A Comprehensive Review of Solar Tracking Technologies: A Survey with Future Directions

Khalaf, Hussain M.; Altahir, Ali Abdul Razzaq; Mohammed, Jamal A.-K.

doi:10.63463/kjes1166

	A Comprehensive Review of Solar Tracking Technologies: A Survey with Future Directions
Kerbala Journal for Engineering Sciences (KJES)
Volume 4, Issue 4, December 2024, Pages 316-338 PDF (1.94 M)
Document Type: Research Article
DOI: 10.63463/kjes1166
Authors
Hussain M. Khalaf^* ¹; Ali Abdul Razzaq Altahir²; jamal A.-K. mohammed³
¹Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering, University of Kerbala, Karbala, Iraq
²Electrical and electronic engineering _Collage of Engineering _ Univrsity of Kerbala
³University of Technology, Electromechanical Engineering Department, Baghdad, Iraq
Abstract
Solar tracking systems offer significant benefits in solar energy applications, including increased power and efficiency compared to fixed systems. They are classified according to their components and drivers, into include active, passive, semi-passive, manual, and chronological system. Active trackers are the most efficient among other categories, as they contribute to boosting harnessed solar energy by 28.8-43.6 %, depending on the season. Single-axis tracking improves efficiency by 13% while, passive trackers can improve efficiency by 25%. Manual trackers improve efficiency by 15%, and chronological tracking systems provide the same efficiency as active trackers under similar climatic conditions. This paper presents a literature survey on solar tracking systems. It summarizes multiple comprehensive reviews that studied different literature on solar tracking technologies aiming to provide guide to researchers and practitioners relate their work to existing research. The review concludes with a summary of future recommendations and insights on designing and building effective and reliable solar tracking system.
Keywords
Solar tracking system; Time-based tracker; Semi-passive tracker; Passive tracker; Manual tracker; Future directions

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