Solar Tracker Build

<p>Welcome to the Solar Tracker Lesson!</p>

<p>In this lesson, you will learn about:</p>

<ul>
<li>solar energy</li>
<li>how tracking can be used to increase the efficiency of a solar panel</li>
<li>how a&nbsp;solar tracker mimics the natural motion&nbsp;of a sunflower</li>
<li>building, wiring, coding, and testing a voltage sensor</li>
<li>building, wiring, coding, and testing a solar tracker</li>
<li>how we can use the tracking solar panel to maximize the output&nbsp;of the solar panel throughout the day</li>
<li>how experts at Cypress Creek are using this technology to build a better tomorrow!</li>
</ul>

<p style="margin-bottom:11px"><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="line-height:107%"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">In this step, you will learn what solar energy is and how a solar panel works</span></span></span></p>

<p style="margin-bottom:11px"><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"><b><i><span style="font-size:18.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">What is Solar Energy<img alt="" src="/api/storage/uploads/legacy-images/cong6kmuzoxp0469nz6yfdmaqoyz/Shovel+Snow.png" style="margin-left: 5px; margin-right: 5px; float: right; width: 300px; height: 200px;" /></span></span></i></b></span></span></span></p>

<p style="margin-bottom:11px"><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">Solar energy is actually broken up into two areas. The first, which we will discuss in this project, is converting solar energy into electricity. The second is using solar thermal energy. You can use solar thermal energy in a variety of applications. Since I am currently living in an area that gets a lot of snow, I like to scoop a little of the snow off of the sidewalk so the sun can heat it up. Then the sun&#39;s thermal energy can get absorbed into the concrete and released into the surrounding environment. Then the snow around the area I scooped off can melt too!</span></span></span></span></span></p>

<p style="margin-bottom:11px"><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">But since we are discussing converting solar energy into electricity, we should discuss&hellip;</span></span></span></span></span></p>

<p style="margin-bottom:11px"><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"><b><i><span style="font-size:18.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">The Photovoltaic Effect</span></span></i></b></span></span></span></p>

<p style="margin-bottom:11px"><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="line-height:107%"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="line-height:107%"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;"><img alt="" src="/api/storage/uploads/legacy-images/ewv83as1bpttridqti1dlp8vjx66/Untitled+design+(45).png" style="margin-left: 5px; margin-right: 5px; float: left; width: 300px; height: 200px;" />The photovoltaic effect is what allows solar panels to work their magic (clarification: science, not magic). Photovoltaic is from &lsquo;photo&rsquo; meaning &lsquo;light&rsquo; and &lsquo;voltaic&rsquo; meaning &lsquo;related to energy produced.&rsquo; The photovoltaic effect is a physical property of a material describing its ability to give off current and voltage when exposed to light. Many people use the terms &ldquo;solar panel&rdquo; and &ldquo;photovoltaic panel&rdquo; interchangeably to describe the same thing. In most solar panels, the material is a semiconductor made of silicon.</span></span></span></span></span></span></p>

<p style="margin-bottom:11px">&nbsp;</p>

<p style="margin-bottom:11px">&nbsp;</p>

<p style="margin-bottom:11px">&nbsp;</p>

<p style="margin-bottom:11px"><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="line-height:107%"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><span style="line-height:107%"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;">Below is a short video describing how solar panels work in more detail. </span></span></span></span></span></span></p>

<p><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/L_q6LRgKpTw?si=47JYEMMNa8i6bXpR" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe></p>

<p style="margin-bottom:11px">&nbsp;</p>

<p style="margin-bottom:11px"><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="line-height:107%"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">Video Notes:</span></span></span></p>

<p style="margin-bottom:11px"><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="line-height:107%"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">Introduction: This video is five years old, but the adoption of solar energy is happening at a staggering rate. Solar accounts for 5% of the United State&rsquo;s energy generation as of December 2023 (<a href="https://www.canarymedia.com/articles/solar/chart-the-us-installed-more-solar-in-2023-than-ever-before#:~:text=Solar%20is%20the%20fastest%2Dgrowing,percent%20of%20the%20country's%20electricity">Olano, 2023</a>).</span></span></span></p>

<p style="margin-bottom:11px"><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="line-height:107%"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">1:15: Really interesting discussion on doping silicon and how N/P regions allow DC power to be generated</span></span></span></p>

<p style="margin-bottom:11px"><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="line-height:107%"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">4:40: This shows how panels are constructed</span></span></span></p>

<p style="margin-bottom:11px"><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="line-height:107%"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">5:30: This part shows the difference between polycrystalline solar panels (blue ones) and monocrystalline panels (black ones)</span></span></span></p>

<p style="margin-bottom:11px"><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="line-height:107%"><span style="font-family:Calibri,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">6:15: This part discusses the cost of solar (also rapidly changing) as well as what a residential solar setup could look like.</span></span></span></p>

<p>In this step, you will learn why tracking the sun can be an advantage for solar energy</p>

<p><img alt="" src="/api/storage/uploads/legacy-images/vh180tc3h4okgvbtimt24ktk9exs/Untitled+design+(46).png" style="margin-left: 5px; margin-right: 5px; float: left; width: 200px; height: 133px;" />A solar panel is most effective when the face of it (the flat side) is pointed directly at the sun. In a fixed solar setup, the solar panel is facing the sun at only one point in the day. During the winter solstice, you may get as little as six hours of sunlight. During the summer solstice, you may get as much as 15 hours of daylight. These figures are for the continental United States. If you live in the Arctic Circle in the northernmost part of Alaska, you can experience days that have zero daylight and some that have 24 hours of daylight.&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>If a solar panel is attached to a tracker, it helps face the solar panel toward the sun. Using a single-axis tracker, like what we will build later in this project, can<img alt="" src="/api/storage/uploads/legacy-images/vee0ft7kj3a2l9sa902w12yt6ds6/Untitled+design+(47).png" style="margin-left: 5px; margin-right: 5px; float: right; width: 200px; height: 130px;" /> increase the energy output of a solar panel by 25-30% (<a href="https://www.solarreviews.com/blog/are-solar-axis-trackers-worth-the-additional-investment">Lane, 2023</a>)<br />
&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p><img alt="" src="/api/storage/uploads/legacy-images/y50s675l969ydtpktc8xyg36x5g6/Untitled+design+(48).png" style="margin-left: 5px; margin-right: 5px; float: left; width: 200px; height: 120px;" />Sunflowers employ a similar tracking system to what we are building in this lesson. But, unlike the circuitry and coding involved with our project, nobody is 100% sure how sunflowers track the sun! Scientists believe that the sunflowers employ an internal clock to regulate their movements. During the day, the sunflower bud faces the rising sun in the east, follows&nbsp;the sun throughout the day, and then, over the night, turns back around to face&nbsp;the east to meet the morning sun. Scientists, presumably with too much time on their hands, have even planted sunflowers in pots and turned them 180 degrees. The plants will move from west to east for a few days and then &quot;relearn&quot; how to track the sun (<a href="https://phys.org/news/2016-05-sunflowers-track-sun.html">Aeria, 2016</a>). Once the sunflower opens and matures, it stops following the sun.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Here is a brief video showcasing the movements of the sunflowers</p>

<p><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/WHtTiNsOYBY?si=zsTH4LFU69OeOLb2" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe></p>