2. Photovoltaic module and sun-tracking system
2.1. Solar position algorithm
A brief introduction of the Solar Position Algorithm can be found in [3], which explained the zenith
angle, azimuth angle and elevation angle of the system. This can be illustrated in Fig. 1 (see [3]) and the
symbols of , and are denoted as zenith angle, azimuth angle and elevation angle, respectively.
2.2. Photovoltaic (PV) module system
PV module system as illustrated in Fig. 2 is a dual-axis tracking system which consists of PV panel and
a device to orient the panel to any direction in the sky. The panel is actuated by two motors which the
orientation of the panel can be calculated from encoders. This system is also utilized with microcontroller
to communicate with other devices (computer) through CAN communication. As the controller receives
any command from computer, the PV panel can be oriented based on the given commands. This command
is the and angles as the result of the solar position algorithm calculation. Since the CAN
communication is bi-directional communication (transmit and receive data), thus, the PV module system
may also transmit the parameters to the computer in order to calculate and update the angles command.
Fig. 1.