizing solar energy harvesting. A prototype consisting of a small PV panel with a short circuit current of 250 mA, open circuit voltage of 6 Volt, and power output of 1.5 W is built to evaluate the proposed design. The proposed sun tracker increases the PV output power by approximately 26.7<sup xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">%</sup> regardless of the prevailing local climate conditions, validating its effectiveness.