The dual problems of energy shortage and global warming brought at the forefront of public interest the development of strategies for harnessing renewable energy resources. Solar power is among the most promising sources of renewable energy. Sun trackers can significantly improve a photovoltaic (PV) system’s electricity production. This paper presents a novel approach to design of an automatic dual-axis solar tracking system is designed and developed on a mechanical structure with gear arrangement using Light Dependent Resistor (LDR) and DC motors. Using the ARDUINO UNO controller based on Sun-Earth Geometry, two-axis solar monitoring (azimuth angle as well as altitude angle) is implemented. The dual axis solar tracking PV system that uses the feedback control theory together with a four-quadrant light based resistor (LDR) sensor and simple electronic circuits to deliver robust system performance To achieve solar monitoring, the proposed system uses a unique dual-axis AC engine and a stand-alone PV inverter. Implementation of controls is a technical innovation which is a simple and effective design. Alternatively, to test the functionality of the device, a scaled-down laboratory prototype is designed. The Sun tracker’s efficiency is proven experimentally. The results indicated a more reliable and efficient adaptive solar tracking system than a fixed one.
