SELF-CLEANING SOLAR TRACKING SYSTEM FOR SOLAR PANELS

Abstract

A tracking system is provided for solar panels, which are controlled by a pre-programmed microcontroller that sends movement control to a stepper motor. The motor has a shaft that transmits the movement to another concentric panel shaft, which is attached to a first solar panel. Its tracking function begins at 6:00 AM at an angle of 90° with respect to the horizontal, and changes 15° every hour. By noon, the panel is parallel to the horizontal, and by 6:00 PM it has traveled 180° from its starting point. This same rotational movement is used by an autonomous cleaning system consisting of a pair of guide profiles located on the sides of the panels. These guide profiles support screws with spherical heads, which have tangential contact between the screw head and the profile. This contact allows the system to clean the panels as they move to follow the sun.The cleaning system moves due to gravity, performing a transverse movement which is transferred by means of cleaning shafts attached to cylindrical head screws. These shafts, in turn, support soft bristle brushes that clean the panels, removing dust and dirt collected on them. To transmit the tracking movement to all the solar panels, a gear is installed on the motor shaft of the first panel. This gear transmits the movement to a second panel via a toothed belt. The movement and position of the first panel is replicated in a second panel configured in the same way as the first, and so on for all the panels that need to be installed. Finally, the seasonal orientation movement is achieved by means of a manual movement plate that is adjusted depending on the season; this adjustment is only made once a month.

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