LED Circuit:

As clear from the circuit, the LEDs are driven directly from the battery and are controlled by the microcontroller as per the battery condition as well as light conditions. Further, the total consumption of the LED is around 3.6 Watts and delivering about 3 watts of light output. Therefore only 16.6 % of supplied energy is dissipated in form of heat. As compared to other common light sources, like CFL, Tube of incandescent bulbs the efficiency of the same lies between 50-70%.. Therefore the LEDs are nowadays becoming more and more efficient sources of light. Charge controller circuit: The following flow chart shows the working of the charge controller circuit:

The main objective of the microcontroller based Solar Charge Controller (SCC) is to manage the power wisely to ensure longer life of battery and eliminating the need of turning on /off the load during the day/night conditions. The microcontroller serves the purpose of measuring accurate battery voltage as well as sunlight level and therefore does very accurate control of the various components.

When the SCC is powered, the microcontroller measures the battery voltage as well as solar panel voltage. If the solar panel voltage is less than 5 volts, the microcontroller assumes this as dawn (night condition). It then checks for the battery voltage. If the battery voltage is greater than 11 volts, it turns on the load and the above process is again repeated until dusk (morning) is detected or the battery is discharged below 11 volts. If the battery voltage at the startup is already below 11 volts, the microcontroller turns off the load and waits till dusk. This automatic shutdown is incorporated to ensure the deep discharge of the battery during low charging conditions such as rainy season or winter season. If the solar panel voltage is above 5 volts, the microcontroller assumes this as dusk or daylight condition and connects the solar panel to the battery through a P-Channel Mosfet and thereby charging the battery. The microcontroller also continuously monitors the battery voltage during this period and as soon as the battery voltage reaches 14 volts, the charging is cut off. The switching devices used in this project are Mosfets and are chosen due to their very low turn on resistance. This in turn dissipates less heat during conduction and thereby increasing the overall efficiency of the circuit. The Mosfets used are sufficient to switch a maximum 2 Amp. Of current without any substantial heating and up to 10 amperes if suitable heat sink is provided. The SCC also has a LCD display which constantly shows the current system status as well as the current battery voltage.

Solar Alignment Circuit: The major drawback that any fixed Solar panel suffers is that the average charging current during the whole day does not remains constant. This varies according to the angle of the sun. This circuit is an independent unit which monitors the direction of the sun and constantly aligns the complete assembly towards the sun so that the efficiency of the panel is at maximum. The solar panel has the property of changing the current which depends on the angle of incident light. Therefore in course of time, when the sun moves away from the set direction, the maximum current of the panel reduces which thereby decreases the charging current. The circuit compromises of two Light Dependent Resistors (LDRs), which are separated by a partition. These LDRs are mounted perpendicular to the solar panel surface such that when the panel faces the sun, the sunlight falls on both LDRs. Now when the sun moves past the panel, the partition between the LDRs casts a shadow on the opposite LDR, which in turn increases the resistance of that LDR. This triggers the comparator circuit (LM339) and sends a logical signal to the microcontroller. The microcontroller then enables its certain outputs to turn on the appropriate relay. These relays then drive the motor in suitable direction. The process is repeated until both the LDRs sees the sun back. The motor is operated in a particular direction from the two relays driven from the microcontroller. The microcontroller also checks the night conditions, when the both LDRs have greater resistance. In such situation, the microcontroller turns off both the relay otherwise if both relays are turned on, the supply will get shorted. The motor used in the project is a geared type and of 3.5 RPM to maintain a close tolerance in panel alignment. The panel is pivoted from the center with the help of two sheet metal screws and two hinges. Such that, the panel is free to move on its center axis. One end of the panel is spring loaded while the other end is tied to the motor shaft using a stainless steel wire of 0.25mm diameter. When the motor rotates, the wire gets wound or unwound on the shaft and thereby pulling or pushing the panel from the axis of rotation.