Modelling and analysis of 1kW photovoltaic power system with two-axis solar tracker mechanism

The performance of photovoltaic system varies according to values such as solar irradiance, temperature, and wind speed. The most important factor that determined the system efficiency is solar irradiation which depends of sun's current position. Current position of the sun varies depends on time. Thus, fixed photovoltaic panels can't get solar irradiance enough. Solar tracker systems track the movement of the sun and sets it's azimuth and elevation angles accordingly. Single-axis solar trackers are used in photovoltaic systems as well as two-axis solar trackers. Although, single-axis solar trackers tracks only the sun azimuth or elevation axis, two-axis trackers tracks both azimuth and elevation axis. Thanks to tracking systems, photovoltaic systems performance can be increased up to 57%. In this thesis, 1 kW photovoltaic power system with two-axis solar tracker mechanism is modeled and simulated for Izmir city with MATLAB/SIMULINK environment. Then, the proposed system is compared to currently employed system that operates under similar conditions. Furthermore, extensive discussion on the systems performance are provided. Keywords: Solar tracker, photovoltaic module, charge regulator, battery, linear motor, microcontroller