Wattsun Active Solar Trackers
Get the Most from Your PV Array
By Following the Sun

 Wattsun Solar Trackers actively follow the sun across the sky with low speed motors or linear actuators guided by an electronic light sensor. This guarantees that the plane of your array is always perpendicular to the sun's rays, giving you the maximum power your modules can produce at all times. These highly efficient mechanisms consume minimal amounts of electricity, but the energy gained far outweighs the cost. Unlike passive trackers that depend on the delicate balance between the shifting weights of freon canisters, Wattsun's active trackers aren't affected by wind and cold. Passive trackers flop around so violently under turbulent conditions that shock absorbers are recommended to protect the PV array. In cold conditions, the freon in passive trackers has trouble reaching its boiling point, making the basic tracking function itself sluggish at best. Wattsun's actively driven trackers are rock solid in turbulent winds and remain firmly pointed at the sun in any temperature. While they function automatically, day in and day out, optional manual controls are available that can override the sun sensor, giving you control for maintenance operations or for laying the array flat in storm conditions.

    Wattsun Solar Trackers are available in two drive models. (If you want to know more about these drives before sellecting a tracker, you may want to skip to the section on Drive Descriptions and come back here later.) They range from small, single axis, tilt & roll trackers with linear actuator drives, to dual axis azimuth trackers that can guide 2000 watt arrays along the sun's arc with a heavy duty worm gear motor. Most small trackers can ship via UPS for added savings. Your selection of a specific Wattsun tracker is determined, to some extent, by your PV array. The lighter tracker drives are just too small to handle a 100 sq. ft. array, and it may be a waste of money to get the heaviest worm gear drive for four solar panels.

     Your array and the tracker drive are connected by an aluminum mounting rack. There are essentially, two main parts to a Wattsun tracker, the tracker drive and the mounting rack. Wattsun's recommended tracker for your array can be found here in the Wattsun Tracker Price and Reference PDF file. Scroll down through the file until you find your solar array's brand (listed in alphabetical order). Then locate the model of the solar panels in your array (listed in wattage from low to high). This should lead you to a small table which lists possible array sizes by the number of modules in the array. When you've located your array, the table will tell you the manufacturer's suggested retail price, the tracker drive, the array's total wattage and a variety of other details and options. 

       As you can see there are dozens of potential drive/rack combinations. We can't list them all in our database, but we can get them all. Just tell us about your array and we'll get the tracker for you at a 15% discount off the list price! Note: The large horizontal axis array trackers are not represented in the selection tables. Contact us if interested.

     If you can't find your array in the PDF file, don't give up hope. There may be several ways around the problem. You may have to break your array up into two arrays and go with a pair of smaller trackers. Maybe you'll have to get the next tracker size up and jury-rig the mount a bit (be aware that jury-rigging could void certain warranties). The fact is that the solar industry is booming and new modules are being introduced all the time.  If Wattsun hasn't got your array listed, it doesn't mean they don't have it, and even if they haven't designed a tracker for your cutting edge array, THEY WILL! If you need help, just contact us by phone (toll free (877) 878-4060) or by e-mail. We'll put you on the right tracker, and before you run off, we recommend checking out the Mounting Post section below. You may also need some of the "Options" that are available for Wattsun trackers, like stainless steel fasteners, manual controls, voltage converters or even an optional dual axis drive for the AZ-125.

Drive Descriptions

The simplest drive models are single axis, tilt and roll units. These trackers follow the sun by rotating around a fixed axis. For optimum solar gain, the angle of this fixed axis must be adjusted manually on a periodic basis throughout the season. Even without periodic adjustment, these simple mechanisms add greatly to the performance of your array. Wattsun has three tilt and roll drive models, and two azimuth drive models in their inventory.

The rock solid Dual Axis Azimuth Drive for the AZ-225

Small Azimuth Trackers use the AZ-125 Gear Drive (12 to 18-75W modules, or about 125 sq. ft.)	Large Azimuth Tracker uses the AZ-225 Gear Drive (Up to 24-75W modules, or about 225 sq. ft.) Put over 2000 Watts on a single tracker.
Only minor changes being made to Azimuth Trackers

     Now that you know everything that there is to know about Wattsun Tracker Drives, you may want to take a look at the Wattsun Tracker Price and Reference PDF tables to find the tracker of your dreams.

Mounting Posts

Once you've chosen a tracker, you have to prepare a mounting post or two for it. Mounting posts are not included and must be purchased separately. These pipes are standard items that are redily available at local suppliers. Each drive type uses a specific size steel pipe.