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Reliability - Mechanical Tracking

Good idea ! Doing that could increase the yield from a solar array by up to 30%.

So why don't we recommend tracking systems ?

Depending on how elaborate the tracking system is, and how many dimensions are actually tracked, a tracking system can add significantly to the Capital Expense of a project.  Also, because these are all mechanical systems with motors, relays, connectors, bearings, and so on, they need to be maintained regularly, adding to the Maintanance Expense of the system.  All of that reduces the ultimate profitability.

Even when well maintained, tracking systems can break down because of the complexity and number of moving parts..

Hybridyne send our VP of Construction on a tour of a dozen or so large Solar Arrays in the US, and every one with a tracking system reported the same thing - at any given moment, about 10% of the array was out of commission because the tracking system had failed in some way. That means that about 10% of the monetary gain of that system was wasted.

The picture to the right is a perfect example.  This solar photovoltaic facility north of Toronto is about 3 years old.  It consists of 9 of the pole-mounted units you can see. Note that the units are not all pointed at the sun.

 According to an employee at the building where these are located, they started to fail within the first year.  We have been watching them for 2 years now, and at any given moment, 3 of the 9 are pointed in the wrong direction ( that's 30% failure ) .

Just by replacing ordinary 'inverters' with the advanced Conversion Inversion Technology ( CIT ) from Hybridyne Power Electronics, we are able to achieve a 30% higher yield with the same solar array.  The CIT accomplishes the same results as an expensive and unreliable tracking system, but does it with software and electronics, not with motors, gears, and bearings.

The end result is lower Capital Expenditure, lower Maintenance Cost, and higher overall revenue.