Easiest Solar Tracker

Seems to me this would work great if you live near the equator and there was never any wind. Given this it is a great setup😊

This ist so Genius ! Did it still work after the Year ?

Slick! Thais is the kind of thinking that we need to solve some of the problems ahead. And yes, a spherical mount with two linear motors could be made to work.

A site called redrock solar has circuits that use the fact that green leds act like pv cells and produce electricity when exposed to light to make trackers. Simple little H bridge like circuits that use very little energy to move the array.
At least they did about twenty years ago.
You could also use two tanks connected with pipe (creatively shaded) with one tank worth of propane between the two. The tank exposed to more sun vaporizes the propane in that tank and it condenses in the other more shaded cooler tank making the see-saw move with no moving parts except the hinge.

Nice Music.

Perfect for people who live in the Equator where the sun moves from East to West very well.

Geil! Mit meinem bifazialen Modul würde noch mehr gehen 😉

And when the wind picks up how well does it work on its side assuming its not broken

Master

WOW! Great simplicity! 😮😊

Any data on the fixed vs tracked panel power output in a day?

At the end of 2023 everything speaks AGAINST PV tracking: 1) Because of price decline 430W modules cost today already under 100 €! Better to buy more modules, but in S-E (for morning sun) and S-W direction separately upright. Even in cloudy conditions, base load is then generated.
2) Tracking solar tables are exposed to much stronger gusts of wind.
3) Any mechanical system has a shorter lifetime. On the other hand, elevated modules work for about 25 years.

Nice video. I have 3 ground mounts just like your 1 panel. Each set has 4-400w panels. Each set is on 4 vertical poles (your A frame) mid panel and a horizontal pole the length of the 4 panels. Heavy duty gate hinges tie the horizontal pole to the vertical poles (4 hinges). 1 actuator each set in the middle under the panels (barely gets wet). Long stroke,, 1000lb actuator ($120ea). My actuator motor is at the bottom. All the panels are tied together with 1/2inch aluminum U channel.. Well grounded.. Been in operation 5 years. In high winds I have a parking spot panels are horizontal. Survived 60mph hurricane Hillary So. Cal.
Thanks for your video.

Excellent concept I'm thinking if you add a small 12v battery you can even have it reset to face East once the sun sets. Maybe with a time clock to have it reset back to East at night. This is really cool getting pretty much Max power from start to end of the day from this setup.

No diodes, no nothing... Just straight input. Bush electronics right here.

smart!

I general I like the simplicity of this approach. In reality, most everywhere a solar mounting system must be prepared for high wind.

how does this structure hold wind forces? Were any issues connected with wind?

It would be just as easy to add another two small panels that turn the panel to face the sun. Just use the shadow of the panel itself to trigger the actuator when the sunlight falls on the small panel.

So awesome! Thank you for sharing!

I would measure the idle current. Those 20w panels are trying to load each other. You've essentially put two panels in series and short circuited the outputs.

Item of possible interest: the linear actuator you're using requires 2 volts at 0.5amp to begin to move in either direction. No surprise that some of the movements are jerky - it gets just enough power to move and as it moves the available power increases so it moves faster until the other solar panel produces enough power to slow/stop movement.
The specs say 0.4 amp minimum but testing with a 12.6 volt regulated supply finds that extension or retraction with no load takes about 0.7 amp to start motion and it varies from 0.55 to 0.7 amp.
The actuator is rated for a maximum of 225lbs so do be careful of where you put your fingers when running the actuator from a 12 volt source. That could probably move a fairly substantial solar array but they do NOT list the actuator's static holding capability. That's something you'll find on commercial and military specs: moving load: 20lbs; static load: 700lbs. Be nice to know if you're moving something that might be a big wind load.

So you have the two panels wired to the same two wires on the actuator, but reverse polarity? What makes the actuator move in two different directions?

great example that simple is not allways efficient. Adding a simple micro controller and two photoresistors would be much cheaper.

Dude❤ simple, clever, efficient, and ingenious. Your gonna save me so much money. Thank you!

What effect does putting a reversed current into the two panels have on the life of those panels?

Any chance of a wiring diagram or schematic?

cute kit... got my like! 😃

Two suggestions…. Orient the large solar panel 90 degrees so there is less sweep of the ends. And yes…. Use blocking diodes on the motor drive panels. Using a single long shaft (pipe?) low and centered under a long row of panels with UV safe nylon cord wrapped around the pipe and attached, stretching up to the edges where the motor drive cells are located. One worm drive gearbox either at one end, or in the center of the array of say 10 panels, would drive it. Orienting the panels sideways will create less lengthy shadows that may interfere with adjacent panel arrays.

Nice dimensions, basics are fine. You might consider making a frame (like aluminium window blinds) that rotate smaller segment adjacent to each other in the same direction in parallel. That way you could make it larger without to worry about the balance. Basically the outer frame would be horizontal and could be mounted on a roof or vertically on a stand in a garden. Smaller footprint and you would be able to do the second axis by rotating the solar blind on its stand. You will have to make the blinds with solar cells yourself. Maybe i did not explain adequately.

Not much to discuss really, simply brilliant!

Having reverse current opposing a power source such as a PV I view as a little sketchy.
If you know what time it is, you can position the screw motor as required.

Little one requested subscribe and like lol too cute

sweet

This simplicity of this is brilliant.

Great video.

nice and simple wow

Amazing simple solution - love it!

Great ideal 😊

Gut 😃👍 habe auch so eine Anlage mit 2 Platten 😊

When Wind come ? Go down everythink

cool simple and easy

I like It!!

Such a great idea !
Ecoflow sells a complicated electronic sun tracker for 3000€ 😂🤣

Maybe 10 years ago when stuff was more modified sine wave, I bought a big kit w/o quite understanding its limitations. Now I have 4 huge, heavy 100-watt solar panels that I've never even unboxed bc they're so heavy. So I'm hoping someone can tell me: Would it work if I just set them up in 2 pairs, no sawhorse or actuator involved with the short sides on the ground about 3 or 4 ft apart & the top short sides leaning together at the top. Of course there'd be no tracking involved; but I'm 78, live alone, and way out in flyover country it can be impossible to get any help. Not only am I short and old, but .... I'm short and old. Plus not terribly 'handy' - I shorted out 2 lamp swag kits b4 giving up one time. So I don't even wire ANYTHING. Hope you can might tell me what I CAN do. So long as it doesn't involve jumping off a bridge or something. I'm old and short but not quite that stoopid.

WOW, so simple but yet effective, thank you for sharing this and your experience as well.

Would this work on a horizontal pivot as well? I was thinking of mounting a panel assembly on a swivel from a stool.

How much power do you make with this system compared to just lying it flat on the ground?