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Hello Gents

I am going to build a system that follows the big Yellow Thing and moves position and angle on a daily basis.

Is there any software / calculator to tell you in real time the angle and position required.

Having only got 38 fixed panels I decided to have a go at a motorised system

I thought trackers had a light sensor on them that told the controller when the panels were at the optimum position to the sun.

Fintray wrote: ↑Sat Sep 09, 2023 10:18 am I thought trackers had a light sensor on them that told the controller when the panels were at the optimum position to the sun.

Yep, cos if its really cloudy you want them pointing straight up as if they were on a flat roof.

ALAN/ALAN D wrote: ↑Sat Sep 09, 2023 9:33 am Hello Gents

I am going to build a system that follows the big Yellow Thing and moves position and angle on a daily basis.

Is there any software / calculator to tell you in real time the angle and position required.

Having only got 38 fixed panels I decided to have a go at a motorised system

You’re making it far more complicated than it needs to be. You just need a pair of light sensors one each side of the array. If one gets more light than the other the array is moved until equilibrium is achieved.

In any case trackers were from a time when solar panels were expensive. You can get more generation from the same amount of land for less money and with much better reliability with a fixed array. There were a few notable projects on the other place if you can find them in some archive or other. But nothing in the last 20 years for the above reasons.

Stinsy wrote: ↑Sun Sep 10, 2023 6:37 am In any case trackers were from a time when solar panels were expensive. You can get more generation from the same amount of land for less money and with much better reliability with a fixed array. There were a few notable projects on the other place if you can find them in some archive or other. But nothing in the last 20 years for the above reasons.

Wot he said ^

If you want to do it just for fun then @ClockmanFRA installed a couple of trackers some while ago (when panels were expensive) so may be able to advise you but I suspect he might also say "just buy more fixed panels".

I went to see one locally many years ago owned by a guy that also used to frequent the other forum. Whilst it was very impressive it also took a lot of concrete for the base and the structure had to be very substantial to resist the wind loading, he also admitted that it was easier and more cost effective just to put in more fixed panels.

ALAN/ALAN D wrote: ↑Sat Sep 09, 2023 9:33 am Hello Gents

I am going to build a system that follows the big Yellow Thing and moves position and angle on a daily basis.

Is there any software / calculator to tell you in real time the angle and position required.

Having only got 38 fixed panels I decided to have a go at a motorised system

In simple terms yes. The position on earth directly underneath the sun at any point in time can be computed and is published in a sun almanac as a the sun's declination and Greenwich Hour Angle. The declination varies seasonally from +23.5 to -23.5 degrees and is the latitude of the point directly underneath the sun. The GHA varies throughout the day as the earth rotates and seasonally by the equation of time which is the offset difference between true noon at Greenwich (when the sun is at its highest) and noon GMT. This is why it is Greenwich Mean Time and not just Greenwich Time and the difference varies throughout the year by about +/- 15 minutes.

Thus, from an almanac and an accurate clock, you can find the lat and long of the point under the sun at any point in time. From these you can calculate the sun's altitude (height above the horizon) and azimuth (direction - approx east at 6am, south at midday and west at 6pm).

I am sure that an online version of the almanac is available. The calculation can be done by spherical trigonometry. 40 years ago when I did navigated yachts using sun sights, I easily did the calculation on a cheap Casio calculator. Alternatively you could use a special set of log tables (sight reduction tables) to do the calculation. I could regularly get running fixes with an accuracy of 1 mile. Now in the days of GPS, sunsights are a lost art.

But as others say, don't bother and just get more panels to fill the space you would have to keep clear to allow a tracker to turn.

ALAN/ALAN D wrote: ↑Sat Sep 09, 2023 9:33 am Hello Gents

I am going to build a system that follows the big Yellow Thing and moves position and angle on a daily basis.

Is there any software / calculator to tell you in real time the angle and position required.

Having only got 38 fixed panels I decided to have a go at a motorised system

I saw this today and was reminded of this thread, not sure if this was put to bed or not.

Im not affiliated with this company just happened to scrol down in an email and saw it.

https://uk.eco-worthy.com/products/dual ... pify_email