3 ms·

What if we do vertical bi-facial panels, mounted on a rotating circle that rotates to align the panels with the sun (north-south or east-east or in between) dep

What if we do vertical bi-facial panels, mounted on a rotating circle that rotates to align the panels with the sun (north-south or east-east or in between) depending on the time of the year. Wouldn't that be the best of all worlds right now?

masklinn 1y ago
On a theoretical basis yes but a tracking array gets a lot more expensive, and a lot less reliable. The rotating circle also takes a huge amount of ground space.
- paduc 1y ago
  If you put the panels in a diagonal (NW - SE), and you rotate each panel on its vertical axis, the need for space would be limited to a series of circles the diameter of the panel width.
  - jmkd 1y ago
    No expert on the topic but surely a manually rotated system achieves the benefits of tracking without the overhead of installation and maintenance for an automatic system. As long as the panels are easily reverted to default position when no one can go and rotate them through the day (thinking domestic setup in the garden). Plenty of people have gardens and land that is tended to multiple times through the day anyway (for gardening, animals, workshop activity etc).
  - masklinn 1y ago
    > the need for space would be limited to a series of circles the diameter of the panel width. Now your panels start shading one another.
    - paduc 1y ago
      Maybe I wasn't clear, but in the precise NS and WE configurations, there should be no shading.
adrianN 1y ago
As soon as you add moving parts to your setup costs and maintenance explode. It's usually better to just buy more panels instead.
- lm28469 1y ago
  Depending on where you live a system that allows to manually change the tilt of your pannels once per month could be nice. You get a free 5-15% boost, where I am in Europe the optimal yearly tilt is ~40 degrees, in peak winter the optimal tilt of ~70 degrees would shed snow much more easily. You're right on motorized trackers though, way too complex and expensive to make sense for most people
  - masklinn 1y ago
    > Depending on where you live a system that allows to manually change the tilt of your pannels once per month could be nice. You get a free 5-15% boost, where I am in Europe the optimal yearly tilt is ~40 degrees, in peak winter the optimal tilt of ~70 degrees would shed snow much more easily. Yup, that's what I was referring to as a tilting mount in the original comment, a pivot and tracks to tilt the panels up/down to set them at whatever's optimal for your latitude and time period, or completely vertical if you're in a snow-heavy region. The necessary engineering might not be worth it anyway, given current panel prices, unless space is a bit of a premium.
- potato3732842 1y ago
  Moving parts? We're talking about something like a pipe that's a hotdog down hallway slip fit onto another pipe here. With zero maintenance that will still have a service life that exceeds several generations of panel.
  - fho 1y ago
    Plus at least one motor plus sun tracking controller. All of that has to operate 24/7, all year. Depending on your local climate, that has to be sun and rain proof. (Most Nema 7 "3D printer" motors are not waterproof... Ask me now I know ) Nothing a quick hack job can't solve for you, but if you want to sell it (and make sure your customers will be satisfied for decades) it quickly adds up in price.

masklinn 1y ago

On a theoretical basis yes but a tracking array gets a lot more expensive, and a lot less reliable. The rotating circle also takes a huge amount of ground space.

paduc 1y ago
If you put the panels in a diagonal (NW - SE), and you rotate each panel on its vertical axis, the need for space would be limited to a series of circles the diameter of the panel width.
- jmkd 1y ago
  No expert on the topic but surely a manually rotated system achieves the benefits of tracking without the overhead of installation and maintenance for an automatic system. As long as the panels are easily reverted to default position when no one can go and rotate them through the day (thinking domestic setup in the garden). Plenty of people have gardens and land that is tended to multiple times through the day anyway (for gardening, animals, workshop activity etc).
- masklinn 1y ago
  > the need for space would be limited to a series of circles the diameter of the panel width. Now your panels start shading one another.
  - paduc 1y ago
    Maybe I wasn't clear, but in the precise NS and WE configurations, there should be no shading.

adrianN 1y ago

As soon as you add moving parts to your setup costs and maintenance explode. It's usually better to just buy more panels instead.

lm28469 1y ago
Depending on where you live a system that allows to manually change the tilt of your pannels once per month could be nice. You get a free 5-15% boost, where I am in Europe the optimal yearly tilt is ~40 degrees, in peak winter the optimal tilt of ~70 degrees would shed snow much more easily. You're right on motorized trackers though, way too complex and expensive to make sense for most people
- masklinn 1y ago
  > Depending on where you live a system that allows to manually change the tilt of your pannels once per month could be nice. You get a free 5-15% boost, where I am in Europe the optimal yearly tilt is ~40 degrees, in peak winter the optimal tilt of ~70 degrees would shed snow much more easily. Yup, that's what I was referring to as a tilting mount in the original comment, a pivot and tracks to tilt the panels up/down to set them at whatever's optimal for your latitude and time period, or completely vertical if you're in a snow-heavy region. The necessary engineering might not be worth it anyway, given current panel prices, unless space is a bit of a premium.
potato3732842 1y ago
Moving parts? We're talking about something like a pipe that's a hotdog down hallway slip fit onto another pipe here. With zero maintenance that will still have a service life that exceeds several generations of panel.
- fho 1y ago
  Plus at least one motor plus sun tracking controller. All of that has to operate 24/7, all year. Depending on your local climate, that has to be sun and rain proof. (Most Nema 7 "3D printer" motors are not waterproof... Ask me now I know ) Nothing a quick hack job can't solve for you, but if you want to sell it (and make sure your customers will be satisfied for decades) it quickly adds up in price.