How Solar Trackers Work 

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Hello, I'm a french man 74 years old, your vidéo is really the best one I ever seen & I saw a lot

A most excellent video and graphic CAD display. I am interested in going solar for a small cabin that I built, and because I am in a higher latitude location, it only makes perfect sense to go with a dual tracker system due to the changes in sun location in the various seasons (4 of them). Yes, it may cost more, but if you can eliminate most of the costs by being able to do the fabrication yourself, then it only makes sense to go with that design that will give you the most efficiency during the various seasons. You really have to weigh your options and do your homework before considering such a system. Thanks for sharing! Cheers!

In which software did you make the animation? it is amazing! also thank you for share the video

Wonderful animated explanation of what was in my mind and what i want to do with solar panels that i want to install at my farm. Thanks for this. Could you please also make a small video for showing how to make joints that allow tilting of solar frame?

Very good explanation. Congratulations!

Many thanks, very clear and easy to understand 👍🏾👍🏾👍🏾

All your videos are sick, keep it up

Can you show the hydraulic circuit diagram for this setup?

Your methods are superb...thanks for uploading video..

I love the way you say tracker mate.

Thanks! very informative!!

Oh hey! Thats Tallinn! Nice!

Thank u. Excellent speech

very useful, thank you ! and the courses also very interesting. I would recommend it.

Great info with good teaching methodology

Do I need a limit switch for the two linear actuators ?

Very well explained 🙂👍🙏🙏👍

When you look at dual axis solar panels and whether or not they are worth the extra cost, don't just consider "40% more yield vs 100% more cost". The power from solar panels are generally needed the most in the morning and evening. So that extra 40% is mainly obtained where you would get very little production with a fixed panel. The real worth of each kWh is much more, when the supply-demand balance is such that there isn't enough supply. That would be directly financially realised in grid tie solutions where the price paid varies with supply-demand. But also for island systems, where batteries back up at night, you are interested in keeping the batteries charged up until as late as possible, while also be able to recharge them in the morning, as early as possible. The savings in battery capacity will in many cases make up for the added cost of a dual axis system.

Hello ! very nice video well explained, i just have a question about the dual axis tracker, i have a project about this and instead of this function my tracker will be moving according to 4 solar sensors but am struggling finding the right motor to move the pannel. am thinking of a jack motor would it be the same as the two hydrolic pumps u using? and would it be easy to program the two jacks, thank u !

Amazing explanation

Please make a indepth video about passive trackers

Clear Explanationabout solar Pv trackers.

very informative sir thanks

Hello. In this design is there a pump somewhere that pushes the fluid in the hydraulics?

Very informative video. Thanks from Angola, Lobito.

wow good job

You use the same solar panels for static mounts as you do for tracking systems. It's the mounts that increase the cost.

Smart. learned a lot. thanks. My comment would be to have the East West orientation on a rotating column so the entire array rotates. Where i am located, central BC, the E W change is about 270 degrees, a whopping difference in summer. In winter, the change might be 120. So to rotate makes more sense. The up and down is at least 70 degrees in summer, maybe 30 in winter. With my 2 panels of 315 watts each, this makes a lot of senses because i need power immediately in the morning and to stock up late in the evening. the wind speed sensor is damn smart, so the panels flatten out in windy days . never thought of that. I'm thinking of a scrapped old big satellite dish mechanism as the main hardware and mechanics. if it can support a dish 10' in diameter, then that would be excellent for say 3 large 300w panels. yes? Well done.

Can you upload video of how to make dual axis solar system in solidwork software?

What app did you use in designing that solar panel ?

Thanks a lot.

My country is at the equator? do you think I should have a solar tracker ?

Excellent video & presentation. would have been nice to have included the parts of the actuators, anemometer, hydraulic cylinders, solar tracker controller & sensors connectivity with electrical power source & where to find these parts.

Thank you.

Thanks

Are you used any program here Could you please share that program

Hi John, Nice one A doubt though I wasn't properly able to understand how a passive solar panel works You said that a low boiling liquid is taken and when it evaporates it would tilt Here's where I am not able to understand If the liquid vapourizes then shouldn't the liquid present at other areas fill up the vapourized portion

Thanks 👍

very interesting: am going to install two solar trackers to my house 12 panel each one tks

Am just starting out... and perhaps am “putting too much on my plate” for wants. 1) Flexible in being able to use at home, and take with for my trailer for vacations. 2) Am thinking basics to start... & if desire & money is there... to add more panels, better components. 3) I have (2) 120w , flex panels on order, & (1) 50w rigid panel , bought years ago, never used 4) Since its minimal... desire the dual axis tracker, to get max power to batteries. 5) My biggest conundrum is NOT knowing the good “name brands”,so may get unknowingly poor performance parts & get discouraged, if it all does not play out like I’m hoping. I like this vid, so am subscribing for more basics, and looking around for other good, practical references. I am strong electronically, but mechanical ability is sorely lacking... so this project may be quite a challenge !

cual sería el circuito en simulink, de este sistema

Vertical axis solar trackers at landfills seem like a good idea

Do we have any model available for sale...

Good information, Anyone know if there is a type of solar tracker where the West/East tracker works on a spinning disk? (would allow it to be laid flat on the ground when stowed).

Where can i get this model???

thanks

Hello , i'm interested about this material . I need one DUAL AXIS TRACKER SOLAR with 12KW for my home and my frog farm. I'm living in THAILAND . Do you know one company to make this similar tracker ? Thnks very much.

I'm so confused by this. You say that a "horizontal" tracker, which follows the sun's path from east to west through the day, rotates about a "north-south axis", which seems correct. But later you repeatedly use the term "north-south axis" to refer to motion that alters the slope of the module up and down to match solar altitude. What exactly do you mean by "north-south axis" a line that runs through the center of the module from south to north? If so, wouldn't that make the module rotate from east to west?

What actuators are you?

Good video. Limited to a .25 acre area, considering a single axis east to west, but also considered a dual axis as it provides up to 40% more energy in less panels. Any idea on which system are good?

Good

The complexity and cost can be reduced by "tracking" the sun through about 90 degrees centered on solar noon each day and adjusting the tilt of that axis manually each month. The amount you gain outside of that is small.

good

The need for electricity around the clock during the day to operate loads that require a long number of hours is what forces us to implement a base of moving panels with one or two axes, or you must design a double photovoltaic array in order to obtain, for example, at nine in the morning the electricity necessary to operate those loads and waste excess electricity at peak times.

Can i get this solar tracker CAD file?

The other potential reasons for using dual solar tracking would be extra panels cannot be deployed due to space limitations, any situation where daylight hours are limited, and the ability to adjust the position to shed snowfall.

how long is the economic life of Tracker systems?

09:11 I wonder what happens when it hails and the panel is completely horizontal - and the hail always comes here in a very strong wind ...; - / Anyway - wellmade video, thumbs up!

How does these cylinders respond - what is driving them, electrical, heat ... ?

Where my grandma lives, there is a Solar power field that are horizontal solar trackers

Can you send to me a price list?

Around 2:00, while explaining when mannual activation may be used, you could also mention that for domestic installs, the homeowner may, if he's around the entire day, change the position itself. But yeah nevertheless it's not practical

Can you send to me price list?

My old father is my solar panels tracker,he is retired over few years ago and this is he only job per day.

I built east to west solar tracker my self with one motor and i keep getting power until the sun go down . i design it and went to a welder and get it done .

Very intersting, seems like too much overhead for not that much gain, but what if you had 1 axis instead, the panel is donig the same moevement eveery day so is dual axis really necessary? one axis with a predetermined angle could give you almost the same amount of gain, not quite admittidely, but perhaps at 1/10 the cost of a dual axis system with about 95% of the gains with a 1 axis? A simple script for your area could move it at the right time with no need for tracking overhead either further bringing the cost down. Just the hardware for movement of 180 degrees. And now you could afford to put all your panels on 180 degree motors and perhaps would want smaller panels to mulitply the efficiecny gain, as it would seem you should get more the more panels you can move, if they're smaller you can move more into optimal light.

but the 100% cost is the production cost right? wouldnt that be logical to have a one time higher production cost but instead 40% more energy for a long term?

Asks why we need a solar tracker. Explains that we need a solar tracker to track the sun. Genius.

Thanks for your input.... Nice design, but way to complicated for private persons to make. A flat platform who controls the East - West movement with a single motor is much easier, and better for stormy weather. At least in the Nordic countries.

I need this for a crypto mine.

Solar panels are not categorized (or manufactured) as 1 or 2-axis panels and non-moving panels. A panel is a panel. It is the mechanical track and pivot system that adds the cost. Although, maybe you didn't mean to communicate it the way you did?

But you also gotta take in consideration the ammount of space that you will pay for if you're planning on having way much more solar panels.💁‍♂️🤷‍♂️ for me is better to have this systems so you'll need less panels and less money spended on maintenance.

Hello. How much watts we can gain through this dual axis tracker? I calculated and found that the equipment and installation cost of this type of dual axis tracker is much higher than installating 3-4 additional panels to compensate the wattage loss due to sun's movement... The concept and idea is good, but not practical considering "Cost and benefit" analysis.

if your system is constrained by regulation to say 4kw as in uk, the adoption of this may make sense

👍👏👏👏

Unless you make them your self.

What powers the solar trackers when the sun isn’t shining?

thats 13+ mins im not going to get back

Why does it cost 100% more for a pair of actuators? If we make it ourselves it'll not cost more than 10% of the setup and for huge system just single drive is enough where it costs less than 5% of the setup. I think you people should get a new dealer abroad, many companies make simple stuff more complicated and charge 10 times more than it should be.

As far as off grid living is concerned, this video is super simplistic, and therefore (sorry mate, I do not want to diss you... ), inaccurate. As, and very often, more important than peak power, is the distribution of power throughout the day. In the darkest winter months, East to west tracking is not so important because (Northern hemisphere) the sun is rising in the South East and setting in the South West, with relatively little passage across the sky, however vertical alignment with the sun will make a significantly beneficial improvement. However, from mid February through mid October, to be able to maximise available power harvesting will make a big difference to the utility the panels provide... if you are not interested in being as kind to your batteries as you can, all this is not so relevant of course !! ... but if you are, and maybe you want or need to run some heavier loads when it is convenient for you to do so, rather than the position of the sun in the sky calling the shots, then it is useful to be able to have your panels orientated as norman (at right angles), give or take twenty degrees or so, to the sun as possible. I often get almost 50% of available power shortly after sunrise (I do have some visual obstructions to the SE, so sunrise is always an hour or so later than it would be at an unobstructed location, however it is still relatively low in the sky) and my setup is very far from ideal. So on a sunny day, continuous or intermittent, by early March through late October, I can use my maximum draw appliances from an hour or so after local sunrise through an hour so so before sunset, within reason, without putting a large load on my batteries, as a good chunk of the power that the inverter is supplying is coming straight off the pannels and therefore the batteries are not having to work so hard, thus, maintaining voltage. I tend not to impose a heavy draw within a couple hours before sunsett though, as I like my batteries to be fully charged well before. Basically, the length of both the useful day and of useful season is significantly extended. Now, if you are significantly dependent on that beautiful big yellow ball, you will know just how much significantly lengthened useful days and seasons are. Gain 40% but it is not worth it, better go go buy another panel instead might sound like a good idea, but if thought through and alowed to reach a logical destination, it does not provide a great deal of utility. Appreciate your batteties, be as kind to them as you can; track you panels both vertically and horizontally if you can; and enjoy the gift the sun is giving you for more hours per day and more months per year.

Dual axis solar panels; 40 % more energy for 100 % price increase. Not economical sustainable........I guess that depends on the demand of power during the day. If one could save or sell energy at times of the day with higher prices it might in fact be a GOOD deal. Where I live energy can often become almost free in the middle of the day. Meaning that I have no real economical use for making my own energy. In other times the price can go op several hundred percent.

Wow what a stupid reasoning that 100% more cost is not worth 40% more power. That's is a fantastic trade off,basically double the cost for almost extra half of power. DUDE that's not a disadvantage

Lots of talk, little valuable information

you could explain everything in 3 minutes instead of 13, you just wasted our time

Thanks