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I’m Huon from LJW Solar. Today I’d like to talk about tracking systems. Now, most
solar systems are located on roofs or on a fixed ground mount. Tracking provides another
option. Obviously, a fixed array collects sunlight pretty much in the middle of the
day, from 10 to 2; we call that full peak sunlight hours. But using a tracking system
you’re extending your sun hours from morning to night by placing 100% of the surface area
of your panel toward the sun. What this means is that there’s a 34% higher output per
year from your system, but on any given day that output could be 50% higher. Tracking
systems do tend to be more expensive than traditional roof mount or ground mount systems.
This can put it outside the real of feasibility. However, for stand alone systems, tracking
systems really do serve a good purpose. The main reason trackers work really well fro
stand alone systems is because by filling up the batteries from morning to night you
are cycling your batteries very slowly. If you fix your panels in a north facing position,
you’re only collecting power for those four peak sun hours, which means you’re pushing
a lot of power into your batteries in a short period of time and then you’re draining
the batteries over the remaining 20 hours. By using a tracking system, you’re effectively
pushing power into your batteries for around about 8 to 10 hours and then you’re cycling
your batteries for 14 hours. This means that your batteries life will be extended and batteries
are one of the most expensive parts of a stand alone solar power system.