Design and implementation of a fuzzy logic computer-controlled sun tracking system

This paper considers design and implementation of a computer-controlled sun tracking system to enhance the power output of photovoltaic (PV) solar panels. The tracking system is driven by two permanent magnet DC motors to provide motion of the PV panels in two axes. The control of the dual axis tracking system is not an easy task due to nonlinear dynamics and unavailability of the model parameters. Therefore, a PC-based fuzzy logic control algorithm utilizing the knowledge of the system behavior is designed in order to achieve the control objectives. The implementation of such a controller is realized by building an interfacing card consisting of sensor data acquisition, motor driving circuits, signal conditioning circuits and serial communication with the PC. A set of laboratory demonstrations shows the capability of the system to track the sun effectively.