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46-50 A Review on Solar Tracking Systems and Their Classifications

Article in Journal of Energy Environmental & Chemical Engineering · January 2017

DOI: 10.11648/j.jeece.20170203.12

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Journal of Energy, Environmental & Chemical Engineering
2017; 2(3): 46-50
http://www.sciencepublishinggroup.com/j/jeece
doi: 10.11648/j.jeece.20170203.12

Review Article
A Review on Solar Tracking Systems and Their
Classifications
Muhammad Jamilu Ya'u
Mechanical Engineering, Bayero University, Kano, Nigeria

Email address:
muhdjy87@gmail.com

To cite this article:

Muhammad Jamilu Ya'u. A Review on Solar Tracking Systems and Their Classifications. Journal of Energy, Environmental & Chemical
Engineering. Vol. 2, No. 3, 2017, pp. 46-50. doi: 10.11648/j.jeece.20170203.12

Received: June 11, 2017; Accepted: July 4, 2017; Published: August 1, 2017

Abstract: The output power produced by high concentration solar thermal and photovoltaic systems is directly related to the
amount of solar energy acquired by the system. Therefore, it is necessary to track the sun’s position with a high degree of
accuracy. This can be achieved by the system called solar tracking system. Solar tracking system is the most common method of
increasing amount of solar radiation from the sun to the solar collectors either Flat plate or concentrated collectors. The main
objective of this research is to review different tracking mechanisms for solar tracking system, 18 papers were reviewed. The
result showed that solar tracking system can either be dual axis or single axis trackers depending on freedom degree of motion.
Dual axis trackers are the best option for places where the position of the sun keeps changing during the year at different seasons.
Single axis trackers are a better option for places around the equator where there is no significant change in the apparent position
of the sun.
Keywords: Azimuth Angle, Tilt Angle, Dual Axis Sun Tracker, Single Axis Sun Tracker

energy that gets extracted, distributed, converted and

1. Introduction consumed every single day in the global society. Fossil fuels
Solar energy is clean and available in abundance. Solar account for around 85 percent of energy that is produced.
technologies use the sun for provision of heat, light and Fossil fuel resources are limited and using them is known to
electricity. These are for industrial and domestic applications. cause global warming because of emission of greenhouse
With the alarming rate of depletion of major conventional gases. There is a growing need for energy from such sources
energy sources like petroleum, coal and natural gas, coupled as solar, wind, ocean tidal waves and geothermal for the
with environmental caused by the process of harnessing these provision of sustainable and power.
energy sources, it has become an urgent necessity to invest in Solar panels directly convert radiation from the sun into
renewable energy sources that can power the future electrical energy. The panels are mainly manufactured from
sufficiently. The energy potential of the sun is immense. semiconductor materials, notably silicon. Their efficiency is
Despite the unlimited resource however, harvesting it presents 24.5% on the higher side. Three ways of increasing the
a challenge because of the limited efficiency of the array cells. efficiency of the solar panels are through increase of cell
The best efficiency of the majority of commercially efficiency, maximizing the power output and the use of a
available solar cells ranges between 10 and 20 percent. This tracking system.
shows that there is still room for improvement. This research Solar tracking is a system that is mechanized to track the
seeks to identify a way of improving efficiency of solar panels. position of the sun to increase power output by between 30%
Solar tracking is used. The tracking mechanism moves and and 60% than systems that are stationary [1]. It is a more cost
positions the solar array such that it is positioned for effective solution than the purchase of solar panels.
maximum power output. The solar radiation affects the World civilization in many
When it comes to the development of any nation, energy is ways depending on the advanced technology of one country to
the main driving factor. There is an enormous quantity of another. Nigeria is among the countries blessed with solar
 Journal of Energy, Environmental & Chemical Engineering 2017; 2(3): 46-50 47

energy resource abundantly, especially in the northern part of system was capable of reducing the tracking error to a value of
the country [2]. In Nigeria, renewable energy constitutes about less than 0.01° (0.2 mrad).
90% of the energy utilized by the rural population, who make In 1998, Khalifa and Al-Mutawalli [9] developed a
up about 70% of the nation [3]. These renewable energy two-axis sun tracking system to enhance the thermal
resources are presently not fully developed to generate performance of a compound parabolic concentrator. The
electrical energy [4]. system was designed to track the sun’s position every three to
The cost of installation of solar power to industries and big four minutes in the horizontal plane and every four to five
houses is very expensive because of need of solar panels. So, minutes in the vertical plane. Abdallah [10] investigated the
this project is to fix the problem that occurs here. This solar respective effects of four different electro-mechanical
tracking system can detect a 180 degree of rotation. So, the sun-tracking systems on the current, voltage and power
solar panel that can be generating here is very high compared characteristics of a flat-plate photovoltaic system. The results
to when the solar panel is fixed in one direction. So, the showed that tracking systems comprising two axes, one
industries and families don’t have to install more than one vertical axis, one east-west axis and one north-south axis, and
solar panel to generate enough power. One solar panel is one north-south axis, increased the electrical output powers of
enough to produce a lot of power. the photovoltaic system by around 43.87%, 37.53%, 34.43%
There are various types of trackers that can be used for and 15.69%, respectively, compared to that obtained from a
increase in the amount of energy that can be obtained by solar photovoltaic system with a fixed surface inclined at 32° to the
panels. Dual axis trackers are among the most efficient, north. In 1983, Al-Naima and Yaghobian [11] developed a
though this comes with increased complexity. Dual trackers solar tracking system featuring a two-axis equatorial mount
track sunlight from both axes. They are the best option for and a microprocessor, in which the tracking operation was
places where the position of the sun keeps changing during the performed on the basis of the astronomical coordinates of the
year at different seasons. sun. The experimental results demonstrated that the proposed
Single axis trackers are a better option for places around the system yielded a significantly better tracking performance
equator where there is no significant change in the apparent than that obtained by a conventional sensor controlled system.
position of the sun. In 2004, Abdallah and Nijmeh [12] developed an
The level to which the efficiency is improved will depend electro-mechanical, two-axis tracking system in which the
on the efficiency of the tracking system and the weather. Very motion of the sun tracking surface was controlled by an
efficient trackers will offer more efficiency because they are open-loop control algorithm implemented using a PLC unit.
able to track the sun with more precision. There will be bigger The proposed system incorporated two separate tracking
increase in efficiency in cases where the weather is sunny and motors, namely one motor to rotate the sun tracking surface
thus favorable for the tracking system [5]. about the horizontal north-south axis, i.e. to adjust the slope of
the surface and the other to rotate the sun tracking surface
2. Review on Solar Tracker about the vertical axis, i.e. to adjust the azimuth angle of the
surface. The experimental results indicated that the two-axis
A reasonable amount of work in a field of solar tracking tracking system increased the total daily energy collection by
system has been carried-out, some of these are discussed approximately 41.34% compared with that obtained from a
below based on freedom degree of motion (Dual axis and fixed surface tilted at 32° towards the south.
single axis sun tracking) together with findings. Helwa [13] studied the solar energy captured by different
solar tracking systems. They calculated the solar energy
2.1. Review on Dual (Two) Axis Sun Trackers collected by using measured global, beam and diffused
In a recent study Abdulrahim [6] carried out the design radiations on a horizontal surface. Four systems were used in
analysis of solar bi-focal collectors with the basic units their experiments: fixed system with tilt angle of 40° due
comprising the paraboloid concentrators, receivers and south, one-axis azimuthally tracking with tilt angle of 33°,
support/connectors. The design of the receivers is such that it one-axis tracking oriented in the N – S direction with 68 tilt
works on thermo-siphon principle while the heat energy angle and two-axis tracking system, one axis vertical and the
requirement for each receiver is 650kJ. Solar energy required other horizontal. They developed formulas for three modes of
to provide the needed power input in the collector’s receiver is radiation that come in contact with the surfaces and wrote a
amounted to 0.967kJ/s. The results of the analysis revealed computer program in BASIC to calculate and store daily
that each collector has diameter of the receiver of 0.3 m, radiation for each system. The comparison between
aperture diameter of 1.4m and internal surface area of 1.53 m2. calculated and measured data showed the annual average for
In 1992, Agarwal [7] presented a two axis tracking system the hourly root mean square difference (RMSD) values of
consisting of worm gear drives and four bar-type kinematic 5.36, 9.07, 7.92 and 5.98 for the fixed, vertical axis tracker,
linkages to facilitate the accurate focusing of the reflectors in a tilted axis tracker and two-axis tracker systems, respectively.
solar concentrator system. Brown and Stone [8] developed a All values were in the acceptable range. In 1995, Mumba [14]
tracking system for solar concentrators in which a neural developed a manual solar tracking system for a PV powered
network was applied to an error model in order to compensate grain drier working in two positions. A 12 V, 0.42 A, DC
for tracking errors. The test data showed that the resulting suction fan powered with PV was placed in the air inlet. To
48 Muhammad Jamilu Ya'u: A Review on Solar Tracking Systems and Their Classifications

improve collector module efficiency, the sun was tracked 308 2.2. Review on Single (One) Axis Sun Trackers
from the horizontal. Mumba investigated the performance
under four cases: PV fan-off without sun-tracking, PV fan-on Kalogirou [18] presented a one-axis sun tracking system
without sun-tracking, PV fan-off with sun-tracking and PV utilizing three light-dependent resistors (LDRs). Lorenzo [19]
fan-on with sun-tracking. In the sun tracking cases the designed a single vertical axis (azimuth axis) PV tracker and
collector module angled manually eastward at 8.00 a.m. and evaluated backtracking features. Each of 400 trackers
westward at 2.00 p.m. while the collector module was tilted installed in Spain used a 0.25 hp standard AC motor. The tilt
15° from the horizontal to match the sun’s elevation. It was angle of the PV surfaces remained constant. They mentioned
concluded that from uniform air temperature point of view, that the energy collected by an ideal azimuth tracker was
the fanon sun-tracking case was the best, giving a about 40% higher than that corresponding to an optimally
temperature of 60.8°C. From uniform energy gain point of tilted static surface and 10% higher than that of horizontal
view, the sun-tracking cases performed superior to that of axis tracking. They calculated the E–W and N–S shadowing
non-tracking ones. It was concluded that a solar air heater between two adjacent trackers occurred in the morning or
with manual sun-tracking facility can improve the thermal afternoon. They recommended that when shadowing occurs,
efficiency up to 80%. it can be avoided by moving the surface’s azimuth angle
Felske [15] evaluated the variation of azimuth and tilt away from its ideal value, just enough to get the shadow
angle on effectiveness of flat plate solar collectors. It was borderline to pass through the corner of the adjacent surface
concluded that for a given tilt angle, the yearly energy (backtracking). Their comparison showed that the azimuth
collection is almost insensitive to azimuth angle until the tracking land was 40% greater than static surface while the
vertical orientation is approached at which the collected corresponding energy cost can be significantly reduced.
energy actually increases with increasing the azimuth angle. Chicco [20] experimentally assessed the production of the
In this case, the optimum tilt angle is quite insensitive to PV plants in the sun-tracking and fixed modes in three
azimuth angle. For a given azimuth angle, an optimum different sites. In the first site, 15 individual systems
collector tilt angle is between 3o and 10o less than the latitude. controlled by one coordinate tracking system were compared
Finally, it was mentioned that even for locations having with a 0° azimuth and 36° elevation angles as fixed cases. In
symmetric irradiation about solar noon it is desirable to the second site, 90 individual systems with separate
orient the collector west of south, since afternoon coordinate-controlled tracking were compared with 0°
temperatures are usually higher than morning temperatures. azimuth and 30° elevation fixed system. For the third site, the
Comsit and Visa [16] designed a synthesis linkage, based on position of the sun-tracking system was being updated every
multi-body systems method for dual axis sun-tracking in 15 min and the fixed system maintained at a tilt angle of 30°
solar energy conversion systems. They identified all possible with 35° elevation angle. The results showed that the average
graphs based on spatiality of the multi-body system, type of improvement, using the sun-tracking system, was 32.9 and
the geometrical constraints (simple and/or compound), 35.1% from the simulated values and 37.7 and 30.4% from
number of bodies and the mobility of the multi-body system. the actual data for the first and second sites, respectively. For
To be more reliable, they recommended decoupled motions the third site, an annual improvement of 31.5% for the
for these tracking systems. sun-tracking system was obtained.
Shrishti [17] developed automatic dual axis solar tracker In 1996, Ibrahim [21] constructed an electronically
system is a design and implementation of a polar single axis one-axis concentrating collector with an electric motor for
solar panel tracker. It has a fixed vertical axis and an forced circulation. The collector was hinged at two points for
adjustable horizontal motor controlled axis. This setup is its tilt adjustment with a tightening screw to continuously
similar to an office swivel chair. The tracker actively track the track the sun from east to west through a range of 180°. The
sun and change its position accordingly to maximize the collector efficiency was measured for different values of
energy output. To prevent wasting power by running the motor mass flow rates. It was concluded that the collector efficiency
continuously, the tracker corrects it's position after 2 to 3 increases (reaching the maximum value of 62%) as the mass
degrees of misalignment. The sensors compare the light flow rate increases. In 2006, Mwithiga and Kigo [22]
intensities of each side and move the panels until the tracker designed and constructed a dryer with limited sun-tracking
detects equal light on both sides. Additionally, it prevents capability that operated manually. The dryer consisted of a
rapid changes in direction that might be caused by reflections, gauge 20 mild steel flat absorber plate formed into a topless
such as cars passing by. A rear sensor circuit is also box. The drying unit was bolted onto a shaft which in turn
incorporated to aid in repositioning the solar panels for the was mounted on to a stand so as to face E–W direction. A
next sunrise. The gear motor has overturn triggers to prevent selector disc on the stand allowed the tilt angle that the
the panel from rotating 360° and entangling wires. The motor drying unit made with the horizontal, to be easily adjusted in
control and sensing circuitry runs on batteries charged by the increments of at least 158. This way, the collector plate could
solar panel. This system uses three small 10W solar panels of be intermittently adjusted in order to track the sun during the
approximately 15 inches by 10 inches to model larger panels day. Four dryer settings for tracking the sun were created.
used in industry. The dryer was set at an angle of 60° to the horizontal facing
east at 8.00 a.m. They adjusted the angle of the dryer made
 Journal of Energy, Environmental & Chemical Engineering 2017; 2(3): 46-50 49

with the horizontal either one, three, five or nine times a day with the sun keeping in mind the end goal to maximize its
when either loaded with coffee beans or under no load energy output.
conditions. The results showed that the solar dryer can be
used to successfully dry grains. Drying of coffee beans could 3. Discussion
be reduced to 2–3 days as opposed to sun drying without
tracking system, which takes 5–7 days and the temperature Taking into consideration all reviewed articles, dual (two)
inside the chamber could reach a maximum of 70.48°C axis sun trackers are the best option for places where the
Khalid [23] constructed Single Axis Automatic Solar postion of the sun keeps changing during the year at different
Tracking System and demonstrated a novel method which will seasons, whereas the single axis trackers are a better option
automatically track the sun’s position and accordingly change for places around the equator where there is no significant
the direction of the solar panel to get the maximum output change in the apparent position of the sun. Sun trackers are
from the solar cell with the help with IC LM339N, Sensor categorized solely in one-axis or two-axis trackers. However,
(LDR) and DC geared motor. The paper offers a dependable the tracking surfaces including passive or active trackers may
and reasonable strategy for adjusting a aligning a solar module also be classified as in figure 1 below:

Figure 1. Types of Sun Trackers.

mechanisms can be broadly classified as either dual (two) axis

4. Conclusion and Recommendations or single (one) axis sun trackers, depending on their freedom
4.1. Conclusion degree of motion. The tracking mechanisms of each type have
been reviewed and their performance discussed. Overall, the
This paper has presented a review of different tracking results presented in this review confirm the applicability of
mechanisms for sun tracking systems developed over the past sun tracking system for a diverse range of high performance
20 years. It has been shown that these sun tracking solar-based applications.
50 Muhammad Jamilu Ya'u: A Review on Solar Tracking Systems and Their Classifications

4.2. Recommendation flat plate photovoltaics. Energy Conversion Management. (45):

1671-1679.
After the review of different tracking mechanisms of sun
[11] Al-Naima, F. M. and Yaghobian, N. A (1990). Design and
tracking system, the following recommendations have been construction of a solar tracking system. Solar Wind Technology
drawn: (7): 611-617.
a) There is a need of another review that includes more
papers on sun tracking system. [12] Abdallah, S. and Nijmeh, S. (2004). Two axes sun tracking
system with PLC control. Energy Conversion Management.
b) There is also need for design and construction of these (45): 1931-1939.
types of trackers to test the efficiency of each.
[13] Helwa N. H, Bahgat A. B. G, Shafee AMRE, and Shenawy
ETE (2000). Computation of the solar energy captured by
different solar tracking systems. Energy Sources; (22): 35–44.
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