EGiS SolarTracker - Model XL - Bi-Axial Sun Tracking System

• Gathering energy out of an inexhaustible reserve. Deflect energy. Concentrate energy in focus. Collect energy without cost over years – easier, more comfortable, and more effective! And increasing energy (comparison between yield & power).
• Get knowledge and recognize the sun in science, research and education by precise positioning, and easy & comfortable probe tracking.

All this and still a lot more is provided on about 200 days by the SolarTracker, the positioning and tracking system made by EGIS, with 1500 to 1800 hours of sunshine per year (in Central Europe)!

• The outdoor unit contains a swing/tilt rotor with the possibility of mounting a big mirror/reflector/panel. The rotor has two electro-motors and can turn the rotor-head with reflector/solar panel horizontally 360° – its vertical lift range amounts to 90°.
• According to the wind-strengths to be expected, a utilization-S-surface up to 12 m² can be operated. The balanced static load should not exceed 500 kg. Between the control box and the rotor spacing up to 200 m is allowed.
• The indoor unit consists of a complete computer with rotor power supply. These electronics are established in a 19”-rack housing with front sided operating elements and a 40 digit LC-Display. On the rear you will find the pluggable connection-clamps for the cables, for the rotor and for the power-supply of the system.
• The geographical location of the rotor has to be entered in longitude and latitude via a key-field into the control box (indoor unit) of the equipment. Out of these statements and with the time of the year and the day (learnt from the internal electronic calendar with clock) the processor calculates the exact sun-position. Now line up, using the front sided keys of control box, to approach the exact sun-position in optimum. Ready!
• From now on it is tracked automatically, timely exact and synchronous to the daily sun-sprint – within the physical possibilities. Also leap-years are regarded automatically!
• Position corrections can be easily inputted via 4 keys (higher – lower – left – right).

The usage of the positioning system could be divided into two function areas:

• Direct and synchronous sun tracking and path following. The rotor and thereby the rotor head mounted object (solar collectors, photovoltaic-panels, parabolic or spherical reflector, radio probe etc.) is directly looking into the sun. This Direct-Tracking can be managed with this system without any problem.
• With direct tracking, the spherical utilization area corresponds to a hemisphere: 360° in azimuth, elevation = 90°.
• Typical operational field: increase in yield and performance towards fixed panel/collector (comparison between yield & power).
• Sun light deflection with a flat mirror (following optical principle 'light in angle equals light out angle') onto any wanted point. The mirror mounted on the rotor head is automatically driven into a position exactly between sun position and light goal point, and thereby sunlight automatically gets onto the wanted point (within physical restrictions) – whole day long.

consisting of rotor and control box for the astronomical calculated tracking of objects conform to the sun-position, using Kepler data

• 90° elevation span
• 360° azimuth turn angle; endless
• comprising intelligent control box in 19” rack housing with 3 HE
• 40 digits LC-Display
• lots of dynamic operational information on the display:
• operational data
• time (clock)
• analog level available
• date
• AZ-angle
• EL-angle
• directions of run
• and more, and more …
• quartz-stable calendar clock
• programmable limit-angles
• battery backup memories
• auto start after blackout

Operated completely via front-sided pushbutton-field.

Functions in sequence: At the mechanical montage the rotor lines up only roughly in north/south direction. After going operational, only two parameters are to be inputted: the geographical coordinates of the built-up site (length and width) and the time/date (GMT/UT). The consideration of leap years, the calculation of the true local time and the sun coordinates are done full-automatically. A rearranging of the internal clock at the change from summer- to wintertime and vice versa is not necessary.

Aiming the sun directly: The rotor will – more or less – look beside the sun (the goal) due to mechanical montage errors. With 4 keys (UP/DOWN/EAST/WEST) could be driven on the sun optimum now easily. Ready! The tracker now follows the sun day by day – full-automatically. If the sun leaves your preset angle-area, the rotor waits in night-sleep-position up to the next day and begins the daily work in the right moment at the right position again.

The tracking behavior (tracking) can be influenced itself by selecting the allowable angle deviation and/or by time-axis selection of the next search cyclus, taking care of the motors.

Of course one could approach with such a system exquisitely any position manually: with a look on the display, heeding AZ and EL angles, steer up and down. Minimal step-size of 0.1°!

A technical characteristic of the tracker and contributing decisively to its preciseness and quality consists in the use of semi-conductor relays to operate the motors. A number of advantages and functionalities (mentioned below) result from this technical feature:

• no contact-burnout, due to mechanically contactless switching
• less noise due to absence of switching or cut-off sparks
• smooth, silent control unit, because no parts are moving
• cultivated servo-speed-operation, because semiconductors are switched on and off in high frequency
• more precisely, because different speeds can be driven with solid state switches
• improved tracking behavior, because the positions can be targeted more precisely by 'soft stopping' and 'soft starting' with reduced speed

The motors are upshifted softly and partly in two steps and slowed down very softly. By this dampened acceleration of masses motor, gear and bearing are less stressed and less abrasion wear occurs. Accuracy and lifetime are kept for a longer time.

Working with mirror (indirect tracking) selects the reflection mode. In this process the sun reflexion is moved to the selected goal with 4 keys (UP/DOWN/EAST/WEST). The present goal-vector will be calculated and stored internally. After this start tracking, the sun-vector now will be converted in accordance with the physical laws of reflection right into the mirror-position that the reflex of the sun always meets the goal-point determined by you. This is also performed day by day – full-automatically.