Rotating solar panels follow the sun’s path, boosting energy capture throughout the day. They tilt to catch maximum sunlight, upping power generation by 10% to 25% more than fixed panels. This is thanks to their special tracking systems. How do solar panel rotation mechanisms work? These systems adjust the panels’ angle using motors and sensors.
In a nutshell: Hotter solar panels produce less energy from the same amount of sunlight. Luckily, the effect of temperature on solar panel output can be calculated and this can help us determine how our solar system will perform on summer days. The resulting number is known as the temperature coefficient.
This orientation system is expected to save more than 40% of the total energy of the panels by keeping the panel’s face perpendicular to the sun. This percentage is assumed to be lost energy in the fixed panels. A special care should be taken to the design of the grid arrangement of panels in the collecting plant.
Fixed panels might not always face the sun directly, lowering their efficiency. But rotating panels can follow the sun, resulting in higher energy capture. This feature makes solar panel orientation technology very useful. In summary, rotating solar panels offer a smart way to maximize efficiency.
According to the manufacturing standards, 25 °C or 77 °F temperature indicates the peak of the optimum temperature range of photovoltaic solar panels. It is when solar photovoltaic cells are able to absorb sunlight with maximum efficiency and when we can expect them to perform the best.
This leads to the maximum needed torque to rotate the panel which is equal to 15 N.m while the maximum needed power is 1 Watt which forms 1% of the output of the panel. This calculation shows that it is feasible to rotate the panel using electric motors fed by the output of the panel itself.