Make a low cost PV or photovoltaic tracker. Being able to follow the sun path through the sky can raise your solar panel system output considerably 30-50 percantage but the argon filled ones can be a bit pricey, and seem to be a bit unsteady in wind. The panel is mounted to a frame, which is attached to two bike wheels. The wheels are mounted to a larger wooden frame, and the wheels and panel are moved by a 12 volt linear actuator.
Making the base, and mounting the wheels.
To make a nice, sturdy base I cut the 2×4’s at angles and put them together to make two triangles. You can make them whatever size you need, depending on the size of your panels. I then tied them together with a couple of 2×4’s at the base, and a couple up top. This made a nice, sturdy base to mount the wheels to. Adding the wooden frame to the wheels.
I then mounted the 2×6 piece to the bike wheels by drilling holes through the bike rims and the 2 x 6 and bolting them together. I also used big U-bolts to clamp the rims to the board by drilling holes through the board and clamping it down tight. The board pivoted nicely on the two bike rims. Adding the linear actuator.
Get a12 volt linear actuator It’s built to hold up in the weather, is strong enough to move however many panels you would want to add to it, and has a long enough stroke to move the panels all the way from one side to another. Adding the LED tracker.
The unit uses LED’s to measure the position of the sun and tells the linear actuator how much to move and where to position the panel. Finishing it up.
The size of the tracker can be made to fit however many panels you need, and there are many ways to configure a tracker like this. I hope this was a helpful, and good luck in your tracker project.
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