Mechatron Solar has gained certification for ANSI/UL 3703 solar tracker safety standard for its 90-panel dual-axis tracker, the M18KD. The certification also covers the M18KD-20 carport canopy tracker and was issued by SolarPTL, based in Tempe, Arizona, one of four Nationally Recognized Testing Laboratories (NRTL) in the United States.
Credit: Mechatron Solar
At the same time, the M18KD was certified under applicable UL 2703 subsections for Mechatron’s proprietary MechGrip clamping device that serves as a grounding bond. Without this certification, some states require separate grounding bond systems, an expanding requirement trend across the country.
The certifications showed that the M18KD tracker works across a temperature range of -40°C to +70°C (-40°F to 158°F). The tracker controls are NEMA 4 Outdoor certified. The M18KD has been calculated to be capable of wind resistance up to 115 mph, the wind speed of a Category 3 hurricane.
More than 90 MW of Mechatron trackers have been deployed across the United States and Europe.
News item from Mechatron Solar
Are these tracking mechanisms capable of determining direction of high speed winds and calculating a low drag position? It might be feasible in regions prone to high speed winds.
I guess if you are willing to settle for generating 40% less energy than a tracker can produce with the same number and type of panels, then your fixed mount is STILL a great idea. Have you taken that to the bank lately?
This sounds like a robust tracking system. I believe the old adage: Keep It Simple_Stupid (KISS) holds true for systems that are supposed to be relatively maintenance free for 20 to 30 years. I met this man named Scott Carlson who was basically an early solar PV pioneer in California. He has installed a multiple axis tracking system in San Diego on an air base there about 1988. He had many problems with the system tripping out, not correctly syncing to folow the sun, so his reliable cure was to take the panels off of the trackers and put them on a ground mount fixed with 25% more panels to do the same thing without the mechanical tracker to fail. Problem solved. I’ve seen some solar PV warehouse roofs, probably in articles right here that seem to have used a “wave” pattern of fixed solar PV panels on roofs of warehouses that are installed east/west facing in a peaked fashion. IF one used this type of mounting today with bifacial solar PV panels with the roof “white coated”, one might not need solar tracking at all, and still get high wind load resistance, without having to try and find a wind neutral position for the panels on each tracker.