Abstarct: The low efficiency of photovoltaic (PV) systems is one of the major challenges in the effective utilization of solar energy, and the use of solar trackers has been recognized as an effective solution for increasing power generation. The control system of these trackers plays a crucial role in determining the extent of solar energy harvesting. In this study, the performance of the control algorithms employed in solar tracking systems is evaluated. Time-baxsed algorithms are commonly used for controlling solar tracking systems. These algorithms rely on astronomical models to calculate the position of the sun and determine the appropriate tilt angle of the PV panel accordingly. Therefore, the accuracy of the astronomical models is of great importance. In the first stage, three well-established astronomical models—Duffie, Roy, and NOAA—were evaluated. Among them, the NOAA model was selected due to its higher accuracy. In the second stage, a single-axis laboratory test setup was designed and constructed to evaluate the performance of the time-baxsed algorithm and to optimize its operation. To investigate the possibility of increasing the generated power by adjusting the reference angle (derived from the time-baxsed algorithm), a limited search method around the reference angle was implemented while monitoring the actual output power of the PV panel (active method). This approach enabled the determination of the optimal panel angle at each moment of the day. Due to the ±50° angular limitation of the laboratory setup, the algorithm could not be modified during the midday period (approximately from 9:00 to 15:00), which is commonly referred to as the direct solar tracking interval. In practical solar power plants, mutual shading between rows of panels occurs during the early morning and late afternoon hours. Consequently, an algorithm known as reverse tracking is employed during these periods. To evaluate this aspect, in the next phase of the research, experiments were conducted on the control algorithm of the solar power plant at Shahrood University of Technology on selected days, following the commissioning of the plant’s data acquisition system. The results obtained from both the laboratory setup and the solar power plant indicate that during the midday hours (direct tracking), adjusting the tracking angle by 2 to 3 degrees (depending on the day) can increase the output power by up to 0.5%, particularly during the warmer seasons. However, when the panel angles are also corrected during the early morning and late afternoon hours (reverse tracking interval), the daily energy yield increases by approximately 2.5%. Part of this improvement is attributed to construction and installation errors inherent in real power plants. Therefore, the impact of angle correction in the reverse tracking algorithm is considerably greater than that during the midday period.The findings of this study demonstrate that discrepancies between astronomical model-baxsed algorithms and the practical optimal tracking angle under real operating conditions are unavoidable. Moreover, the use of a hybrid control algorithm that combines time-baxsed and active tracking methods can lead to a significant improvement in the performance of single-axis solar trackers at both laboratory and power plant scales, without a substantial increase in system complexity.