Skip to content

Latest commit

 

History

History
23 lines (16 loc) · 1.65 KB

README.md

File metadata and controls

23 lines (16 loc) · 1.65 KB

Dual axis solar controller

Raspberry Pi 3b+

HAT-MDD10 is a dual DC motor driver board, HAT stackable design to be used with a Raspberry Pi.

ADS1115 is a 4-channel analog-to-digital converter(ADC) based on Texas Instrument's ADS1115

DS3231 optional Real-Time clock needed when Raspberry Pi is not network connected

this project uses time of day to determine what orientation the sun is at for a configured lat / long, by using the pvlib library, this application then independantly controls each motor, elevation and / or azimuth to move them to stay in alignment throughout the day. Each minute the sun position is compared to a configured error threshold to determine if repositioning is needed. The application uses the tkinter GUI library.

DC linear actuators were chosen for the motors and also ones that contain a potentiometer (POT) to allow the system to understand the position of the actuators by feeding the POT wiper into the ADC. example actuator

the application also allows for monitoring wind speed to use as a safety feature to tip the elevation into a horizontal position when winds exceed a configured threshold. Anemometer

lightning talk video here's a talk that explains the project at a high level.