Search for the Sun

Overview

Objectives/Goals The purpose of my project is maximizing the efficiency of a solar panel. This is achieved by being able to have a tracking system that can always calculate the location of the sun from any place on earth at any time. My science fair project is a combination of programming and mechanics. I have completed the development of the solar-calculator software and will demonstrate mechanical control of the solar panel. Methods/Materials The programming part of my project has been done in the language called Scheme. I wrote and debugged over twenty programs and 3 structures to build my software solar-calculator. The software program takes in the date of a particular day, the time, the standard longitude of the area, the longitude of the city, and the latitude. The program will output the Azimuth location and the Altitude of the Sun. This information is fed to stepper motors that can move the solar panel to make them always perpendicular to the rays of the sun. The program also outputs the Sunrise Angle so that the stepper motor can be reset to the sunrise for the next day. Materials include: 1. Laptop 2. Dr. Scheme (software) 3. Voltage Meter 4. Soldering Iron 5. Solder 6. 2 Bread Boards 7. 30 Reinforced Wires 8. 2 Stepper Motors 9. Parallel Port 10. Internet 11. Resistors Results My program works as it was designed. I have verified that the results of my program with visual observations of the sun. Conclusions/Discussion In conclusion, my project has a large potential for further uses and work. This method can be used to improve efficiency of solar panels.

Awards (1)

• Category Award

Competition history

• CSEF 2002 Electricity & Electronics · Entry J0718

Resources

• CSEF project summary ↗

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