Regular Article

Control strategy for a dual-axis sun tracker based on a radiometric cube to maximize the power output of the PV system

¹ Université Paris-Saclay, CentraleSupélec, CNRS, Laboratoire de Génie Électrique et Électronique de Paris, 91192 Gif-sur-Yvette, France
² Sorbonne Université, CNRS, Laboratoire de Génie Électrique et Électronique de Paris, 75252 Paris, France
³ CNRS, LISN, Bâtiment 507, Rue du Belvédère, 91405 Orsay, France
⁴ École Polytechnique, Institut Pierre-Simon Laplace (IPSL), IP Paris, Ecole Normale Supérieure (ENS), Sorbonne Université, CNRS, Laboratoire de Météorologie Dynamique (LMD), 91120 Palaiseau, France

^* e-mail: mahery.andriamahefa@centralesupelec.fr

Received: 3 March 2023
Received in final form: 3 August 2023
Accepted: 11 September 2023
Published online: 30 November 2023

Abstract

The use of solar energy as an energy source is essential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. In a photovoltaic system, the use of a sun tracker can produce up to 40% more energy than a fixed system. However, it is important, especially in temperate climates, to have an effective control strategy that can adapt the movement of the solar tracker for all weather conditions. This work presents a new control strategy for a dual-axis sun tracker based on a radiometric cube with four photodiode sensors on its East, West, South and Zenith faces. The optimal direction that maximises the irradiance received by the sun tracker can be determined through the mathematical expression of the irradiances on the four faces of the cube, considering an isotropic model for the diffuse luminance of the sky. This new control strategy adjusts the movement of the solar tracker to an optimal position in all weather conditions. The proposed control strategy provides a 40.5% gain in energy output on a cloudy day compared to the standard chronometric sun tracking strategy. For periods of clear and highly variable sky, the difference between the two strategies is only 0.15% and 1%.