choosing a correct mount?

[iFred]

The last idea here is my own. All the panels rotate together but individually, like a vertical blind... same idea, but with some spacing between..

For the last couple days I have been attempting to choose a tracking solar panel mounting system, and this is what I have come up with so far. The problem I have is that I am using the dual glass for the cells, which means weight.. any suggestions?

[DanB]

Im not sure about the chain idea... it sounds good at first, but I think in the mornings/late afternoons you might windup with one panel shading another unless there was quite a fair amount of space between them.  Maybe not.. just a thought though.

I think trackers have their place, although its a hard call to know which is the better investment, a tracker - or just more panels pointed in the 'best' direction.  I expect the closer we get to the equator the more benifit well see from them.  As far north as you are, I wonder if the benifit is worth the cost.

I cant speak for anyone but myself, but here.. this time of year, i start getting good power at about 9AM  - 4PM.  I dont think a tracker would pick up much more for me - a little perhaps.  Probably less than if I just went out and bought a couple more hundred watt panels though.

[Phil Timmons]

Not bad starts . . . I am pondering some similar things for trough solar concentrators.  Since you are starting with a fresh page (not really married to mounting them a certain way, or on an existing roof), it gives you some thinking room.

A couple of things you may wish to consider.  

Weather -- Hail, wind, and snow (depending on where you are) can be part of the concern.  I like your chain-gang version in that it could be conceivably rotated upside down to the protect the cells (or in my case reflectors)  For serious protection they could flip right over, face down tight to the ground for the night, or bad weather.  

Additional utility -- If you are putting in a serious frame that can hold a wind load, you may be able to use these as small sheds, carports, firewood storage/drying racks, dunno -- what else?

(Self) servicing -- The trough racks I am considering, I want to build to be self loading and unloading from a pick-up truck, utility cart, or trailer.  But I have not thought that through, yet.

[pyrocasto]

I personlly prefer the pole mount trackers. It's easier to switch to dual axis, and I like the looks better.

Phil, on any tracker you can turn it sideways for hail and flat for wind. If you have both, then upside down would be better and you cant do that on a pole mount.

[healerenergy]

Use a match book mount on a lazy susan and rack and pinions with the pannels mounted sideways with a small spread between pannels.

[Psycogeek]

here tracking the horizontal movement of the sun, would be a Daily hourly process

but tracking the verticle (seasonal) would be a Monthly occurance

so if it "tracks" on one axis, and ALLOWS me to adjust the other axis manually, that would be the most efficient.

ALL the goverment cells here mounted to poles to charge electronic contraption batteries, are solid, no tracking.  but what looks like great mounting for strength.

[iFred]

I was looking at the very top photo because of the amount of panels I have.. I have over 20+ panels all in dual pane tempered glass, which is somewhat heavy as stated, I was going to divide into 2 sectionals of 10 because of the weight. I am concerned about wind mostly in this area. From others with trackers they say they see about 30-50% increase in solar power. Since I am in Windsor, Ontario, Canada, I do not know as Dan has suggested if it will make any difference because of the location.. any speculations on this?

Thanks again!

[pyrocasto]

I agree you will get less gain than say someone living in texas, but you still gain power and trackers are fun to build and watch. If you have that many panels maybe the first one would be better. Or if you wanted an adjustable type you could slightly modify this type: http://www.solar-trackers.com/tra-riff.jpg Same concept, just tilted. If you make one side ajustable it would be a nice all year tracker.

[Ungrounded Lightning Rod]

Not bad starts . . . I am pondering some similar things for trough solar concentrators.

Venetian-blind trackers make more sense for a trough solar collector than they do for a photovoltaic panel.

A trough needs to track, and can do it by just rotating the mirror and leaving the pipe in one place.

A trough that is partially shadowed will just drop its output in proportion.  A photovoltaic panel will have some cells shaded and not others.  This will drastically reduce output voltage (unless it has the cells wired strictly series up the long direction and parallel in the short direction - which I have NEVER seen).

[Ungrounded Lightning Rod]

The other reason venetian-blind trackers don't make sense for photovoltaics is that, even if the selective shadowing DIDN'T reduce the power disproportionately, any shadowning at all defeats the whole purpose of rotating the panels.  A venetian-blind arrangement, as a whole, will still present the same reduced cross-section to the sun as if the panels weren't rotating (unless there was a BIG gap between them).

With panels mounted close together (which you do to avoid massive lever arms on your structure tearing it up from wind load) you need to rotate the set of panels as a unit to collect more sun than if you just left them pointed in the good-at-noon direction.

[ghurd]

Hi Fred,

I like the first one. Looks stronger in the wind (?), and simpler so maybe more

reliable.(It does not show the solar being tiped to the South, but it surely is)

It could be a chain drive.

G-