On 19/02/2021 10:49, Chris Skrimshire wrote:
Hello Solar experts,

I am wondering whether the cost, subsidised or not, of a domestic PV
solar installation may be set to come down.

My house roof orientation is not ideal for solar panels but I have a
flat-roofed studio in the garden that is not overlooked and which
could be a good site.

But my main question was whether anybody had knowledge/experience of
orientation sun tracker systems. I read that the overall efficiency
could be increased by up to ~30% by optimising solar capture and I
would like to know whether the cost or complications of a tracker
system make this viable? Am even wondering whether a diy system might
be feasible?

There is one ~4kW worth on a farm near me. They have to be incredibly
over engineered to survive the panel wind loading. I reckon the cost
must have been around an order of magnitude more than simple mounting.

It is worth getting the angle and azimuth right if you can but you also
need to be aware that mornings often have more sunshine than afternoons.
Various online calculators will do the geometry for you.

Misalignment by theta costs like cos(theta).

The only panels I can think of where solar tracking might be economic
are the hot water ones where there is a tube at the focus of a cylinder
and there is scope for rotating the tubes.

It might be worth being able to adjust the slope of the panels on a flat
roof so that you catch more sunlight in mid winter when the sun barely
makes it above the horizon.

--
Regards,
Martin Brown