Home-made Solar Tracking System with no electronics for solar panel or solar oven
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- Опубликовано: 5 окт 2012
- See how to make your own home-made solar tracker. It's easy and effective. No special electronics or programming needed. Great for use with a solar panel system or a maintenance-free solar oven.
Here is a link for the wiring diagram for the solar cells and 12VDC motor: • Solar Tracker Wiring D...
Here is a link to a kit that includes the motor, solar cells and turntable: www.ebay.com/itm/-/272385153619?
Here is a link to just the motor: www.ebay.com/itm/-/331972060730?
Here is a link to just the solar cells used in this tracker: www.ebay.com/itm/-/271090629958?
This panel can put out close to 100 watts ruclips.net/user/postUgkxOqI2yqX0XVrhR2BMJciTWrHJpG8FhJyg when positioned in the appropriate southernly direction, tilted to the optimal angle for your latitude/date, and connected to a higher capacity device than a 500. The built in kickstand angle is a fixed at 50 degrees. Up to 20% more power can be output by selecting the actual date and latitude optimal angle.The 500 will only input 3.5A maximum at 18 volts for 63 watts. Some of the excess power from the panel can be fed into a USB battery bank, charged directly from the panel while also charging a 500. This will allow you to harvest as much as 63 + 15 = 78 watts.If this panel is used to charge a larger device, such as the power station, then its full output potential can be realized.
Very simple and elegant. I'm an M.E.and I love the simplicity of your design. Thank you!
I had always thought about how I could make a simple tracking system. This beats any thing that I had come up with. Thanks for a great idea.
Saeid
This exact setup would work great to turn any size application. I am an inventor/auto mechanic and I see relays that use 3.3v current to control 12v 100 amp circuits all day long. the same concept could be applied in a motor control circuit for even utility scale solar panels. Well done! GREAT proof of concept!
great job, I built one like this a few years ago, but I didn't think of the two extra panels to direct it in the morning. needless to say I had to reset my panels every morning. you got this down, I will use this to fix my old unit and I can now use it again, Thank you !
Your video really helped me figure out a DIY tracking system. Sooo simple. Thanks for taking the time to make the video.I loved the frame from the satellite dish. Someone always complains about something- ignore them. Who cares if a magazine published something-You made a video for us visual people. Thank You !
Probably been mentioned before seeing the age of the video but a worm drive would be perfect for stopping the wind from moving it all about
Excellent simple idea for solar tracking.
This can be scaled up by using the wires going instead of to the motor but to a set of relays that could trigger a worm drive motor. A gate opener using worm drive would work in connection to a parallel axis mount for the solar panels.
This simple genius requiring no computer logistics.
Thank you.
No batteries to die. No electronics to fry. Just one simple servo and 4 small solar panels to power the servo. It's freakin genius. A very elegant solution.
Thanks for posting! I've been thinking about developing a simple method for doing this, and here you've got it already. Excellent!
Man - You're awesome - it's fantastic. A brilliant basis to inspire our own ideas! Thanks for sharing.
I like it, its simple, easy to maintain and great design. Thank you for the great idea.
Excellent work!
If the axis of rotation of the device is parallel to the Earth's axis, you have an equatorial mount. You can get it by giving the axis a amount of tilt equal to the latitude angle, and aiming the top end toward the nearest pole. That is, I am at the South Pole, therefore I must aim the South Pole. That is easy to do with a compass toy. An equatorial mount allows you to point directly at the sun with more precision. If you want to narrow your focus, you can consider the season. That is, in winter you aim a little lower than in summer. BUT DON'T VARY THE TILT OF THE AXIS.
Any resource/link to study this?
I'm working on something similar and just came across your video. It gives me more confidence in making mine work. I'm using a geared motor which actually can run on 1.5v. Thanks for posting.
thanks for the great video. I had almost the exact same image in my head as you created here. Nice idea on the solar panel angles.
I also envision a design where the motor is underneath the base and works like a lazy Susan so no belt drive, more compact, and the weight of the motor helping to hold it in place.
Awesome job, designing something similar with the angled solar cells but using an arduino as the brain. Love your s implicit design, fewer things that can go wrong. Thanks for sharing.
Had my doubts but made one with the same type panels and motor , it worked. Modified it to mount a solar electric livestock fencer on it, 5 years later it's still tracking 24/7/ 365
This is excellent. A major problem solver for me. Definitely using this idea!
Yes, using this for a solar oven would be GREAT application for this concept.
Great concept, I think scaling this up using relays and linear actuators could move any size solar panel array, thanks for the video
IW...EXCELLENT VIDEO MY FRIEND... AT SUCH YOUNG AGE AND YOU WERE ALREADY SO VERY SMART INDEED...WOW!!! BEAUTIFUL JOB AND DEMONSTRATION BUDDY!!! VERY USEFUL, VERY SIMPLE...AND PRETTY POWERFUL MECHANISM FOR ITS SIZE!!! GOTTA BUILD THAT FOR MYSELF!!! THANKS FOR SHARING...GOD BLESS!!!
Very good and you can use more cells for a heavier load. I'll have a go at making one of these. Thanks!
one of the best simple way to do a great thing... bravo!!!!
Thank you for this video,great work. I have been working on a similar projekt, but i would like to use the solar power for other things when not driving the motor. It will need a simle motor control. I like it so simple as posibly.
I saw this same setup a few years ago, but yours is way better. It is hard to believe those little panels can move a motor with enough torque to move the motors. The simplicity is way makes this so cheap and easy. It is a perfect design, and that is rare. But I wonder if this would put any extra wear and tear on any of the components, like the cells or the motor. ...which are the ONLY components now that I think about it. My feeling would be that it would not hurt the cells or the motor. Who knows, it might even preserve the solar cells. Thanks for this wonderful video.
Nice job dude, nice solution to the morning reorientation. Elegantly simple
very genius. I was thinking about how to make a sun tracker and you just solve my problem :)
So simple and intelligent at the same time, love it.
very creative! excellent idea, i will be implementing it for my solar panels. thank you very much for making my life
alot easier!
How did it work?
This is pretty cool, thanks for sharing it.... Now we need to make it full scale....
Brilliant! So simple too, did you think of this? To reduce the size of the sensing array you could use around 1cm² cells in a dome (like a snow globe) and use electronics to amplify the tracker (and use a larger motor for a larger array).
Arduino could definitely do it using analog inputs, reading voltage drop of a loading resistor if the cell voltages are too stable open circuit.
Thanks for the idea!
Great idea. Concept is similar to a semiconductor circuitry approach: differential signals, implemented with solar power sources, and a DC motor. Very good discussion. One more point: Solar cell outputs would have to be matched, left to right. Bravo!
Thx for the vid... it is cool that it doesn't require external power, no electronic components.... to solve the lack of power, you can add 2 relays and feed a dc motor directly from the bigger pv panels... gonna try that here... thx again for the idea...
Well Done it gave me a little tingle in my stomach.
Best tracker I've ever seen uses freon in a closed system. All done using balance. No moving parts.
Good job! you could also add another axis that goes up and down for the sun vertical position depending on the year station
Brilliant ! simplicity is the ultimate invention
Thanks for the info. mine runs great. 4 6 volt to the motor and two larger 12 that run my pond pumps
Thanks dude.
you really made it easy without using any pv cells or by mean of any sensors.
That's a clever design! Simple and effective!
Freakin BRILLIANT!! If you mass marketed this for a Sun Oven, I would definitely be a customer!!
Great video. I love your though process. Ingenious
Some the the most complicated actions are done by the simplest machines! Cheers man!
Thank you for your well done video on the use of the differential solar panels to power the motor. It appears to work well. However you should be aware that although your device works reasonably well at capturing the sun throughout the day at your apparent latitude, you are rotating about the vertical axis relative to the earth while you should be rotating about the panel's horizontal to best capture the sun. Set one horizontal solar panel angle to your geographic degrees latitude, then rotate the panel about the other horizontal axis to capture the sun as it moves east to west.
Your device would work perfectly in Alaska and perform worse as you move toward the equator where it would have no effect.
Your engineering model is excellent. I just wanted to point out the distinction between rotation on the different axes.
Great for use with a solar panel system or a maintenance-free solar oven. awesome video thanks for sharing...
Very informative, nice video. I'm getting ready to put some solar up on the roof one way or the other; and I like the design work of that device.
but a wonderfully easy solar tracker so thank you for the video, exactly what I have been looking for.
Nice job, follows the KISS principle well!
thank you so much for sharing this idea good job
Brilliant indeed, very much simple.
Simple and good , very nice
wow!!! great idea and concept AND thanks for sharing!!!
I was thinking about this but i was thought the hard way of it
Like the Idea , Grate thinking
Very simple and effective concept. Like another poster asked, weight load of main array? I see the gearbox on the motor and see the larger main pulley but courious on how it would handle having an array attached and if that small motor (and small amount of current produced by those cells) would have the torque to rotate it.
VERY smart and simple idea!
I have some very very very expensive maxon servos and SAIA geared steppers that you can have if you build me one if these.
This is really a good idea! No logic involved is so nice. very nice!
elegant and simple design!
nice idea....
I will try it
a verry good idea, thank you
Thank you very much for a fantastic video!
So nice and easy
Very nice trick. well done.
its a good idea but you have to be careful when both sides are generating electricity, the panels will short circuit a little bit, you could add some diodes to avoid this
How would you wire this system with diodes?
Take your time, its not a trick question. :P
use the quiz master circuit just 2 relais who disconnect the others connection
Dashed clever device. I hope you've patented it and stand to make a fortune from it's manufacture/sales.
Nicely done
Good an simple, This is the way forward.
Brilliant. Thanks for posting!
Thanks for this, I've been wonding how to do this for a while. wasn't the belt slipping a bit?
Freaking genious. Well done!
Genius brother. Great job.
Nice 👍, you can try ,attaching really to the out put of panel with diodes ,and after that you can attached larger moving motor with other voltage source
hi a..how do i arrange the gears on the motors to enable the tracker to move
I will use it with my solar oven, no need to check it every twenty minutes. Thanks
super simple... i like it.
you could mount the smaller cells to the outer track of a system and have it focus that way to remove the divider he has in place but good job will take this in to consideration thanks for posting
great content thanks
Great Job thanks
Genius system; gonna build one. Thanks!
How did it go?
Incubatorwarehouse: I have a few questions regarding the materials you used in this video, if you don't mind.
1) What brand and model did you use for your solar panels and LDRs? Also where did you get them from?
2) What kind of wires did you need to connect your solar panels/LDRs to the motors?
We're in a mechanical engineering senior design group @ Rutgers University and a solar tracking system like this would really help our efficiency.
Thank you so much!!
Would a motor and arm from a car window do a better job and be more stable?
Could be used Horizontal or vertical if well connected.
I would really like more info on the components of the solar tracker. I've got the base and the solar dish stand. What else will I need?
super interesting
I know it has been a month, but I will answer anyway. If you put the leads of your multimeter on a solar panel in direct sun, it will read, lets say, 15 volts. If you reverse the leads on your multimeter it will read -15 volts. If you wire the pos of one panel to the neg of the other and do the same with the other two leads and then test, you will get 0 volts. If you cover one panel slowly you will see the voltage slowly rise one direction or the other. Simple hack. Brilliant.
love your channel
Your system is completely linear and analog - simplicity is it's selling point. As the error in angle goes to zero, so does the power to the motor. You can make it a lot more power efficient and quicker to slew by adding a window comparator + H bridge made of 2 PMOS and 2 NMOS devices. That way, the motor can get full power until the error is within a small window around zero error. All hardware - no programming needed!
I think this was a proof of concept more than a prototype
Would you post a diagram? Simple pencil sketch will suffice.
Thank you
Would be grateful for a diagram
Robert T: Can you make a diagram for us please?
Thanks!
Robert please make a diagram!
Great, especially reorienting the panel to the east in the morning
do the solar cell have to have the diodes installed? I made a sun seeker as i call it and it works perfectly. it run two pumps in my pond thanks. i like the NO electronic to go wrong
i'm stuck with the base strong enough to bare the main panel. what bearing did you use to make the base rotate??
btw good very good project
Great project. Is this connected in a wheatstone bridge configuration?
Brilliant!
You could use small relays to switch an actuator or solenoid, Ive tried this but you need a couple of diodes to get it to work!
Cool. I have been looking for this answer for a long time. Thanks. Could you provide the motor make and tech data like amps and voltage? Also how big are both pullies? And what is the power and size of the solar panels you use as the power supply? And what are the detentions of the sun divider in the center of the panels? Thanks for sharing.
One word. Genius.
great work!
Extremely nice post - I have seen a few like this - but I am still unclear about how this was actually done . Are you considering proving any details about how you wired the cells together - and to the motor ?
Good video 👍
AWESOME! Didn't want to delve into arduino to get tracking. This is just the ticket! Maybe post vid of timelapse of this tracking thru a day!? Also post schematics? Would help. Also maybe parts list, where you sourced, and costs? Thnx for posting!
I love the idea, but cant stop wondering what would happen when the wind hits it. Ofcourse If you know a storm is coming there should be a way to lock it or take it down.
Maybe make a rotation lock that opens only when the sun hits the side panel(s).
Or a wind sensor that locks the whole thing down when it hits a spesific wind speed.
very cool. would you need diodes to ensure power does not go back to the cells (on a larger scale system)?
Okay, I have really drilled into this and ran it to ground. FYI everyone. Here's what he didn't say, but is how it works. First, try to use a motor from a printer (old, broken, used, whatever). Why a printer motor? Because it moves in two directions based on "Polarity." On one side of the solar cells he shows ('left' for example), attach the positive wire to the positive side of the motor, and the negative wire to the negative side of the motor. On the other side ('right' for example), reverse this...attaching the positive wire to the negative side of the motor, and the negative wire to the positive side. So, when the sunlight on the 'left' is stronger, for example, the motor turns to the left, moving the turntable to the left. When more sunlight hits the right side, then it overpowers the left and turns to the right...when the sunlight is equal between them, the motor stops...and you'll note a 'zero' output on the cells if you have a voltammeter attached to read the voltage. This is my understanding of his system, and I'm gathering the parts now for my own system. Here's what he says about the solar cells and parts he's using:
"For parts, it is mostly just random items we had around the shop. We only had to purchase the mono-crystalline mini solar cells. Here is a basic parts list: 12 mini solar cells (each is 2V, 150mA) a used satellite dish, a large wooded pulley that was taken from home-made pulley system, a mini pulley (available at any hardware store) a fan belt, a 2 rpm DC motor, a lazy-susan pivot purchased from Home Depot, some random plastic and hot glue to mount the solar cells."
Make me one