Abstract:
Solar energy is an abundant and clean resource.
However, solar energy applications face the main dual challenges
of low efficiency and high capital investment due to complexity in
design. To mitigate low efficiencies, electro-mechanical trackers
that follow the sun path to enhance reception of solar energy are
used. Usually these devices are complex. The aim of this paper is
to come up with a simpler and more efficient system by advancing
previous work by the authors that reviewed existing dual-axis
solar trackers and collated the fundamental functional objectives
embodied in the most efficient ones. The fundamental functional
objectives are used, in this paper, to generate different design
alternatives with the aid of a morphological analysis technique.
The alternatives are evaluated using a five-point Likert scale to
select a simpler, more efficient, and practical dual axis
photovoltaic solar tracking concept. The selected concept is to be
prototyped and tested in another future investigation.