IoT Based Solar Tracking and Monitoring System

In today’s era, our life is dependent on energy. The development of the Nation is somehow associated with the availability of energy. So, the use of renewable energy is the only way to fulfil the demands of people. Solar energy is the most eminent and renewable & cleanest source of energy. It can easily be harnessed with the help of solar photovoltaic (PV) panels. But, most of the solar panels are positioned at fixed angles. To maximize the amount of solar radiation collected by a solar panel, we use a solar tracking device whose function is to follow the sun orthogonally throughout the day. This project is based on the tracking of the sun with the help of light dependent resistor (LDR). The tracking mechanism of the sun requires LDR as a sensor to sense the maximum light availability & two DC servo motor for two-axis movement (i.e., vertical and horizontal) to direct the position of the solar panel. The software part is done with the help of written code using a Node MCU (ESP8266) Wi-Fi Development Board controller. This paper proposed a model of a dual-axis solar tracker with minimum complexities & more feasible in terms of cost and operation.