Systems and methods for solar trackers with diffuse light tracking

1. A system comprising:

a tracker attached to a rotational mechanism for changing a plane of the tracker, wherein the tracker is configured to collect solar irradiance; and

a controller in communication with the rotational mechanism, the controller comprising at least one processor in communication with at least one memory device, wherein the at least one processor is programmed to:

detect a first amount of diffuse horizontal irradiance (DHI) and a first amount of direct normal irradiance (DNI) at a first specific point in time;

calculate a first angle for the tracker to maximize an amount of irradiance received by the tracker based on the first amount of diffuse horizontal irradiance, the first amount of direct normal irradiance, and an angle of the sun; and

transmit instructions to the rotational mechanism to change the plane of the tracker to the first angle.

2. The system in accordance with claim 1 , wherein the at least one processor is further programmed to:

detect a second amount of diffuse horizontal irradiance (DHI) and a second amount of direct normal irradiance (DNI) at a second specific point in time;

if the second amount of diffuse horizontal irradiance exceeds the second amount of direct normal irradiance, calculate a second angle for the tracker so that the tracker receives a portion of the second amount of diffuse horizontal irradiance and a portion of the second amount of direct normal irradiance;

if the second amount of diffuse horizontal irradiance does not exceed the second amount of direct normal irradiance, calculate the second angle for the tracker based on a position of the sun associated with the second specific point in time; and

transmit instructions to the rotational mechanism to change the plane of the tracker to the second angle.

3. The system in accordance with claim 2 , wherein the at least one processor is further programmed to wait a predetermined period of time between detecting the first amount of diffuse horizontal irradiance and detecting the second amount of diffuse horizontal irradiance.

4. The system in accordance with claim 1 , wherein the at least one processor is further programmed to:

determine if a difference between a current angle of the tracker and the first angle exceeds a predetermined threshold; and

if the difference exceeds the predetermined threshold, transmit instructions to the rotational mechanism to change the plane of the tracker to the first angle.

5. The system in accordance with claim 1 , wherein the portion of the first amount of diffuse horizontal irradiance is greater than the portion of the first amount of direct normal irradiance.

6. The system in accordance with claim 1 , wherein the at least one processor is further programmed to:

calculate an amount of irradiance collected for each angle of a plurality of angles between a current angle of the tracker and a horizontal angle for the tracker; and

identify the first angle of the plurality of angles based on a comparison of the corresponding amounts of irradiance to select one of the plurality of angles with the maximum amount of irradiance received.

7. The system in accordance with claim 6 , wherein the at least one processor is further programmed to:

determine if a diffuse condition flag is set to true; and

if the first amount of diffuse horizontal irradiance exceeds the first amount of direct normal irradiance and the diffuse condition flag is set to false, set the diffuse condition flag to true.

8. The system in accordance with claim 7 , wherein the at least one processor is further programmed to set the diffuse condition flag to false if the first amount of diffuse horizontal irradiance does not exceeds the first amount of direct normal irradiance and the diffuse condition flag is set to true.

9. The system in accordance with claim 1 , further comprising one or more sensors, and where the at least one processor is further programmed to:

receive sensor information from the one or more sensors; and

detect a first amount of diffuse horizontal irradiance (DHI) and a first amount of direct normal irradiance (DNI) at a first specific point in time based on the received sensor information.

10. The system in accordance with claim 1 , where the at least one processor is further programmed to:

receive forecast information from a remote computer device; and

detect the first amount of diffuse horizontal irradiance (DHI) and the first amount of direct normal irradiance (DNI) based on the received forecast information.

11. The system in accordance with claim 10 , wherein the at least one processor is further programmed to detect the first amount of diffuse horizontal irradiance (DHI) and the first amount of direct normal irradiance (DNI) over a period of time based on the received forecast information.

12. A method for operating a tracker, the method implemented by at least one processor in communication with at least one memory device, the method comprises:

detecting a first amount of diffuse horizontal irradiance (DHI) and a first amount of direct normal irradiance (DNI) at a first specific point in time;

calculating a first angle for the tracker to maximize an amount of irradiance received by the tracker based on the first amount of diffuse horizontal irradiance, the first amount of direct normal irradiance, and an angle of the sun; and

transmitting instructions to a rotational mechanism to change a plane of the tracker to the first angle.

13. The method in accordance with claim 12 further comprising:

detecting a second amount of diffuse horizontal irradiance (DHI) and a second amount of direct normal irradiance (DNI) at a second specific point in time;

if the second amount of diffuse horizontal irradiance exceeds the second amount of direct normal irradiance, calculating a second angle for the tracker so that the tracker receives a portion of the second amount of diffuse horizontal irradiance and a portion of the second amount of direct normal irradiance;

if the second amount of diffuse horizontal irradiance does not exceed the second amount of direct normal irradiance, calculating the second angle for the tracker based on a position of the sun associated with the second specific point in time; and

transmitting instructions to the rotational mechanism to change the plane of the tracker to the second angle.

14. The method in accordance with claim 13 further comprising waiting a predetermined period of time between detecting the first amount of diffuse horizontal irradiance and detecting the second amount of diffuse horizontal irradiance.

15. The method in accordance with claim 12 further comprising:

calculating an amount of irradiance collected for each angle of a plurality of angles between a current angle of the tracker and a horizontal angle for the tracker; and

identifying the first angle of the plurality of angles based on a comparison of the corresponding amounts of irradiance to select one of the plurality of angles with the maximum amount of irradiance received.

16. A controller for a tracker, the controller including at least one processor in communication with at least one memory device, the at least one processor programmed to:

detect a first amount of diffuse horizontal irradiance (DHI) and a first amount of direct normal irradiance (DNI) at a first specific point in time;

calculate a first angle for the tracker to maximize an amount of irradiance received by the tracker based on the first amount of diffuse horizontal irradiance, the first amount of direct normal irradiance, and an angle of the sun; and

transmit instructions to a rotational mechanism to change a plane of a tracker to the first angle.

17. The controller in accordance with claim 16 , wherein the at least one processor is further programmed to:

detect a second amount of diffuse horizontal irradiance (DHI) and a second amount of direct normal irradiance (DNI) at a second specific point in time;

if the second amount of diffuse horizontal irradiance exceeds the second amount of direct normal irradiance, calculate a second angle for the tracker so that the tracker receives a portion of the second amount of diffuse horizontal irradiance and a portion of the second amount of direct normal irradiance;

if the second amount of diffuse horizontal irradiance does not exceed the second amount of direct normal irradiance, calculate the second angle for the tracker based on a position of the sun associated with the second specific point in time; and

transmit instructions to the rotational mechanism to change the plane of the tracker to the second angle.

18. The controller in accordance with claim 17 , wherein the at least one processor is further programmed to wait a predetermined period of time between detecting the first amount of diffuse horizontal irradiance and detecting the second amount of diffuse horizontal irradiance.

19. The controller in accordance with claim 16 , wherein the at least one processor is further programmed to:

determine if a difference between a current angle of the tracker and the first angle exceeds a predetermined threshold; and

if the difference exceeds the predetermined threshold, transmit instructions to the rotational mechanism to change the plane of the tracker to the first angle.

20. The controller in accordance with claim 16 , wherein the at least one processor is further programmed to:

calculate an amount of irradiance collected for each angle of a plurality of angles between a current angle of the tracker and a horizontal angle for the tracker; and

identify the first angle of the plurality of angles based on a comparison of the corresponding amounts of irradiance to select one of the plurality of angles with the maximum amount of irradiance received.