Local solar farm

[KevinC_63559]

While traveling towards St. Louis on Monday I noticed a solar field on the way. It was across the highway, so couldn't really stop, but per the car compass the panels were facing south-west (compass not particularly accurate). I looked in the rear view mirror and verified they were bifacial. Thought that facing was interesting.

Coming back to the farm we passed it again (obviously), but this time I was looking for it and snapped a few photos. The first exclamation from my wife was "They moved!". And indeed they did, they are apparently tracking panels. We past them the first time in the afternoon when they were facing south west, but this morning they were north east (both by the car compass and this time my phone compass).

If you look closely at the zoomed in photo, it appears the center is a round axis that presumably tilts as a unit.

Anyone know of anything similar for smaller home installed. These photographed units are presumable built to handle our state level winds, although my local situation is higher than the state average (high enough that we have some local wind farms).

Thinking I'll eventually have about 32 XXL panels for the house and 16 for the office project.

Particularly found it interesting that 1) They used bifacial panels and 2) they appear to have been faced to optimize afternoon sun collection. SW neither being neither the traditional south fixed tilt, nor east/west tracked.

Any thoughts? Guessing those mounts, with installation material, cost as much or more than the panels themselves.

 

[BentleyJ]

This product has been discussed on the forum a few times. No personal experience but seems to have favorable reviews from others.

https://www.amazon.com/ECO-WORTHY-Dual-Solar-Tracking-System/dp/B00JYAIS9W

 

[Hedges]

I don't think facing north east would be good most seasons.
South west is good for when power is more in demand.
Straight up is better when sun is overhead.

There are some tilt mounts for home use, but way too expensive.
I think you're better off putting up extra panels of the multiple orientations you want.
Either connect different orientation strings to different MPPT, or just parallel strings so long as same length (voltage).

This product has been discussed on the forum a few times. No personal experience but seems to have favorable reviews from others.

https://www.amazon.com/ECO-WORTHY-Dual-Solar-Tracking-System/dp/B00JYAIS9W

Compare price with price of 40% more panels and fixed mounts.
Also attempt to estimate mean time to failure, and adjust price accordingly.

 

[KevinC_63559]

This product has been discussed on the forum a few times. No personal experience but seems to have favorable reviews from others.

https://www.amazon.com/ECO-WORTHY-Dual-Solar-Tracking-System/dp/B00JYAIS9W

Actually dug into that product a month or two ago. Its fine if you use small panels, like their 100W and 195W ones, but isn't up to the task for larger ones per at least one review.

Plus, it requires a separate 12V power supply to drive the actuators, and being dual axis, has more parts to fail.

 

[KevinC_63559]

I don't think facing north east would be good most seasons.
South west is good for when power is more in demand.
Straight up is better when sun is overhead.

There are some tilt mounts for home use, but way too expensive.
I think you're better off putting up extra panels of the multiple orientations you want.
Either connect different orientation strings to different MPPT, or just parallel strings so long as same length (voltage).



Compare price with price of 40% more panels and fixed mounts.
Also attempt to estimate mean time to failure, and adjust price accordingly.

The South West aspect is what caught me off guard. I'm guessing they are sacrificing morning power in favor of afternoon power. I'm just use to seeing either south tilted, or east/west with tracking. SW threw me for a loop. Big place, hundred of panels, I'm sure they had their reasons.

 

[Kcmusa]

Actually dug into that product a month or two ago. Its fine if you use small panels, like their 100W and 195W ones, but isn't up to the task for larger ones per at least one review.

Plus, it requires a separate 12V power supply to drive the actuators, and being dual axis, has more parts to fail.

Also says to remove panels in winds ove 17m/s. Not for me.

 

[KevinC_63559]

Also says to remove panels in winds ove 17m/s. Not for me.

Yeah... that's roughly 40 mph - we get gust in that range. "Hey honey? Tornado warnings tonight. Really windy already. Mind helping me remove those solar sails, ah panels..." Not a conversation I would want to have.

 

[ksmithaz1]

The South West aspect is what caught me off guard. I'm guessing they are sacrificing morning power in favor of afternoon power. I'm just use to seeing either south tilted, or east/west with tracking. SW threw me for a loop. Big place, hundred of panels, I'm sure they had their reasons.

South west is optimal for de-stressing the grid in summer. It takes time for the sun to heat things up in the morning, thus cooling costs do not kick in high gear until the sun has been up for a while. Conversely in the evening as the sun drops, the heat is still there, and cooling stays in high gear until after the sun goes down. The more afternoon energy you get the better for controlling demand. Power companies want your panels facing dead west, as just before sundown is when they need the power most.

 

[Doggydogworld]

Most large farms use trackers now. It's more about getting a flat power curve all day long than increasing total kWhs produced. A sharp midday peak that only lasts a few hours is a pain for theh grid. A flat curve also utilizes downstream components (inverters, connector lines) more cost-effectively. All-in cost for large farms is a little over $1/W, now, with panels well below half the total. I've seen some breakdowns between mounting, inverters, permits, land, etc. but it's been too long to quote from memory.

Summer demand (and wholesale electricity pricing) peaks in the late afternoon/evening. The summer sun sets in the SW, so that's where you want to aim your panels. There might be a small winter benefit, too, as the winter sun rises in the NE and demand peaks on cold mornings around sunrise as heat pumps run all-out and people wake up, take hot showers, start coffee makers, etc.

 

[KevinC_63559]

There are some tilt mounts for home use, but way too expensive.
I think you're better off putting up extra panels of the multiple orientations you want.
Either connect different orientation strings to different MPPT, or just parallel strings so long as same length (voltage).

Compare price with price of 40% more panels and fixed mounts.
Also attempt to estimate mean time to failure, and adjust price accordingly.

Just started doing a bit of digging. First reference I hit indicated I should expect to add $500-$1000 PER PANEL for a tracker. No thank you.

Back to researching fixed ground mounts. Anyhow have a strong recommendation?