Performance Evaluation of a Pseudo Two-axis Sun Tracking System

Tracking the sun is an important method for increasing the electricity generation of photovoltaic panels. Sun tracking systems are designed to track the sun with one axis or two axes, based upon solar azimuth angle and altitude angle. In this research, a pseudo two-axis sun tracker is presented and applied for installing the photovoltaic panel on. In this tracking system, one rotating motor is used instead of two, and more solar radiation is absorbed compared with common one-axis tracking systems. The results show that pseudo two-axis sun tracking system gains 2.82% more radiation than the conventional one-axis sun tracker. Through adjusting the angle two times a year, 4.01% more radiation is gained and adjusting the angle four times a year results in gaining 4.12% more radiation, while using a two-axis sun tracker results in 4.39% more radiation on the panel compared with one-axis sun tracker. The pseudo two-axis sun tracker’s performance with adjusting angle four times a year has little difference with two-axis sun tracker and due to using one motor instead of two, using a pseudo two-axis sun tracker is more economical. The percentage of increased radiation of pseudo two-axis sun tracker compared with fixed panel differs for various cities, which could be as high as 31% for some major Iranian cities.