Automatic light-chasing solar thermal power generation

What is automatic generation control of a multi-area solar thermal system?

This article demonstrates the automatic generation control of a multi-area system incorporating various sources. Area-1 and area-2 consist of thermal and parabolic trough solar thermal plant (PTSTP) of fixed and random solar insolation, respectively, and area-3 comprises of thermal and realistic dish-stirling solar thermal system units.

Do solar PV panels capture maximum sunlight irradiance?

An automatic sunlight tracking system is required to ensure that the panel captures maximum solar irradiance. This research aims to design and implement a microcontroller-based automated single-axis solar tracking system to capture maximum sunlight and to extract maximum power from the solar PV panel in various sun positions.

What is solar–thermal–electric conversion?

Among them, solar–thermal–electric conversion is recognized as one of the most promising technologies to convert solar energy into electricity and such technology has been implemented in many industrial fields 12, 13, 14. Unlike photovoltaic systems, solar–thermal–electric conversion systems store solar energy as heat in thermal storage materials.

How can a microcontroller-based solar tracking system capture maximum sunlight?

This research aims to design and implement a microcontroller-based automated single-axis solar tracking system to capture maximum sunlight and to extract maximum power from the solar PV panel in various sun positions. This system helps to face the solar panel towards the sunlight according to the sun’s movement in the sky.

What is solar–thermal technology?

Solar–thermal technology is regarded as the most efficient and direct way to harness solar energy. It has already been adopted in multiple fields such as domestic heating 4, 5, steam generation 6, 7, 8, seawater desalination 9, 10 and solar–thermal power plants 11.

How to improve the performance of solar–thermal–electric systems?

To improve the performance of the solar–thermal–electric systems, considerable efforts had been devoted to adding concentrators 18, 19, 20, designing heat sink 21 and optimizing the cooling section 22, 23, 24.