Tracking (solar technology)

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Tracking of heliostats at a solar tower power plant

By tracking solar harvesting areas, the energy gain can be optimized in contrast to fixed installation.

Solar modules and solar collectors achieve the best efficiency when they are aligned perpendicular to the sun. Tracking systems can be used to optimize the harvested areas, depending on the position of the sun , their orientation to the sun, during the day and the year.

The tracking systems are implemented either with one or two axes. The degree of latitude is decisive for use. The closer to the equator, the less there are deviations from the horizontal position of the sun over the course of the year, and uniaxial systems that follow the sun's course from east to west, i.e. from morning to evening, are sufficiently effective. In contrast, in locations further away from the equator, the position of the sun varies greatly depending on the season and two-axis systems, which also align the surface of solar modules in elevation, are more effective.

Above all, the yield from direct radiation is significantly increased. In the case of diffuse radiation , sensor-controlled tracking offers advantages, as you also react to this, as well as reflections from snow, for example. Tracking, which are aligned by controls programmed with astronomical data, do not offer this advantage.

Technically complex tracking does not pay off in home use, on the other hand tracking by heliostats is a basic requirement for the functionality of a solar tower power plant .

An example implementation with tracking as a study is the heliotrope (building) .

Study: Heliotrope building, as a solar rotating house

See also

literature

  • R. Stieglitz, V. Heinzel: Thermal solar energy . Basics - Technology - Applications, Springer Verlag, Berlin / Heidelberg 2012, ISBN 978-3-642-29474-7 .
  • K. Mertens: Photovoltaics . Textbook on Basics - Technology and Practice, 3rd edition, Carl Hanser Verlag, Leipzig 2015, ISBN 978-3-446-44232-0 .

Web links