Protótipo de seguidor solar de dois eixos para fins didáticos

Abstract

The generation of photovoltaic (PV) solar energy has become over the years one notorious alternative for a renewable source, growing its participation in the world energy matrix considerably in the last decade. However, one of the factors that hinder the faster growth of this type of generation is its generation efficiency, which is normally around 10 to 20%, due to the technology's uptake limit. Seeking to improve this generation efficiency, solar tracking equipment is used in PV plants, capable of following the sun's movement throughout the day, constantly adjusting the PV module in order to promote the maximum possible radiation capture. Following this line of action, the present work aims, through simulations and analysis of results, to carry out the study of the performance of a dual-axis solar tracker prototype for didactic purposes. The simulations of a system composed of one micro inverter of 1,2 kW and two PV modules with a power of 255 Wp were carried out in the PVsyst software, using the meteorological database offered by Meteonorm. From the simulations obtained, comparative analyzes of the PV system with the tracker and the fixed system were performed, demonstrating satisfactory improvements in electrical generation efficiency. The simulations, where the entire year of 2016 was considered, including focusing on the best (11/13) and worst day (03/09) of that year, showed one expected performance of the solar tracker prototype, with about 1,357 kWh injected into the grid more than the fixed system on the best day of irradiation of the year (equivalent to more than 50%), and about 0.3046 kWh less than the fixed system on the worst day of irradiation, about 2.4% (7.4 Wh/day), which is attributed to the form of active tracking of the follower. The performance of the solar tracker in the PV system was able to provide an increase in the average annual generation efficiency of the system by around 25%, and an increase in the PV system capacity factor from 0.89 to 0.94; making the result of the simulations satisfactory, as this value is within the efficiency increase range offered by the trackers currently on the market (25% to 45%); justifying the study of the two-axis solar tracker prototype for didactic purposes.