Warning: This idea has been niggling around in my head for for a while now so I mostly just wanted to "get it out of my system" and dump it here. I might be over thinking this or reinventing the wheel or maybe I'm just on the wrong track. Nothing to do with 3D printing either of course (except you could build it using 3D build parts and similar construction methods) but I think there is a bit of overlap in interest in photovoltaics and 3D printing and in kinematics from this forum especially (:
Solar panels can be 30% more effective if they track the sun in a single axis, or 36% if they track in two axis. But solar tracking is somewhat expensive. So I'd love to get some feedback or ideas on this idea:
A solar tracker that takes a single axis input but maps this movement to a curved path of the panels face instead of a linear one. A simple one axis solar tracker mounted on a single rotating axis would describe a linear path across the sky, not a curved one (You would still loose some efficiency between winter or summer because of the change in inclination but not as much).
Also the tracking is done via spectra lines (or rope resistant to UV and weather) so you would only need a single motor and no gears or linear joints.
[insert sketches of ideas for such a system...]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_tracker
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/ ... on.svg.png
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/ ... 281%29.jpg
Notes:
At the start of each season you could manually change the height of one joint of the panel mount to account for change in latitude height of the sun. Of course this requires roof access and maybe it's just enough to optimize for winter only, since it's then that you get the least overall solar energy and you spend the most energy on heating, light and staying indoors (computer). Over a single day, since you have a battery for mornings and evenings, optimizing for the least available energy might be optimal already.
Or maybe with an array of 5 or more panels the additional cost for a cleverly designed two axis tracking system might be negligible? Or maybe just group enough panels into a single plane?
Linear joints vs rotational joints, cost, maintenance, cleaning dirt.
Tangling of lines when panels tilt? Safety during strong winds?
Balance design for panel density with tracking space (max power), costs for tracking, economic and environmental costs of additional panels, and equalized power availability during morning / evening with tracking.
No sensors needed: system only needs to know the date. Adjustments for latitude and orientation to south need to be done mechanically, e.g. lengthen or shorten the arms of the tracking system to match the right date.
Personally I'm thinking about a flat roof surface to mount the solar panels (container home) but ideally it should work for slanted roofs as well.
A single motor and spectra line could drive a linear array of solar panels all at once. Environmental costs of parts should be kept low.