Dual-axis solar trackers handle seasonal changes in sunlight by adjusting the orientation of solar panels along two axes: horizontally (east to west) and vertically (north to south). This dual movement allows the panels to follow both the sun’s daily path across the sky and its seasonal variations in altitude, ensuring optimal capture of sunlight throughout the year.
How Dual-Axis Trackers Handle Seasonal Changes:
- Horizontal Movement (East-West): Like single-axis trackers, dual-axis trackers move the solar panels to track the sun from east to west during the day.
- Vertical Movement (North-South): This is the key feature that addresses seasonal changes. Due to the tilt of the Earth’s axis, the sun’s height in the sky changes throughout the year—higher in summer and lower in winter. Dual-axis trackers adjust the tilt of the panels to match these seasonal changes in solar altitude, compensating for the sun’s varying height and position.
By pivoting the panels on a vertical axis at different inclines over the year, dual-axis trackers maintain the panels at an optimal angle to the sun, improving energy capture both in summer and winter.
Benefits of This Approach:
- Maximizes power output year-round by tracking the sun’s varying height, not just its daily east-west motion.
- Especially beneficial in locations with significant seasonal sun angle variation (higher latitudes).
- Can increase energy output by up to around 35% compared to fixed systems, outperforming single-axis trackers which typically boost output by 25% or more.
Industry Considerations:
- Although dual-axis trackers provide more precise sun tracking and better seasonal adjustment, the incremental increase in annual energy production over single-axis trackers is often modest (about 4% in some studies).
- This modest gain must be balanced against higher equipment and maintenance costs since dual-axis trackers are more complex systems.
In summary, dual-axis trackers compensate for seasonal changes by dynamically changing the panel’s tilt angle north to south over the year, allowing solar panels to stay optimally aligned with the sun’s position throughout all seasons and maximize energy production consistently.
Original article by NenPower, If reposted, please credit the source: https://nenpower.com/blog/how-do-dual-axis-trackers-handle-seasonal-changes-in-sunlight/
