Hybrid-loop controlled solar tracker for hybrid solar energy harvester

Abstract

Solar energy is one of the most abundant renewable energy sources that can be utilized to provide both electrical and thermal power. PV cells have seen great efficiency improvements in the past years, furthermore according to Swanson's law PV cells become more and more affordable, but a lot of obstacles in effective utilization are still present. Energy harvesting systems with solar tracker can obtain significant improvement in solar energy exposure in comparison with static systems. The aim of this paper is to investigate the efficiency improvement given by a dual axis automated solar tracker and the maintenance and evaluation benefits of a real-time monitoring system.