DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTATION OF A REAL TIME CLOCK BASED SOLAR TRACKING SYSTEM

Solar power is the fastest growing means of renewable energy production with grid connected solar capacity increasing on average by 60% annually according to the National Center for Policy Analysis in the United States. New solar technologies will increase energy security through reliance on an indigenous, inexhaustible, and mostly import-independent resource, enhance sustainability, reduce pollution, lower the costs of mitigating global warming, and keep fossil fuel prices lower. However, the power output from solar system is yet to be maximized. Thus, a solar tracking system that is based on Real Time Clock (RTC) using PIC microcontroller to maximize the power output from solar panels is thus proposed. The system ensures that the solar panel aligns with the sun at its highest intensity. The proposed tracking system is a low cost, high accuracy, more efficient with low power consumption.