Optimal Strategy for the Improvement of the Overall Performance of Dual-Axis Solar Tracking Systems

Diego A. Flores-Hernández, Alberto Luviano-Juárez, Norma Lozada-Castillo, Octavio Gutiérrez-Frías, César Domínguez and Ignacio Antón
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Diego A. Flores-Hernández: Instituto Politécnico Nacional, UPIITA, Av. IPN 2580 Col. Barrio la Laguna Ticomán, GAM, Mexico City CP 07340, Mexico
Alberto Luviano-Juárez: Instituto Politécnico Nacional, UPIITA, Av. IPN 2580 Col. Barrio la Laguna Ticomán, GAM, Mexico City CP 07340, Mexico
Norma Lozada-Castillo: Instituto Politécnico Nacional, UPIITA, Av. IPN 2580 Col. Barrio la Laguna Ticomán, GAM, Mexico City CP 07340, Mexico
Octavio Gutiérrez-Frías: Instituto Politécnico Nacional, UPIITA, Av. IPN 2580 Col. Barrio la Laguna Ticomán, GAM, Mexico City CP 07340, Mexico
César Domínguez: Institute of Solar Energy, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Avenida Complutense 30, 28040 Madrid, Spain
Ignacio Antón: Institute of Solar Energy, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Avenida Complutense 30, 28040 Madrid, Spain

Energies, 2021, vol. 14, issue 22, 1-24

Abstract: Solar Tracking Systems are useful to increase the generation efficiency of photovoltaic technology, mainly for concentration technology, where dual-axis is required on account of the high accurate alignment to the Sun. Even when there exists a strong relation between tracking error and energy efficiency, multiple technological and research developments have sought to solve these problems independently. The present research proposes a novel concurrent design methodology for optimizing the overall performance of two-axis trackers, allowing to keep a balance between the tracking error and the energy consumption from the design stage, from an optimization approach. The concurrent approach was implemented to design a Solar Tracker as a solar monitoring system, was compared with four commercial systems, obtaining a similar pointing accuracy with a mixed tracking error of 0.0942 ° . The system has the best energy balance, consuming only 0.9641 % of the energy generated for the tracking action, below commercial models. Finally, a CO 2 impact analysis was carried out, where the proposed tracker obtained the lowest value, with 25.7018 g. The results support the developed concurrent strategy for the optimization of the overall performance of dual-axis systems, allowing us to find a harmonic balance between the energy consumption and the required tracking accuracy.

Keywords: concurrent optimization; Solar Tracking Systems; dual-axis; tracking error; energy budget (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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