This demo shows only a few minutes in the sun, but what happens when you leave the photo-resistors in the sun all day? My guess is they stop tracking because they "saturate" and read off the scale. You can put resistors to change the range of the sensors biased towards full sun, but they will probably still saturate and be unusable. Have you solved that problem?
superb ,man !!! can u show me the schematic ? this is so awesome!!! not only you found a way to have free power, but youve helped the enwironment too!! so cool man . can u show me the schematic please? thank you!!!
You sir found a cheap way to make a heliostat which is amazing, now couple this with Fresnel lens and steam powered electricity from a pelter engine and you've got yourself a generator.
An equatorially-mounted solar panel assembly coupled with a drive gear and a solar ephemeris (in code) for tracking the sun throughout the year would be bullet-proof. You could do away with the light sensors altogether, if your goal is to track the sun . . . but I can see how this method is a lot more fun, and provides a different approach with its own unique challenges. Makes for an interesting discussion, indeed.
the solar panels will be barely able to power the entire device itself. especially if you do not disconnect the servo or motor. too small solar small cells.
if u want to do this project but could not open the specs in his description this website/ program when dl, u can open his specs cadsoftusadotcom/downloads/
Dudes.... you just put the 3 sun sensonsors on the top of the device, and in the event of a sunset it will find the sun. 1 problem, it could be turning the array away from the sun in some cases, so we need a 4 sensor on the lover front of the array. Thats it, now your golden.
@unqwila I think you could make it so that once the photocells go below a certain threshold that means it is night, then once it identifies its night have it rotate back east where the sun rises to prepare for the morning ...right? sounds about right
so how does the system ''see'' where's the strongest light? and after using the energy created to rotate the engine and everything, there's something left to charge a cellphone for example?
Putting the camera on a fixed base and doing an hourly or half hourly "time Lapse" photo shoot with about 2 seconds per slide - over the course of a day would look very impressive.
Great work. It's interesting to see things tha people make with arduinos. I like this idea and would love see it expanded to charge more than just the arduino! =)
Good job man but i would set the time out for the adjustment control up to 5 min and maybe it would be better to use a dc motor with incremental sensor but it is a great project. I like the simple design =)
If you encapsulate the photo-resistors in 1 inch open-end tubes you will be able to get a more accurate reading for each angle. Only downside is finding the sun to begin with...
IF YOU NEED THE SCHEMATIC AND YOU CAN'T OPEN IT CONTACT ME -I WILL SEN IT AS A PICTURE! (I will send it to you through email) onces again- great video!
You could have just stood in from of it and it would have turned but anyhow nice project. I would love something like this for solar water heater or even a remote solar power system.
take those panels and put them in the basement.first you take a parabolic solar concentrator and put an robotic arm on it to follow the suns path.then make the focal point a mirrored shape cone that will send the light down through mirrored glass tubing straight into a mirrored shape glass box inside the mirrored shape box will be several solar panels that spin to keep them cool the mirrored box must have the mirrors inward to reflect the light sending from the parabolic focal point.ken van horn
Is that a continuous rotation servo, or was limited rotation good enough? Easy enough to find out but I thought you might be able to save me some build time. :)
@luwe1 those arduinos run on 5v right? cool project btw. Just found out about arduino yesterday...savin up to buy one of those kits...any reccomendations?
@Hefanstrafen 2x 5v DC TO DC step up chip and and 2 supper cap 1 usb port put 1 dc/dc and supper cap feeding the device the other supper cap and dc/dc , usb ready to feed a usb device
@lothre I bet you practice seemingly witty comments in front of a mirror, then look in obscure places to say them so you feel like you've actually accomplished something.
@MillercrossStudios I will rest easy knowing that unlike you, I do not need an entire year to come up with a retort.... Wow man. Was this really bothering you for so long? You need to let the little stuff like an internet strangers comment on youtube go. I probably forgot about my original post 20 seconds after i made it...By the way your comeback was probably pretty good in context, but after so long I doubt anyone cares. I know I don't. You probably shouldn't either.
hehehe, make arduino work for its power! first put a lion battery pack with auto charger on it, connected to VIN and take power from those solar cells and put it on the coaxial jack! Arduino powers itself :D ... -.- oh no. now look what youve done i got new ideas for my arduino powered weather station
I love the idea of it powering it self. I wonder if it could power itself, and charge a bank of batteries (With a bigger solar array of coarse) Now that would be awesome!
Nice project. Here is a suggestion for you. You can measure the output power of the cells and use that to do the tracking. There is no need to use CdS cells or any photodiodes. Just rotate the array until you find a maximum.
@FearTriX The three photo device method tells which direction to turn. When the center photo device is the brightest then it can stop. If just using just one sensor, the photocells, means the program will have to constantly move back and forth to look for the brightest position.
@morality101 No, it does not need to. In software one can have a buffer variable that stores the current PV cell output power as the servo motor moves the PV cells. Once a maximum is reached, the variable holds that. The motor continues even more until the value read is slightly smaller than the peak value stored. Then the moror stops. You can backtrack a bit or not. You save at least 1 ADC channel (or two) and 3 photo sensors. A much better method from a design view, a bit more involved though.
@FearTriX In the case of tracking the sun which always moves in the same direction, you are right. At regular time intervals the program will have to seek the new position of the brightest spot. In this case the program will not have to constantly move back and forth, instead at regular periods move in one direction and stop. But this doesn't account for clouds covering the direct sun, in which case it might be brighter to the left or right as the clouds move. But that is not expected too much.
@morality101 Clouds can be detected by a sudden drop in output power in software and any necessary actions taken. You would not want to constantly be correcting the position of the PV cells in any system; it uses too much power. If you really want to use 3 sensors to do the job of 1, you can take power reading from 3 PV cells from the array: far left, middle and far right.
@FearTriX Doesn't sound like such a good idea to me as this would require you "blindly" rotate the array in increments, from one end of the axis to another, and 'pick' the point where you read the highest output voltage. Seems pretty inefficient.
@FearTriX With a "sail" or divider between the left and right panels, when the sun starts to cast a shadow on one side, the power output will drop and you can sense that and turn. In fact, you can hook up the positive leads from the left panels to one side of a tiny little DC motor and the positive leads from the right panels to the other side of the motor and when the voltage drops enough on one side, the imbalance will turn the motor one way or the other. No need for the Arduino.
@FearTriX However, you would have to constantly dither the board back and forth to know that you are at a maximum, in the system shown here, with the photoresistors pointing in three different directions, the board stays still when the optimal condition is reached. I'd like to see a second servo (and two more photoresistors) to control the angle. Very cool
@FearTriX However, you would have to constantly dither the board back and forth to know that you are at a maximum, in the system shown here, with the photoresistors pointing in three different directions, the board stays still when the optimal condition is reached. I'd like to see a second servo (and two more photoresistors) to control the angle. Very cool
@FearTriX how would that work? would it scan from max to min rotation, then calculate the brightest spot then return to that position, or would it be able to track in small steps do you think?
A good idea, but I see two ways of implementing this:
Method one is to mount the panels at different angles, this would slightly reduce the output of the panels. Less appealing the the very low power consumption if this design
Method two is to sweep the array until a peak is found and leave it there for a short time, the constant hunting would use a considerable amount of power, perhaps even more than what is gained by tracking the sun.
@FearTriX That would be OK if your were using more than one solar cell, however if you had one large solar cell the photo cells/photo diodes are a good candidate. I think the project is pretty cool. Nice work. I am going to have to try it to turn my small array. I have four 60 mah panels that are pointing south east and I would like to get them to point toward the sun at all times but I am to cheap/poor to buy a commercial device.
HAHAHAHA!! Self powering, self adjusting Solarpanel Controller... HOW SWEEEEET!!! EPIC mini Application that would work perfect on big grown Models too. BOTH THUMBS UP FOR THAT ONE! >> BTW: To reduce Costs, it also should be able to use only TWO light sensors... OR even less , if you would just messure the voltage of the left and right cells and compare those it should be also possible to steer the stand. MAYBE a calibration of right n left cell would be nessesary. but all in software.
This looks like a well-made solar panel. Since we are engaged in the business of solar panel installations, we are sure that the video is going to inspire more people into making their own solar panels.
so this is a X,Y solar tracker. Is it possible to make a X,Y,Z tracker with the same controller using two additional vertical light sensors? This Device is amazing. could you give more info about the controller and the programming? I want to make a similar device but on a larger scale. Thank you in advance for your responce
hey that's very nice do you mind to send to me your schematic and what's the software you use for it cuz i can't open it and im having a hard time to even download it. Thank you
hey that's very nice do you mind to send to me your schematic and what's the software you use for it cuz i can't open it and im having a hard time to even download it. Thank you
ok dude have you heard of pitchman on tv this could make you alot of money of this solar palels could be bigger cool thing is it rotates toward the light thats is what is so cool about it.
@n3rdmusic Stuff you need: computer + Arduino software, Knowledge of Arduino coding (or example code), Arduino/Arduino compatible controller, a breadboard (often called shield) for the arduino, copper wires (preferably with rubber coating), solar panels, a small electric motor, some cd's, styrofoam, and glue! This is just a guess, but it seems to be correct :D You can find all of these things on MakeMagazine's site or a local electric/hardware store! GOOD LUCK!
im sure instead of photoresistors, you could use the panels themselves, and use only two of them and still get it to find center. if(Leftpanel voltage==Rightpanel Voltage){center}
again my arduino is still in the mail, i do speak alittle c++ i dont know what arduino coed is like,but i think the night time delima wouldnt be a hard one to fix. especially with an arduino
You should put all the wires and circuitry on the solar panel part, and flip the servo so the main part of the motor is on the board, with the little end (end that spins) downwards. That way it can turn 180 degrees and wont tangle xD
I purchased this chip that might be pretty cool for this project. A PIC 12F683. Has A/D converter as well. Should Practically be able to do this with little effort. Your design works fine. Just Think thats a neat little chip.
This is pretty cool, it does go directly to the sun. i kinda think using an arduino for this is a little excessive as it could be done simply with other components but yeah it still pretty awesome!
My response to the question about night time would be that this was a proof of concept. I think improvements would be required to make it a usable system. If this was to be useful you would use it to charge a battery or put the system to sleep when the light drops below a certain threshold. Use your imagination... that's the beauty of creating things...
@luwe1 Sunlight is the easiest and cleanest way to produce energy. Using a focal point of sunlight on a Stirling engine or steam engine would provide enough power during the day to supply your daily electricity and be able to charge a small bank of batteries for nighttime consumption. Batteries are being improved at an expectational rate so in the near future you will have a battery the size of 4 car batteries powering a house for 3 days.
@jeebug I agree, On my channel I show a video from Stanford University with new Battery technology. The invented batteries from carbon nano tubes + normal paper + ink, and that makes an instant battery. More powerful then lithium and much less weight, and more durable. Check my videos :-)
Nice. Question, if you were to leave this out over night it should stop working when the sun goes down for lack of power. How would it wake up in the morning and start seeking again?
@FlyMario2 with a battery. You don't need much energy to turn a servo ~180 degrees. I bet the arduino only sucks a few µA if you were to stop using the ADCs or something. Maybe you could cut off the ground supply to all sensors with another digital pin or something, and then just wait a certain number of hours to turn back on again.
@ossumguywill Thinking about it, I am sure the ambient light as the sun starts to rise would probably bring the circuit alive enough to bring it around to the sun.
@FlyMario2 lol, you're right. However, he would need a boost converter as the solar panel might only generate a few volts. But hey, a micro with none of the pins outputting only sucks a few µA.
Very nice setup! I am starting my solar power system using old car parts, and the sensor has only five parts, including the relay! Please take a look at my system.
Commercial Solar Panels are Expensive!
Your Only Option is to Build Your own Solar Panels
I have found out a web site where an Engineer from Chicago who explains it All
You can also find his web site by Searching Google for...
"Top DIY Solar Panels"
Click the First Result (Skip The Advertisements)
jonathoncrowe28 1 week ago 2
This demo shows only a few minutes in the sun, but what happens when you leave the photo-resistors in the sun all day? My guess is they stop tracking because they "saturate" and read off the scale. You can put resistors to change the range of the sensors biased towards full sun, but they will probably still saturate and be unusable. Have you solved that problem?
snailer06 3 weeks ago
superb ,man !!! can u show me the schematic ? this is so awesome!!! not only you found a way to have free power, but youve helped the enwironment too!! so cool man . can u show me the schematic please? thank you!!!
randomguyed 1 month ago
Freaking sweet :)
mamolian 1 month ago
You could run this all off of an ATtiny chip
Brogz68 1 month ago
Very nice ...
Mig2133 1 month ago
Could you make this more compact and energy efficient by using a micro arduino chip?
inyourfacesociety 1 month ago
You sir found a cheap way to make a heliostat which is amazing, now couple this with Fresnel lens and steam powered electricity from a pelter engine and you've got yourself a generator.
foresakenlion 1 month ago
awesome
G4homeonline 2 months ago
wicked
WIOACE 2 months ago
Nice. I tried to do this once and you look more successful. Today I would use a calendar and a clock if I was making a commercial system.
TheCommuted 2 months ago
hi man could you tell me the parts that i need to build it and what kind the arduino i need ? port usb and what else ?
MrBLEINT 3 months ago
An equatorially-mounted solar panel assembly coupled with a drive gear and a solar ephemeris (in code) for tracking the sun throughout the year would be bullet-proof. You could do away with the light sensors altogether, if your goal is to track the sun . . . but I can see how this method is a lot more fun, and provides a different approach with its own unique challenges. Makes for an interesting discussion, indeed.
aerofart 3 months ago
Nice. You've inspired me
neuromonkey 3 months ago
the solar panels will be barely able to power the entire device itself. especially if you do not disconnect the servo or motor. too small solar small cells.
timbobel 3 months ago
if u want to do this project but could not open the specs in his description this website/ program when dl, u can open his specs cadsoftusadotcom/downloads/
FERViolin2010 4 months ago
Very cool, but how much did the solar panels cost?
PwnageFoU 4 months ago
Comment removed
PwnageFoU 4 months ago
OMG, that thing is alive!
237Michael 4 months ago
Dudes.... you just put the 3 sun sensonsors on the top of the device, and in the event of a sunset it will find the sun. 1 problem, it could be turning the array away from the sun in some cases, so we need a 4 sensor on the lover front of the array. Thats it, now your golden.
ot0m0t0 4 months ago
how much did it cost to make this?
jonah2111 5 months ago
Nice :D hey, what if it's facing completely the wrong way?
LXBD 5 months ago
Have you tried leaving it outside overnight? I mean, would it find the sun again on sunrise (when the light is enough to power itself of course)?
unqwila 6 months ago
@unqwila I think you could make it so that once the photocells go below a certain threshold that means it is night, then once it identifies its night have it rotate back east where the sun rises to prepare for the morning ...right? sounds about right
eddiea6987 5 months ago
Please Please Please i beg you please guide me how do i create this one!!
I subscribed you, bro.
Photon98 6 months ago 4
This has been flagged as spam show
can you please give me the program and circuit for this
my email is vacer25@gmail.com
thankyou
vacer25 6 months ago
This has been flagged as spam show
COOL files I need to download another program to open. NO THANKS
johnnnyreb51 6 months ago
Comment removed
johnnnyreb51 6 months ago
working on a great UVFS project and would like to implement your concept into a autonomous optional we are working on :::
please let me know how we can get in touch my man
over
soundmobproductions 6 months ago
working on a great UVFS project and would like to implement your concept into a autonomous optional we are working on :::
please let me know how we can get in touch my man
soundmobproductions 6 months ago
so how does the system ''see'' where's the strongest light? and after using the energy created to rotate the engine and everything, there's something left to charge a cellphone for example?
laaayon 7 months ago
Putting the camera on a fixed base and doing an hourly or half hourly "time Lapse" photo shoot with about 2 seconds per slide - over the course of a day would look very impressive.
callmeshane303 7 months ago
It powers itself... problem science?
jonicthegameaddict 7 months ago
Comment removed
simone12russo 7 months ago
Do you have a D.I.Y. instructions for that?
cheapsolarpanels1 7 months ago
Great work. It's interesting to see things tha people make with arduinos. I like this idea and would love see it expanded to charge more than just the arduino! =)
arcanine538 7 months ago
Good job man but i would set the time out for the adjustment control up to 5 min and maybe it would be better to use a dc motor with incremental sensor but it is a great project. I like the simple design =)
xuseIg00g 7 months ago
Also you could make a timelapse for us!
arielwollinger 7 months ago
power to you sir
Anddosdd 7 months ago
you can use the eagle software or you can use the Express pcb program
theobserver5000 9 months ago
If you encapsulate the photo-resistors in 1 inch open-end tubes you will be able to get a more accurate reading for each angle. Only downside is finding the sun to begin with...
Bizorke 9 months ago
IF YOU NEED THE SCHEMATIC AND YOU CAN'T OPEN IT CONTACT ME -I WILL SEN IT AS A PICTURE! (I will send it to you through email) onces again- great video!
013dirtdiver 9 months ago
This has been flagged as spam show
@013dirtdiver
I can't open the schematic, thanx for the help
samantha_fish@hotmail.com
Thank you
dripdropdrink 4 months ago
hey man try putting magnifying glass in front of the solar power maybe it will get more energy
TheSaltysack 9 months ago
it oscillates.
very neat project, but you have to work better on the sun rays follower algo.
xasdrubalex 10 months ago
That is awesome! Do you have any plans to extend it or use it for anything?
foobarmaru 10 months ago
You could have just stood in from of it and it would have turned but anyhow nice project. I would love something like this for solar water heater or even a remote solar power system.
egn83b 10 months ago
Comment removed
egn83b 10 months ago
can you upload the files using pdf or doc cause I don't have that program you used
013dirtdiver 10 months ago
Good job! Would love to see the case and stand you come up with!
reconelement 10 months ago
hey,
was wondering which arduino bord you are using?
halophone 10 months ago
These small panels can power the Arduino and the servo with no external power| Nice project!
basbrun 10 months ago
Great project.
You know that the Sparkfun Arduino pro mini only needs 3.3V. What'll you do with the extra juice? ;-)
TheAdLab 11 months ago
Amazing!
BasanTX 11 months ago
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take those panels and put them in the basement.first you take a parabolic solar concentrator and put an robotic arm on it to follow the suns path.then make the focal point a mirrored shape cone that will send the light down through mirrored glass tubing straight into a mirrored shape glass box inside the mirrored shape box will be several solar panels that spin to keep them cool the mirrored box must have the mirrors inward to reflect the light sending from the parabolic focal point.ken van horn
kennethvanhorn 11 months ago
Hey Luke I'm trying to build a similar ckt for a senior project and have a ton of questions
tsgrant1982 11 months ago
Wow that is pretty cool!
Hey do you think you can show me or make a video on how to make one?
monsivaisc1 11 months ago
Is that a continuous rotation servo, or was limited rotation good enough? Easy enough to find out but I thought you might be able to save me some build time. :)
havocdaemon 11 months ago
Check what we're doing with Arduino & Etoys. Have fun! :) /watch?v=l_IYlDbBlEs
sebasgb1 1 year ago
cool now my house will rotate along with the sun
Xlay16 1 year ago
@Xlay16 ?
kctess5 1 year ago
@kctess5 ?
Xlay16 1 year ago
cool!!!!!
webkinzhamster571 1 year ago
cool
webkinzhamster571 1 year ago
This comment has received too many negative votes show
Only problem: the board takes more energy than the solar panels create lol
Hefanstrafen 1 year ago
@Hefanstrafen If that were true, then there would be no energy left to turn the motor.
luwe1 1 year ago 56
@luwe1 those arduinos run on 5v right? cool project btw. Just found out about arduino yesterday...savin up to buy one of those kits...any reccomendations?
JZacharyFenner 11 months ago
@Hefanstrafen 2x 5v DC TO DC step up chip and and 2 supper cap 1 usb port put 1 dc/dc and supper cap feeding the device the other supper cap and dc/dc , usb ready to feed a usb device
GENERALCHAOS13 9 months ago
@Hefanstrafen DUUUUHHHHH
crackspider101 7 months ago
@Hefanstrafen Well technically solar panels will never reproduce the power it takes to make them anyway
DanNixon2007 7 months ago
@Hefanstrafen I bet you produce enough energy to power the system that tracks your uneducated comments no matter which direction you are facing.
lothre 3 months ago
@lothre I bet you practice seemingly witty comments in front of a mirror, then look in obscure places to say them so you feel like you've actually accomplished something.
MillercrossStudios 6 days ago
@MillercrossStudios I will rest easy knowing that unlike you, I do not need an entire year to come up with a retort.... Wow man. Was this really bothering you for so long? You need to let the little stuff like an internet strangers comment on youtube go. I probably forgot about my original post 20 seconds after i made it...By the way your comeback was probably pretty good in context, but after so long I doubt anyone cares. I know I don't. You probably shouldn't either.
lothre 5 days ago
totally sweet! this circuit could be used to signal larger equipment to move a full-sized array... Terrific Idea!
KingTesticus 1 year ago
totally sweet!
KingTesticus 1 year ago
great and simple solution.
66tbird1 1 year ago
hehehe, make arduino work for its power! first put a lion battery pack with auto charger on it, connected to VIN and take power from those solar cells and put it on the coaxial jack! Arduino powers itself :D ... -.- oh no. now look what youve done i got new ideas for my arduino powered weather station
alphaman1101 1 year ago
I love the idea of it powering it self. I wonder if it could power itself, and charge a bank of batteries (With a bigger solar array of coarse) Now that would be awesome!
griffgriff100 1 year ago
Nice concept video :)
Seeing as how this was uploaded a few years ago, have you done any modifications to this original design?
Level10Imp 1 year ago
This is really cool! You should do a time-leapese video.
yo2012 1 year ago
Merry Christmas Dude.
HomeWindTurbines7 1 year ago
Nice project. Here is a suggestion for you. You can measure the output power of the cells and use that to do the tracking. There is no need to use CdS cells or any photodiodes. Just rotate the array until you find a maximum.
FearTriX 1 year ago 17
@FearTriX good call, i like that idea
luwe1 1 year ago 7
@FearTriX WHAT!!! EXPLAIN PLEASE! with pictures. :)
mbdamnit 1 year ago
@FearTriX The three photo device method tells which direction to turn. When the center photo device is the brightest then it can stop. If just using just one sensor, the photocells, means the program will have to constantly move back and forth to look for the brightest position.
morality101 1 year ago
@morality101 No, it does not need to. In software one can have a buffer variable that stores the current PV cell output power as the servo motor moves the PV cells. Once a maximum is reached, the variable holds that. The motor continues even more until the value read is slightly smaller than the peak value stored. Then the moror stops. You can backtrack a bit or not. You save at least 1 ADC channel (or two) and 3 photo sensors. A much better method from a design view, a bit more involved though.
FearTriX 1 year ago
@FearTriX In the case of tracking the sun which always moves in the same direction, you are right. At regular time intervals the program will have to seek the new position of the brightest spot. In this case the program will not have to constantly move back and forth, instead at regular periods move in one direction and stop. But this doesn't account for clouds covering the direct sun, in which case it might be brighter to the left or right as the clouds move. But that is not expected too much.
morality101 1 year ago
@morality101 Clouds can be detected by a sudden drop in output power in software and any necessary actions taken. You would not want to constantly be correcting the position of the PV cells in any system; it uses too much power. If you really want to use 3 sensors to do the job of 1, you can take power reading from 3 PV cells from the array: far left, middle and far right.
FearTriX 1 year ago
@FearTriX Doesn't sound like such a good idea to me as this would require you "blindly" rotate the array in increments, from one end of the axis to another, and 'pick' the point where you read the highest output voltage. Seems pretty inefficient.
stormbytes 10 months ago
@FearTriX With a "sail" or divider between the left and right panels, when the sun starts to cast a shadow on one side, the power output will drop and you can sense that and turn. In fact, you can hook up the positive leads from the left panels to one side of a tiny little DC motor and the positive leads from the right panels to the other side of the motor and when the voltage drops enough on one side, the imbalance will turn the motor one way or the other. No need for the Arduino.
JamesMichaelNewton 8 months ago
@JamesMichaelNewton I second that.
allgovsarecriminal 8 months ago
@FearTriX However, you would have to constantly dither the board back and forth to know that you are at a maximum, in the system shown here, with the photoresistors pointing in three different directions, the board stays still when the optimal condition is reached. I'd like to see a second servo (and two more photoresistors) to control the angle. Very cool
tgspence1 7 months ago
This has been flagged as spam show
@FearTriX However, you would have to constantly dither the board back and forth to know that you are at a maximum, in the system shown here, with the photoresistors pointing in three different directions, the board stays still when the optimal condition is reached. I'd like to see a second servo (and two more photoresistors) to control the angle. Very cool
tgspence1 7 months ago
@FearTriX how would that work? would it scan from max to min rotation, then calculate the brightest spot then return to that position, or would it be able to track in small steps do you think?
dangersdnb 6 months ago
@FearTriX
A good idea, but I see two ways of implementing this:
Method one is to mount the panels at different angles, this would slightly reduce the output of the panels. Less appealing the the very low power consumption if this design
Method two is to sweep the array until a peak is found and leave it there for a short time, the constant hunting would use a considerable amount of power, perhaps even more than what is gained by tracking the sun.
If there is a third way, please elaborate
jri350 5 months ago
@FearTriX, Problem with that design would be that you would have to keep rotating every few seconds to find if the light has moved.
ndyt 5 months ago
@FearTriX That would be OK if your were using more than one solar cell, however if you had one large solar cell the photo cells/photo diodes are a good candidate. I think the project is pretty cool. Nice work. I am going to have to try it to turn my small array. I have four 60 mah panels that are pointing south east and I would like to get them to point toward the sun at all times but I am to cheap/poor to buy a commercial device.
badmoonryzn 4 months ago
Very cool!
scook414 1 year ago
Could you post which motor you used? Does it matter if you use a servo or stepper motor? Thanks!
ebutuou123 1 year ago
Hook it into the power grid already! lol
Logoseum 1 year ago
check out my channel for some little solar models..
SolarTrinkets 1 year ago
HAHAHAHA!! Self powering, self adjusting Solarpanel Controller... HOW SWEEEEET!!! EPIC mini Application that would work perfect on big grown Models too. BOTH THUMBS UP FOR THAT ONE! >> BTW: To reduce Costs, it also should be able to use only TWO light sensors... OR even less , if you would just messure the voltage of the left and right cells and compare those it should be also possible to steer the stand. MAYBE a calibration of right n left cell would be nessesary. but all in software.
axel1973w 1 year ago
This looks like a well-made solar panel. Since we are engaged in the business of solar panel installations, we are sure that the video is going to inspire more people into making their own solar panels.
aztecsolarpwr 1 year ago
Simply awesome simple awesomeness! I'm going to go make one of these right now! Thanks for sharing this.
havocdaemon 1 year ago
is this like... propetual motion? o.o it powers it'self....
wild1357 1 year ago
@wild1357 not perpetual cos energy output is less than the energy input regardless of where that energy comes from (the sun in this case)
stdavross666 1 year ago
This is awesome!
Good stuff!
Kuragari10 1 year ago
Is this arduino thing what you are using to communicate between the server motors and photo resistors? So basically is this just an I/O board?
ebutuou123 1 year ago
very cool
richallenmusic 1 year ago
oh wait i saw the link in the description now. :D
cyberlord64 1 year ago
so this is a X,Y solar tracker. Is it possible to make a X,Y,Z tracker with the same controller using two additional vertical light sensors? This Device is amazing. could you give more info about the controller and the programming? I want to make a similar device but on a larger scale. Thank you in advance for your responce
cyberlord64 1 year ago
This has been flagged as spam show
Fron John B. Hello,
I downloaded the files, which program do you use to view this files?
Thanks John B.,
9026jbeavers 1 year ago
Hello,
Neat video I would like to build one like it I use a pic 18, which should not matter.
However, is there a way you can send me your source codes and possible a schematic.
Thanks, John B
9026jbeavers 1 year ago
what sensors did you use?
R3MUS2007 1 year ago
so if you added two more photo resistors top and bottom it would track North South East West?
Also I notice in the sun test you didn't move it too much. If you turned it 180 degrees would it turn to the sun?
jeebug 1 year ago
Now the quesion is:
How much energy are you producing? and how much of that can be stored? (not used up by the arduino)
pretty cool project tho!
jamesw12345 1 year ago
how do i open the .sch file?
shuraj86 1 year ago
Love your proof of concept approach!
Very raw and bare bones, but Effective.
I am most inspired!
Keep up the great work. Look forward to more vids, so keep them coming.
TXcodeDesigner 1 year ago
This has been flagged as spam show
hey that's very nice do you mind to send to me your schematic and what's the software you use for it cuz i can't open it and im having a hard time to even download it. Thank you
Geesharp100 1 year ago
hey that's very nice do you mind to send to me your schematic and what's the software you use for it cuz i can't open it and im having a hard time to even download it. Thank you
Geesharp100 1 year ago
Fantastic work
You have save me some time
Darrengb 1 year ago
Fantastic work
Darrengb 1 year ago
please schematics & code.. ecc88@live.co.kr
TheCuteHouse 1 year ago
ok dude have you heard of pitchman on tv this could make you alot of money of this solar palels could be bigger cool thing is it rotates toward the light thats is what is so cool about it.
brennannickolas 1 year ago
Thats not bonus, thats equal. What ever power is left over that is usable is bonus, so it can power itself and something else.
SoundsFantastic 1 year ago
what microcontroller is used for this project?
shuraj86 1 year ago
@shuraj86 Arduino..................
superant10000 1 year ago
This is great! Do the photocells connect directly to 3 separate analogue inputs on the Arduino? I haven't got an Arduino but might have to get one.
ForViewingOnly 1 year ago
@ForViewingOnly make one!
Search for A credit card sized Ethernet Arduino compatable co
on instructables. Much cheaper, much neater :D
superant10000 1 year ago
@superant10000 instructables [dot] com **
superant10000 1 year ago
very neat !
syberslidder 1 year ago
hey mate, love the project, wondering if you can tell me the components you used, as im interested in making one for a school project, thanks heaps!
just any detailed info on it really would be super
n3rdmusic 1 year ago
superant10000 1 year ago
I would love to see a time lapse of the device working an entire day.
LunaVorax 1 year ago
outstanding, thanks for taking the time to post all this info, i'm going to try it on a project ive been working on,peace.
britepipe 1 year ago
Genius - Powering Itself
paulwoody 1 year ago
@paulwoody The solar panel is the genious lol.
superant10000 1 year ago
why not use the solar panels themselves to turn to the sun ?
Check left/right solar panel voltage :)
IllegalMavamaarten 1 year ago
Hello,
So I downloaded the files, which program do I need to open the .sch file?
and the other files?
Thanks,
Ben
aivsdeveloper 1 year ago
@aivsdeveloper
eagle from cadsoft
luwe1 1 year ago
im sure instead of photoresistors, you could use the panels themselves, and use only two of them and still get it to find center. if(Leftpanel voltage==Rightpanel Voltage){center}
dodgedart74 1 year ago
Amazing!
cusanusnicolas 1 year ago
very cool :)
AxelTiger 1 year ago
coool
pubtor 1 year ago
it is smart because it knows that it has go to the light to get more electricity
brandon14872 1 year ago
its smart because it knows it has to go to the light to get more electricity
brandon14872 1 year ago
reminded me of the mars rover
bigfoot156 1 year ago
that looks pretty simple and effective.
hanbacca 1 year ago
Can you send me the code? I have the Mega, and I'm looking to learn about this kind of tracking. thanks
Ripboarder16 1 year ago
We have the same volt meter :P
Check my solar panel on my channel!
theswedenmovie 1 year ago
Nice!
TrygveL 1 year ago
love this, man. thanks!
CSPhysics 1 year ago
that's cool man
snowman4839 1 year ago
put the boards at a slight angle to each other to get better results.
icarus119 1 year ago
don't need arduino to make this. I think you can do this completely analog.
f5inter 1 year ago
well for night time, im not a c++ major, but i do believe the code would be like
{{auto finding code}}}
{if(PanelA&PanelB)<0,5volts}then{PowerSwitch==Off
again my arduino is still in the mail, i do speak alittle c++ i dont know what arduino coed is like,but i think the night time delima wouldnt be a hard one to fix. especially with an arduino
dodgedart74 1 year ago
Sweet I was the 100th vote! Thumbs up all the way. Great video Thank you.
ChiGTP 1 year ago
Fantastic! That is so cool. Thanks for the upload
georgeflacker 1 year ago
You should put all the wires and circuitry on the solar panel part, and flip the servo so the main part of the motor is on the board, with the little end (end that spins) downwards. That way it can turn 180 degrees and wont tangle xD
fragm3nted 1 year ago
I purchased this chip that might be pretty cool for this project. A PIC 12F683. Has A/D converter as well. Should Practically be able to do this with little effort. Your design works fine. Just Think thats a neat little chip.
FlyMario2 1 year ago
This is pretty cool, it does go directly to the sun. i kinda think using an arduino for this is a little excessive as it could be done simply with other components but yeah it still pretty awesome!
davidharryprosser 1 year ago
wooooow
el3basi 1 year ago
My response to the question about night time would be that this was a proof of concept. I think improvements would be required to make it a usable system. If this was to be useful you would use it to charge a battery or put the system to sleep when the light drops below a certain threshold. Use your imagination... that's the beauty of creating things...
luwe1 1 year ago 3
@luwe1 also add a 4th foto resistor on the back. because if the sun goes down west it will point in that direction when it rises again in the east
dumle29 1 year ago
@luwe1 Sunlight is the easiest and cleanest way to produce energy. Using a focal point of sunlight on a Stirling engine or steam engine would provide enough power during the day to supply your daily electricity and be able to charge a small bank of batteries for nighttime consumption. Batteries are being improved at an expectational rate so in the near future you will have a battery the size of 4 car batteries powering a house for 3 days.
jeebug 1 year ago
@jeebug I agree, On my channel I show a video from Stanford University with new Battery technology. The invented batteries from carbon nano tubes + normal paper + ink, and that makes an instant battery. More powerful then lithium and much less weight, and more durable. Check my videos :-)
Greets, iT
insAneTunA 1 year ago
@luwe1 You could always have a sensor on the back that checks if it is the brightest out of all (now 5 or 3) sensors, it makes a 45 or 90 degree turn
biggi3lue 1 year ago
Nice. Question, if you were to leave this out over night it should stop working when the sun goes down for lack of power. How would it wake up in the morning and start seeking again?
FlyMario2 1 year ago
@FlyMario2 with a battery. You don't need much energy to turn a servo ~180 degrees. I bet the arduino only sucks a few µA if you were to stop using the ADCs or something. Maybe you could cut off the ground supply to all sensors with another digital pin or something, and then just wait a certain number of hours to turn back on again.
ossumguywill 1 year ago
@ossumguywill Thinking about it, I am sure the ambient light as the sun starts to rise would probably bring the circuit alive enough to bring it around to the sun.
FlyMario2 1 year ago
@FlyMario2 lol, you're right. However, he would need a boost converter as the solar panel might only generate a few volts. But hey, a micro with none of the pins outputting only sucks a few µA.
ossumguywill 1 year ago
Check the link in the description. You can download it all there.
luwe1 1 year ago
Hey Luwe; I would like to have the diagram and arduino ketch for this project. Could you please post it?
regiszimmer 1 year ago
Very nice setup! I am starting my solar power system using old car parts, and the sensor has only five parts, including the relay! Please take a look at my system.
eltunene 1 year ago
sir u r great but please post a video on how to the electric circuit of it
anupamvipul233 1 year ago
Make it calculate the time with the sun :P
timgames 1 year ago
Very nice setup, Thanks for sharing keep them cumming,,, Nice program never herd of this till now Thanks agin
dpdevil1 1 year ago
Excellent build. Great work.
fronkenpoop 2 years ago
Very nice work, and thank you for the vid.
cipher69 2 years ago
NICE JOB!!!
EasternCalifornia 2 years ago