AUTOMATIC SOLAR PANEL ORIENTATION SYSTEM WITH INTEGRATED MONITORING AND CONTROL USING IOT

Abstract

The automatic solar panel orientation system with integrated monitoring and control using IoT is an intelligent monitoring and control system for solar panels, developed to optimize solar radiation capture efficiency through an automatic two-axis adjustment mechanism. The system uses an Arduino Uno R3 microcontroller combined with ESP8266 to collect data from sensors, communicate via the MQTT protocol, and monitor in real-time on the HiveMQ Cloud platform. The panel orientation mechanism is controlled by two SG90 servos based on data from four photoresistor light sensors, allowing the system to automatically position itself towards the strongest light (Auto mode). Additionally, the system supports manual control (Manual) via a Node-RED Dashboard interface, enabling users to directly adjust the X and Y axis angles using sliders. The solar panel orientation system utilizes seven types of environmental and performance sensors: DHT11 (temperature, humidity), TSL2561 (light intensity), MPU6050 (tilt angle), VEML6070 (UV radiation), and INA3221 (instantaneous voltage, current, and power for both a fixed and an automatically oriented panel), to provide comprehensive data on environmental conditions and system operation. Data is packaged in JSON format and transmitted via UART communication between Arduino and ESP8266, ensuring scalability and integration with other IoT monitoring systems. The system is designed to be compact, low-power, and easy to deploy, suitable for educational applications, IoT research, as well as the development of smart and sustainable energy solutions in practice