The Low-Cost Mechanism of a Defined Path Guide Slot-Based Passive Solar Tracker Intended for Developing Countries

Solar trackers represent a significant advancement in enhancing the efficiency of solar energy collection. This study describes the development and implementation of a passive solar tracker featuring a single horizontal axis of rotation and an innovative guide slot mechanism. The tracker is designed to be used with solar radiation-capturing devices. The guide slot mechanism is specifically engineered for a designated date, location, and period to follow the solar trajectory accurately. A contact follower moves along the guide slot, which drives a tracker disk to rotate by the solar trajectory. The mechanism is activated by the movement of a liquid container attached to a spring, thereby storing potential energy. The container releases the liquid through a mechanical valve that regulates the container's movement, while the guide slot mechanism converts this movement into controlled rotational motion, which is transferred to a mobile structure mounting the solar panel. Notably, the majority of materials utilized in this construction are recycled. Furthermore, the solar tracker proposed in this work is designed to be operable by individuals with limited prior knowledge on the topic, emphasizing the primary contribution of this study: its potential to revolutionize energy collection in developing countries and marginalized urban areas. No similar systems are found upon comparison with existing models in the literature. Experiments conducted with a static solar panel and the same panel integrated into the passive solar tracker revealed a 30.87% improvement in energy collection efficiency over static solar panels.