Design, Implementation and Solar Energy Efficiency Comparison between a Dual Axis and a Single Axis Solar Panel Tracker in Sea Vehicles

Sea vehicles such as cruise ships require so much electrical energy. They have multiple diesel generators to meet those requirements. Usage of fossil fuels to power those generators is creating economic problems which leads to a search for an alternative energy source to produce electricity. Producing electrical energy by using solar photovoltaic cells is one of the popular green energy production methods. However, solar energy applications are facing efficiency problems. In order to get the maximum efficiency from the panel, the sunlight has to be normal to the surface of the panel. The intensity and angle of radiation of the sunlight changes from earth`s season to season thus making the fixed solar panels less effective. There are several ways of improving the performance of solar panels. Improving the material of panels is one way of increasing efficiency and the other way is to use electromechanical solar trackers. In this thesis, a simple model of dual axis sun tracking system is designed and implemented on a sea vehicle to make a performance analysis of three different modes of the designed system which are; Azimuth-Axis Tracking Mode, Altitude-Axis Tracking Mode and Dual-Axis Tracking Mode. A 3D model of the system is designed in the NX ® platform. A voltage sensor and current sensor is used to record the data. The recorded data is then copied from the serial monitor of Arduino and transferred to Microsoft Excel table. The results showed that the use of the Dual‐Axis Tracking mode produced more charge and energy output when compared with Zenithal Axis Solar Tracking mode Azimuth Axis Solar Tracking mode.