Talk:Solar tracker

This page is made informative, props to the folks who put it together. :)

Business-side info
I had previously added a link to a global directory of solar tracker manufacturers (http://www.enf.cn/database/components-tracker.html). The information was taken down by someone who hadn't actually reviewed the validity of the information but was deleting based on the fact that I posted up several links to ENF.

On the suggestion of one of person that removed the information, I am submitting suggested comments/links here in the hope that other editors will evaluate the relevance and resubmit it to the main page:


 * Directory of Tracker Manufacturers

Kit Temple 13:48, 2 July 2007 (UTC)


 * External links to promote manufacturers (Business-side info) is covered in WP:ELNO #5. Also Wikipedia is not a directory (WP:NOT). All such links have been removed on these grounds. Fountains of Bryn Mawr (talk) 00:58, 2 April 2008 (UTC)

Efficiency increase
The following sentence is meaningless if no additional info is provided: <>

I'll remove it unless someone convinces me not to. 82.229.209.33 (talk) 21:04, 25 February 2008 (UTC)


 * A quick GBS search supports the idea generally of increases in that range over non-tracked designed. One book says "up to 40%" increase; another says single-axis 20 to 30%.  I didn't find a source for those particular numbers, but it would be better to edit it to something sourced than to just throw it out.  Or fact tag it to give others a chance to work on it. Dicklyon (talk) 04:17, 26 February 2008 (UTC)


 * I agree that tracking increases efficiency. However, there is no such thing as a "single axis tracker". If you read the article, it is apparent that there are at least two ways of having a single axis system: either oriented along a North-South axis or oriented vertically.82.229.209.33 (talk) 23:51, 26 February 2008 (UTC)


 * Claims about increasing the efficiency are related to flat devices (PV or thermal). In the case of CSPs, the trackers do not increase efficiency but rather are essential to operation. Without the tracker, the CSP would only "work" once a day as the sun passed into focus.George Plhak (talk) 11:06, 18 November 2010 (UTC)


 * I assumed that single-axis designs aimed at good efficiency would be equatorial-axis, but that's not even mentioned in the article. Horizontal and vertical wouldn't be expected to do nearly so well, I bet, unless you're at very high or very low latitude. Dicklyon (talk) 01:42, 27 February 2008 (UTC)


 * The single axis backyard trackers shown approximate closely enough (for practical purposes) an equatorial-axis tracker, which would be considerably more expensive to produce, likely more expensive than an appropriately operated two-axis tracker. -Leonard G. (talk) 00:00, 12 September 2008 (UTC)


 * No such thing? Single axis refers to the number of axis for daily driving of the tracker (not to seasonal adjustments in the case of a single axis system). The backyard passive trackers and the Gemini House both are single axis trackers. - Leonard G. (talk) 00:00, 12 September 2008 (UTC)

Related to efficiency of trackers but not discussed in the article is the effect of clouds on optical trackers. In my own work with trackers, it is apparent that the array will wander if clouds pass overhead. See http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PGATj41IRJI for an example of this. In practice, the array recovers focus quickly as the cloud passes but this can be a real problem in northern locations where cloudy conditions are common George Plhak (talk) 11:10, 18 November 2010 (UTC)

Heliostat vs. Solar Tracker
Seems to me that the heliostat and solar tracker pages should be merged. Second opinions? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 69.145.177.92 (talk) 20:34, 5 April 2008 (UTC)
 * I was noticing that to. There seems to be a difference in the two articles, but that difference may be that this article seems to be made up, no sources for what is stated are referenced (except for one minor one). It seems to be more of a guide to solar technolegy than an ecyclopedic description. Could use cleanup and maybe even merger and deletion. Fountains of Bryn Mawr (talk) 21:38, 7 April 2008 (UTC)


 * I also agree. The description provided here that Heliostats are "movable mirrors that reflect sunlight" is completely inaccurate.  Mr. Welsh (talk)


 * On the other hand, they are two quite different technologies. Heliostats are mirrors, and need to be aimed precisely.  Solar trackers hold solar cells or solar heating equipment, and just need to be aimed in the general direction.  I think they should refer to each other (maybe even in the lead paragraph) but should not be combined. LouScheffer (talk) 14:57, 18 May 2008 (UTC)
 * It is my understanding that a heliostat is a device that follows the sun. They can be used to position mirrors, but that is not inherent. From what I can tell this is the same technology, but I am not an expert in this field.  Mr. Welsh (talk) 16:07, 18 May 2008 (UTC)
 * The dictionary and old encyclopedia Britannica entries talk specifically about mirrors to direct the sun in one direction. From Marriam-Webster (others are very similar): an instrument consisting of a mirror mounted on an axis moved by clockwork by which a sunbeam is steadily reflected in one direction.  According to this, all heliostats could be considered solar trackers, but not all solar trackers are heliostats.  LouScheffer (talk) 17:23, 18 May 2008 (UTC)
 * This article has such massive problems it is hard to say what it is even about. It is totally un-referenced which makes things worse. It needs to be re-written re: encyclopedic style and content. For example the intro talks about "Concentrators", but this is not a summery further expanded on in the article (and it sounds like we are talking about a Heliostat here). The "Polar" mount sub-section describes an Equatorial mount and should probably reflect that. Many many more problems. Fountains of Bryn Mawr (talk) 21:45, 20 May 2008 (UTC)


 * No. They are quite different. Perhaps it could be a subsection of Trackers though -consider trackers used in astronomy as well as satellite TV. Also remote video camera positioners or gun aiming systems. 24.7.178.142 (talk) 04:53, 25 June 2008 (UTC)


 * No, they should not be merged. Heliostats use mirrors to reflect the sun in a constant direction. This usually does not involve any tracking system, but is done open-loop with a clock drive. Solar trackers, on the other hand, need not reflect the sun in a constant direction - often they are used simply to rotate a body to keep the sun direction fixed in one plane of the body. Bottom line: sun trackers have the connotation of an active feedback system, and do not have the connotation of requiring the reflected sunbeam to be in a constant direction.Macchess (talk) 06:11, 7 July 2008 (UTC)

To further improve the positioning of Heliostat vs Solar Tracker (taking the lead from the current intro that defines Solar Tracker in its broadest "plain language" sense, and noting that this is the entry-level page for a general readership seeking information about all forms of solar tracking mechanism) I have added a new introductory section, which also broadens the article somewhat beyond photovoltaic applications. In the same spirit, I have also restored the Rotating Building section, which although unusual is indeed a type of solar tracking mechanism (in the "plain language" sense of the word). --anmclarke (talk) 04:05, 5 June 2011 (UTC)

who invented solar tracking system
I'm not the one who created this section, but I read in the Walled garden article (I think) in a discussion of fruit walls that in the late 1600s someone discussed using a solar tracker to improve upon the sloped fruit wall design. This article would benefit from a section on low-cost, low-tech, and/or old-tech solutions. I also remember seeing a low-cost solar tracker in the cable tv show, Invention Nation. http://science.discovery.com/fansites/invention-nation/invention-nation.html

Sorry I can't contribute more. Hope this helps a little. Geekdiva (talk) 21:51, 21 May 2010 (UTC)

Copied by libra-energy.eu
This article has been copied in part by libra-energy.eu, along with Grid tie inverter. A significant contributor may wish to start the Mirrors_and_forks. See Mirrors_and_forks/Jkl for details and progress reports. twilsonb (talk) 08:18, 3 January 2011 (UTC)

External links modified (January 2018)
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 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20140918031703/http://www.suntrix.cn/home-en/news-events/company-news/suntrix-greece-solar-tracker-completion.aspx to http://www.suntrix.cn/home-en/news-events/company-news/suntrix-greece-solar-tracker-completion.aspx
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 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20140916124039/http://www.suntrix.cn/home-en/news-events/company-news/xitieshan-solar-tracker.aspx to http://www.suntrix.cn/home-en/news-events/company-news/xitieshan-solar-tracker.aspx
 * Added archive https://archive.is/20140916035139/http://www.suntrix.cn/home-en/projects/suntrix-siziwangqi-vertical-single-axis-dual-axis-solar-tracker.aspx to http://www.suntrix.cn/home-en/projects/suntrix-siziwangqi-vertical-single-axis-dual-axis-solar-tracker.aspx
 * Added tag to http://www.optimum-tracker.com/solartrackers/

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clear as mud
horizontal single horizontal axis tracker moves 180 degrees from east to west in 12 hours. I get that. Dual axis tracker moves north and south when exactly? A little bit each day, or continuously through the day? Does the sun move in a straight path through the sky each day, or curved? A dual axis tracker is a combination of horizontal and vertical axis? Or only the azimuth–altitude type? And the third axis, the third degree of freedom? There are two horizontal axis and one vertical. The article mixes them up and fails to clearly explain which type of trackers move in which way, on which of the three axis, when and how. 2001:8003:6E24:2C00:62A4:4CFF:FE77:ED4A (talk) 00:06, 22 June 2018 (UTC)