I agree with Bill & Allan on this, I worked on my first Zomeworks
tracker in '89. Trackers add quite a bit of cost and complication, and
if they have a failure, they can actually be worse than a fixed array.
The Array Tech trackers would table top in failure mode, which is not
good in the winter in snow country. Meanwhile Zomeworks had to be tied
in place to not blow around in the wind and often be manually reset from
a western tilt on the following morning. Just check most old Zomeworks
systems, they usually have a rope tied back to the pole because they
lost their Freon.
Besides water pumping, another appropriate use of tracking is on large
GT systems, that benefit from TOU rates. The late afternoon tracking
can help utilities meet the summertime peak air conditioning loads.
Ray Walters
Remote Solar
303 505-8760
On 9/5/18 9:37 PM, Sindelar Solar wrote:
Bill,
No, I'm with you on this.Given the the greatest boost (~+/- 30%) of
daily tracking is during the summer and most stand-alone applications
are winter-peak (where tracking adds at best 10-15%), seasonal water
pumping is about the only time when small-scale tracking is justified
over simply adding array. Any pumping where the source is slow enough
that the length of the day becomes an important factor, like drip
irrigation or a very low yield well or spring, is worth looking into.
But that's about it in my experience.
Allan
--
*Allan Sindelar*
al...@sindelarsolar.com <mailto:al...@sindelarsolar.com>
NABCEP Certified PV Installation Professional
New Mexico EE98J Journeyman Electrician
Founder (Retired), Positive Energy, Inc.
*505 780-2738 cell*
On 9/5/2018 5:53 PM, solar1onl...@charter.net wrote:
Chris,
I thought since solar PV prices have come down (understatement), is
it not more cost effective to buy more modules than a tracker? Are
there scenarios that the above would not ring true? (As I remember,
off grid water pumping for livestock ponds may still be an exception
as also, limited space.) Please advise.
Thanks,
Bill Loesch
Solar 1 - Saint Louis Solar
314 631 1094
----------------------------------------
From: ch...@oasismontana.com
Sent: Wednesday September 5 2018 3:45:25PM
Dear people:
What trackers are y’all using nowadays?I have a customer (with a
great site) who’s insisting on a pair.We’ve sold Zomeworks and Array
Technologies in the past, but I know there are more offerings now.
Thanks for the input!
Chris Daum
Oasis Montana Inc.
406-777-4309 or 4321
406-777-4309 fax
www.oasismontana.com <http://www.oasismontana.com>
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