IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v14y2022i3p1696-d740319.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Performance Comparison between Fixed and Dual-Axis Sun-Tracking Photovoltaic Panels with an IoT Monitoring System in the Coastal Region of Ecuador

Author

Listed:
  • Marcos A. Ponce-Jara

    (Faculty of Engineering, Universidad Laica Eloy Alfaro de Manabí, Av. Circunvalación S/N, Manta 130213, Ecuador)

  • Carlos Velásquez-Figueroa

    (Faculty of Engineering, Universidad Laica Eloy Alfaro de Manabí, Av. Circunvalación S/N, Manta 130213, Ecuador)

  • María Reyes-Mero

    (Faculty of Engineering, Universidad Laica Eloy Alfaro de Manabí, Av. Circunvalación S/N, Manta 130213, Ecuador)

  • Catalina Rus-Casas

    (Electronic Engineering and Automatic Department, Las Lagunillas Campus, University of Jaén, A3 Building, 23071 Jaén, Spain
    Center for Advanced Studies on Earth Sciences, Energy and Environment CEACTEMA, Campus Las Lagunillas, University of Jaén, s/n, 23071 Jaén, Spain)

Abstract

Solar photovoltaic (PV) energy systems are one of the most widely deployed renewable technologies in the world. The efficiency of solar panels has been studied during the last few decades, and, to date, it has not been possible to displace the production of energy using crystalline silicon wafer-based technology whose efficiency has reached values around 26.1%. Moreover, using solar tracking PV systems has become a feasible alternative to increase the electric output of PV silicon technologies instead of using the conventional fixed PV installation on a flat or sloping surface. The following study has compared fixed and dual-axis sun-tracking PV panels in order to quantify the enhancement associated with the amount of energy harvested when using dual-axis tracking PV systems in the city of Manta, located in a coastal region of Ecuador. In order to carry out this study, an IoT monitoring system based on Raspberry Pi3 and Arduino platforms was used. Measurements of solar radiation (W/m 2 ), light intensity (Lux), temperature (°C), short-circuit current (A), and open-circuit voltage (V) were taken every minute for both systems. The results prove that the dual-axis tracking PV system produces, on average, 19.62% more energy than the static PV system. These results present an 8.62% energy increase with respect to a previous study carried out in an equatorial region with similar characteristics to those of the city of Manta, where a one-axis tracking PV system was used.

Suggested Citation

  • Marcos A. Ponce-Jara & Carlos Velásquez-Figueroa & María Reyes-Mero & Catalina Rus-Casas, 2022. "Performance Comparison between Fixed and Dual-Axis Sun-Tracking Photovoltaic Panels with an IoT Monitoring System in the Coastal Region of Ecuador," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(3), pages 1-14, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:14:y:2022:i:3:p:1696-:d:740319
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/14/3/1696/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/14/3/1696/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Vieira, R.G. & Guerra, F.K.O.M.V. & Vale, M.R.B.G. & Araújo, M.M., 2016. "Comparative performance analysis between static solar panels and single-axis tracking system on a hot climate region near to the equator," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 64(C), pages 672-681.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Gönül, Ömer & Yazar, Fatih & Duman, A. Can & Güler, Önder, 2022. "A comparative techno-economic assessment of manually adjustable tilt mechanisms and automatic solar trackers for behind-the-meter PV applications," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 168(C).
    2. Adel Alblawi & M. Talaat, 2022. "Experimental and Simulation Study Investigating the Effect of a Transparent Pyramidal Cover on PV Cell Performance," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(5), pages 1-30, February.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. D'Agostino, D. & Minelli, F. & D'Urso, M. & Minichiello, F., 2022. "Fixed and tracking PV systems for Net Zero Energy Buildings: Comparison between yearly and monthly energy balance," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 195(C), pages 809-824.
    2. Federico Minelli & Diana D’Agostino & Maria Migliozzi & Francesco Minichiello & Pierpaolo D’Agostino, 2023. "PhloVer: A Modular and Integrated Tracking Photovoltaic Shading Device for Sustainable Large Urban Spaces—Preliminary Study and Prototyping," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(15), pages 1-35, August.
    3. Okoye, Chiemeka Onyeka & Bahrami, Arian & Atikol, Ugur, 2018. "Evaluating the solar resource potential on different tracking surfaces in Nigeria," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 81(P1), pages 1569-1581.
    4. Karen Barbosa de Melo & Hugo Soeiro Moreira & Marcelo Gradella Villalva, 2020. "Influence of Solar Position Calculation Methods Applied to Horizontal Single-Axis Solar Trackers on Energy Generation," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(15), pages 1-15, July.
    5. Hua, Zhengcao & Ma, Chao & Lian, Jijian & Pang, Xiulan & Yang, Weichao, 2019. "Optimal capacity allocation of multiple solar trackers and storage capacity for utility-scale photovoltaic plants considering output characteristics and complementary demand," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 238(C), pages 721-733.
    6. Shabani, Masoume & Mahmoudimehr, Javad, 2018. "Techno-economic role of PV tracking technology in a hybrid PV-hydroelectric standalone power system," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 212(C), pages 84-108.
    7. Dias, Luís & Gouveia, João Pedro & Lourenço, Paulo & Seixas, Júlia, 2019. "Interplay between the potential of photovoltaic systems and agricultural land use," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 81(C), pages 725-735.
    8. Julie Viloria-Porto & Carlos Robles-Algarín & Diego Restrepo-Leal, 2018. "A Novel Approach for an MPPT Controller Based on the ADALINE Network Trained with the RTRL Algorithm," Energies, MDPI, vol. 11(12), pages 1-17, December.
    9. Grażyna Frydrychowicz-Jastrzębska & Artur Bugała, 2021. "Solar Tracking System with New Hybrid Control in Energy Production Optimization from Photovoltaic Conversion for Polish Climatic Conditions," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(10), pages 1-26, May.
    10. Huilin Shang & Wei Shen, 2023. "Design and Implementation of a Dual-Axis Solar Tracking System," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(17), pages 1-13, August.
    11. Hammad, Bashar & Al-Sardeah, Ali & Al-Abed, Mohammad & Nijmeh, Salem & Al-Ghandoor, Ahmed, 2017. "Performance and economic comparison of fixed and tracking photovoltaic systems in Jordan," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 80(C), pages 827-839.
    12. Tuğçe Demirdelen & Hakan Alıcı & Burak Esenboğa & Manolya Güldürek, 2023. "Performance and Economic Analysis of Designed Different Solar Tracking Systems for Mediterranean Climate," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(10), pages 1-23, May.
    13. Singh, Rajesh & Kumar, Suresh & Gehlot, Anita & Pachauri, Rupendra, 2018. "An imperative role of sun trackers in photovoltaic technology: A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 82(P3), pages 3263-3278.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:14:y:2022:i:3:p:1696-:d:740319. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.