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Help with solar tracker

Solarsan

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Jan 14, 2020
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Greetings to members of the forum.
Help advice, which solar tracker to put on a two-axis mechanism with 325 W panels, we plan to put 40 panels, maybe someone already has experience, what do you recommend?
 
Are you aware of the production number from Fixed, Tilt-able, and Trackers? Unless you must produce X amount of power in Y amount of space or are FAR from the equator the cost and maintenance of the mount may not be worth it. There are published numbers that you can study. I really wanted a tilt mount but finally decided to stay with a rigid fixed mount and just add a few more panels.
 
solar tracking is a mechanical nightmare if you use more than one panel (or several panel mounted as one).
so 40 panels ?
 
what you can do is to make several group of panel and mount then with a small different angle, so there will alway be a group of panel that is 100%.
Usually you make change only to adapt winter/summer sun position, and for this you just need a 2 position mount that you manually change once a year. the closer you are from equator, the less you need that, so unless you live in very north of europe or Alaska, or very south of argentina, you should not need solar tracking
 
I use SOLARSAN trackers.
Somedays, it gives up to 100% more energy than without trackers. It is very important in what latitude you are located.
 
This idea that trackers are a waste or not needed is nonsense. I can almost double my energy produced every day over a fixed south facing setup. It’s definitely not for every situation but it shouldn’t be outright discouraged. I didn’t have any problems with the mechanical part of mine. Basically just a hinge and actuator but I did struggle with the tracking part. I tried using Arduino and making my own but ended up being cheaper and way less frustrating to buy one
 
This idea that trackers are a waste or not needed is nonsense. I can almost double my energy produced every day over a fixed south facing setup. It’s definitely not for every situation but it shouldn’t be outright discouraged. I didn’t have any problems with the mechanical part of mine. Basically just a hinge and actuator but I did struggle with the tracking part. I tried using Arduino and making my own but ended up being cheaper and way less frustrating to buy one
How big? Watts?
Got pictures?
 
No. It’s disassembled and packed up in camper. It’s 2 175w mono panels on a Square frame similar to some the smaller prototype ones you see online. Single axis though since it’s only used seasonally. There’s tons of info out there if you want to build one. The biggest problem I had was the pivot point. I ended up drilling holes in the panel frames and running a 1/4” stainless steel bar through them for it to rotate on. Actuator is mounted to solar frame and one of the arms. I also bolted a small 20w panel to the larger ones and that powers the tracker and the actuator so I didn’t have to run extra wires or use battery at the tracker. I’ll post some this spring though.
 
There’s a guy on eBay and Amazon that sells trackers. He makes them and offers 1 year warranty. SBE solar tech. There’s others that are a little more aesthetically pleasing but I try to stick with American products and he was a pleasure to do business with. He knows the product and does tech support, not just some middleman selling Chinese crap.
 
For a camper I guess it can make sense. Less bulk to carry.

For a fixed system, I'd say buy 350W more panels, cost about $100, an aim 350W at morning sun, 350W at afternoon.
To do it dirt cheap, panels with cracked plastic backsheets are offered at $0.13/watt so $50 worth.

I'm planning an array to go on my truck. Laid flat, half will be exposed, covering the other half. Tilted up they will form an equilateral triangle, like a tent. Then that will tilt toward the South for season. All the benefits of active tracking, no (active) moving parts, cost is doubling the number of panels.

I considered trackers initially, 15 years ago when panels cost me $5 or more per watt.
But with 12 kW of panels in my yard, not practical. Large area commercial 1-axis trackers are (or were) cost effective.
 
https://pvwatts.nrel.gov/pvwatts.php can directly compare fixed to trackers for your exact location and factors in average weather.

At Lat 34.4°, a 2 axis tracker would yield 39.9% more energy on an annual basis. 1 axis would get me 26.4% more.

In either case, purchasing 26.4-39.9% more panels is way cheaper than trying to swing 6kW towards the sun all day.

For small arrays or for limited space, trackers may be worth considering. If you have the space for fixed, it's generally not.
 
Ya it definitely isn’t practical for every situation. Buying defective panels is a good idea too. I bought some from newpowa that just had minor dings in the frame. I don’t see them come up often though. Do you know of places that sell them?
 
At Lat 34.4°, a 2 axis tracker would yield 39.9% more energy on an annual basis. 1 axis would get me 26.4% more.

Of course, a PV panel sized to just reach capacity of an SCC at noontime sun is going to produce less power during those hours when sun is lower in the horizon, even aimed directly at the sun.
Oversizing the panel to make up for less light in that case could beat the +26.4% figure, and production would clip at noon.

What I'm considering is pairs of 5' tall panels, mounted on hinges at opposite sides of the truck roof (or rack).
Tilted up, they will have an acute 60 degree angle between them, 8 hours apart. They could be aimed at 8:00 AM and 4:00 PM sun (either in the summer, or other seasons if also tilted toward front of the truck.)

Ya it definitely isn’t practical for every situation. Buying defective panels is a good idea too. I bought some from newpowa that just had minor dings in the frame. I don’t see them come up often though. Do you know of places that sell them?

SanTan has some panels with cracked backsheets for $0.13/watt
I wouldn't use them for high voltage (don't know how thick that EVA is) and perhaps they won't last long.
I bought Sunpower for 2 to 3 times the price.
But some guys are buying the bargain ones.
 
I just bought 10kW for about $2600 from Santan. No defects. Stickers intact, UL approved. Just 6-7 years old.
 
Of course, a PV panel sized to just reach capacity of an SCC at noontime sun is going to produce less power during those hours when sun is lower in the horizon, even aimed directly at the sun.
Oversizing the panel to make up for less light in that case could beat the +26.4% figure, and production would clip at noon.

What I'm considering is pairs of 5' tall panels, mounted on hinges at opposite sides of the truck roof (or rack).
Tilted up, they will have an acute 60 degree angle between them, 8 hours apart. They could be aimed at 8:00 AM and 4:00 PM sun (either in the summer, or other seasons if also tilted toward front of the truck.)



SanTan has some panels with cracked backsheets for $0.13/watt
I wouldn't use them for high voltage (don't know how thick that EVA is) and perhaps they won't last long.
I bought Sunpower for 2 to 3 times the price.
But some guys are buying the bargain ones.
What exactly are you trying to power by putting them in the bed of your truck? I thought about using my tool box on my tru k bed to store batteries but panels seem risky. One wise a$$ teenager sees that and probably break them just for fun.
 
Roof rack, over the cab and hood.
I'll put an inverter and batteries in the bed.
Idea is portable power for utility/service truck use, also camping.

The tiltable array could have a cover, to look like something else and not be such an attractive target.

I've been thinking of tilt/pop-up shells on the back, to get low profile reduced drag. Also want see-through for driving.

Here's a clever nested shell tilt-up someone assembled:


I was thinking more along the lines of a 4' tall box covering bed sidewalls, would lift 2'
Or, would tilt 90 degrees, forming a 4' wide 6' tall pop-out.
 
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Oh that’s pretty cool. You could always make yourself a folding unit and just store it in the bed. I made one out of 2-60w panels and put folding legs on it. It works for camping if I don’t go crazy but you can always make one bigger or even use the flex panels.
 
There’s a guy on eBay and Amazon that sells trackers. He makes them and offers 1 year warranty. SBE solar tech. There’s others that are a little more aesthetically pleasing but I try to stick with American products and he was a pleasure to do business with. He knows the product and does tech support, not just some middleman selling Chinese crap.
Do you have a link to his Ebay listings? I was looking at this one today.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/1141119727...Jj9xZmbpN60OHCY6U%3D|ampid:PL_CLK|clp:2047675
 
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