A Study on Implementation of PV Tracking for Sites Proximate and Away from the Equator

The performance of photovoltaic (PV) system depends upon the orientation and the site climatic conditions. Solar PV tracking systems align the modules perpendicular to the incoming solar radiation. In this paper, six locations with latitudes 0° through 55° were selected to investigate the PV system performance using single-axis (horizontal and vertical) and two-axis tracking systems compared to the fixed south-oriented PV system. It was found that single-axis (vertical axis) tracker optimally tilted is the most promising for sites near the equator and achieves around 19% more energy output over the fixed south-oriented solar panel system. Moreover, it is considered simpler compared to the two-axis tracking system. It is true that the two-axis tracking system could harvest around 4% more energy than the vertical axis tracker optimally tilted system for sites near and far from the equator. However, such increase in energy may not sound feasible as the two-axis system is consuming more power for tracking and considered more complicated compared to the vertical axis tracking system. The novelty of this work is that, it introduces a new concept for the optimum tilt for the single-axis (vertical axis) tracking system.