MODULAR TRACKER SOLAR

Transcription

1 SOLAR MODULAR TRACKER INSTALLATION INSTRUCTIONS Congratulations on purchasing a DH Solar Tracker! The DH Solar Tracker moves throughout the day with the use of a timed controller. Tracking throughout the day maximizes the panels output throughout the day. The DH Solar Tracker can see gains of up to 30% more electricity than a similar fixed panel system that is mounted on a roof. We update our manual periodically. Last Revised SOLAR 600 N Marquette Rd Prairie du Chien WI ph: mdoll@dhsolar.net

2 WARNING! Failure to install the tracking system to the manufacturer s specifications will cause tracker to malfunction and may cause serious injury or even death. This tracker system moves throughout the day, therefore no objects should be placed near the system. KEEP CHILDREN AWAY FROM TRACKER AT ALL TIMES! VERY IMPORANT! You must have a very level site for this tracker to work. You will be driving anchors into the ground, so it is important to contact Diggers Hotline before assembling the unit WARNING TO INSTALLER AND/OR ELECTRICIANS Please read the instruction manual completely. Please be familiar with the National Electrical Code and their requirements for solar electrical installation. Failure to ground the tracking system may result in damage from lightening. Install ground rods according to NEC specifications to properly ground the system. WARNING! If an alternate DC device is used to move the tracker motor, YOU MUST Disconnect the wires on the Motor that are connected to the Controller. Failure to disconnect these wires will result in the Controller circuitry to fail! Warning

3 DETAIL OF PARTS PANEL BRACKET BUSHING BEARING BRACKET PANEL BRACKET SOLAR PANELS LINKAGE ARM 1" DIAMETER PIPE 7' LONG(PIVOT POLE) TALL LEG 5' IN LENGTH PANEL BRACKET COUPLER BEARING BRACKET BUSHING PANEL BRACKET 1" DIAMETER PIPE 2' LONG(PIVOT POLE) BRACE 38" LONG BOTTOM BASE 7' IN LENGTH BRACE 38" LONG BRACE 38" LONG SHORT LEG 3' IN LENGTH NORTH TRIANGLE BRACE TRIANGLE BRACE SOUTH

4 Before you begin construction of your Modular Tracker from DH Solar, you will need to level off the area where you plan on placing the tracker, the area needs to be flat. S Once the area is level, lay down three patio pavers per modular unit. These may need to be adjusted as we progress. These should be placed short width wise North to South. Begin by placing the pavers roughly 58 apart, on center. NOTE: IF YOU TRACKER IS A NON-PENETRATING MODEL, OMIT THE PAVERS ON THE GROUND 1. Take the two bottom bases of the tracker(each 7 long) and place them 58 apart on top of the patio pavers. Make sure that the end of the bottom section with a single hole is on the North end, the end with the two holes should be on the most Southern end of the unit. South- 2 holes Roll bottom over onto pavers space 58 apart 1a. Next, take two triangle braces and place one on each side of the bottom base at each place where there are two holes on the botom base. Each bottom base should have two sets of holes. Insert the ½ x 3 long bolts through the brace into the bottom brace and out through the other brace. Fasten with a lock washer and nut. See pic. 1a. & 1e 1b. You will need to now locate a 5 long and 3 long pipe as these are the back and front leg of the structure. Each will have two sets of holes on the ends. The end with the the 2 holes closets together is the top. 1c. Now locate a bearing bracket for each the short and long legs. Insert the bearing bracket into the top of the short leg, and another into the long leg. Line up the two holes and insert two ½ x 3 bolts and fasten with lock washers and nuts. If there is no bushing in the large hole of the bracket, insert one into each bracket. See pic 1b Pic 1 Pic 1a North- 1 hole Triangle Brackets Plastic Bushing Bearing bracket Controller/Actuator Bracket Pic 1b 1d. Lay the bottom base on its side as shown in picture 1c. Then line up the short leg on the South triangle brace and the tallest leg. VERY IMPORTANT, BEFORE THE NEXT STEP, MAKE SURE THE SHORT AND LONG LEGS BEARING BRACKETS ARE POSITIONED AS THE BEARING PORTION OF THE BRACKET SHOULD BE THE MOST SOUTHERLY. See photo 1d 2. Insert the short legs in between the triangle brackets and insert a ½ x 3 long bolt through the upper hole and a ½ x 3 ½ bolt through the lower hole. Tighten the upper bolt with lockwasher and nut and hand tighten the lower bolt with lockwasher and nut. 2a. Do the same for the tall legs. On one of the tall legs, you will need to slip the controller/accuator bracket on before fastening the tall leg to the triangle bracket. Raise the bracket up towards the top and lightly tighten with an allen wrech. We will position the bracket to the correct location later in the instructions. Notice the longer bolt on the lower hole Triangle Brace Pic 1c Bottom Base Pic 1e Pic 1d Page 1

5 NON PENETRATING MOUNT Before you begin construction of your Modular Tracker from DH Solar, you will need to level off the area where you plan on placing the tracker, the area needs to be flat. Coupler Once the area is level, we will need to assemble the bottom sections. The bottom section is made up of two parts that are fastened together with a coupler. Each section is roughly 5 long. Make sure that you have set aside the 5 sections that are used in step 1b below. You will need to fasten the flat plates with 4 bolts each as indicated on the previous page. 1. Take the two bottom bases of the trackerand place them 58 apart on the level ground. Make sure that the end of the bottom section with a single hole is on the North end, the end with the two holes should be on the most Southern end of the unit. North Larger holes where tall leg will fasten with triangle pieces Coupler here South 1a. Next, take two triangle braces and place one on each side of the bottom base at each place where there are two holes on the botom base. Each bottom base should have two sets of holes. Insert the ½ x 3 long bolts through the brace into the bottom brace and out through the other brace. Fasten with a lock washer and nut. See pic. 1a. & 1e 1b. You will need to now locate a 5 long and 3 long pipe as these are the back and front leg of the structure. Each will have two sets of holes on the ends. The end with the the 2 holes closets together is the top. 1c. Now locate a bearing bracket for each the short and long legs. Insert the bearing bracket into the top of the short leg, and another into the long leg. Line up the two holes and insert two ½ x 3 bolts and fasten with lock washers and nuts. If there is no bushing in the large hole of the bracket, insert one into each bracket. See pic 1b Pic 1a Triangle Brackets Plastic Bushing Bearing bracket Controller/Actuator Bracket Pic 1b 1d. Lay the bottom base on its side(for penetrating models) as shown in picture 1c. Then line up the short leg on the South triangle brace and the tallest leg. VERY IMPORTANT, BEFORE THE NEXT STEP, MAKE SURE THE SHORT AND LONG LEGS BEARING BRACKETS ARE POSITIONED AS THE BEARING PORTION OF THE BRACKET SHOULD BE THE MOST SOUTHERLY. See photo 1d 2. Insert the short legs in between the triangle brackets and insert a ½ x 3 long bolt through the upper hole and a ½ x 3 ½ bolt through the lower hole. Tighten the upper bolt with lockwasher and nut and hand tighten the lower bolt with lockwasher and nut. 2a. Do the same for the tall legs. On one of the tall legs, you will need to slip the controller/accuator bracket on before fastening the tall leg to the triangle bracket. Raise the bracket up towards the top and lightly tighten with an allen wrech. We will position the bracket to the correct location later in the instructions. Notice the longer bolt on the lower hole Triangle Brace Pic 1c Bottom Base Pic 1e Pic 1d Page 1a

6 Bracing 3. Once the legs are attached to the bottom section via the triangle brackets, you will now attach additional bracing for each module. 3a. Take 3 of the braces that are 38 in length. You will notice on the bottom base that there is a hole between the long and short legs. See pic 2a. Take two of the 38 braces and secure them with a 3/8 x 3 bolt through the hole on the bottom base. Fasten with a lockwasher and nut. 3b. Next, take one of the brackets that was just fastened and swing it up to the tall leg. On the tall leg there is a hole to line up the hole from the bracket. Insert a 3/8 x 3 bolt, lockwasher and nut & fasten. Do the same with the other brace going over to the short leg. 3c. You will then take the third brace and attach it to the same bolt on the tall leg and fasten the other end to the back of the bottom base. See pic 2b. Do the same procedures for all module sections that came with your system. 3d. Locate two 74 long braces. The brace has a flatten end and also a bent flatten end. Take one brace and attach the bent flattened end to the bottom hole of the triangle brace that has the longer bolt on the tall leg. Do this with both braces. Middle of bottom base where two braces meet Placement of tall leg brace to bottom Pic 2a Pic 2b Bent Flat End Now take the two braces and insert a1/4 x 2 bolt, lockwasher, & nut through the center holes that line up in the center of the 74 brackets. See pic 2c 3e. Once the brackets are bolted together, take the flattened end and attach it up on the tall leg with a 3/8 x 3 bolt, through the hole just below the bearing bracket, as shown in the photo. Secure with a lockwasher and nut. Repeat the same step for the other bracket. See pic 2d 3f. Now locate two 63 long braces as these are for the front short leg braces. Repeat the same steps as you did for the tall legs. Once assembled, the picture to the right is what the system should look like. For each additional module, connect the braces in the same fashion both tall and short legs. Before proceeding to the next steps, IT IS VERY IMPORTANT to square up the system, measuring diagonal to ensure the legs are square. Pic 2d Pic 2c Bearing bracket bolts Bolt Flat End here Pic 2e- Framework with all the braces attached Page 2

7 Pivot Pole 4 Locate the 7 long pipe that is 1 in diameter, this is the pivot pole. 4a. Insert the pivot pole through the bushing, located on the tall leg and extend it down towards the small leg. 4b. Take one linkage arm and slide it up the same pole from the bottom and secure it 8 from the bearing hole on the tall leg using an allen wrench. The linkage arm s bearing should be pointed towards the ground. 4c. Now take 2 panel brackets and slide them up the pipe and secure them with an allen wrench. You will be sliding these later on, so you can secure them lightly. Pic 3 Bearing Hole Linkage Arm Pivot Pole Bearing 5a. Locate the 12 long coupler and the 2 long 1 dia pivot pole extension. We will be coupling the section of pivot pole which has the linkage arm & panel brackets with a 2 long section. See pic 3a 5b. Insert the coupler over the pipe holding the panel brackets, line up the two top holes & insert ¼ x 2 bolts, fasten with a lockwasher and nut. 5c. Now take the 2 long section of pivot pole and slide it up through bushing on the short leg and through the coupler. Line up the holes and insert two ¼ x 2 bolts, fasten with a lockwasher and nut. 5d. Once the couple has both sections of pipe fastened, slide the coupler down so it rests on the short leg s bearing bracket. This puts the pole in its final location. Repeat these steps for all of the module sections. See pic 3a 5e. Slide one panel bracket on the pipe above the tall leg and slide one panel bracket on the pipe below the short leg. Lightly tighten these as they will be adjusted shortly. Linkage Rod 6. Now locate the 5 long piece of pipe with flattened ends, this will be the linkage rod. 6a. Be sure to recheck and see that the linkage arm is 8 down from the bearing on the tall leg. 6b. Take the linkage rod and secure it to the bearings on the linkage arms with ½ x 1-1/2 bolt, washer, nut. See pic 3b 6c. Slide the controller/actuator bracket so that the large bolt is 44 up from the bottom of the module. See pic 3c 6d. Align the bracket so that the bolt is facing South and secure it to the leg by tightening the allen wrench screws. Remove the actuator from its box and lift it up into place. As seen in the photo below, be sure this is how you install the actuator and fasten with a ¾ lockwasher and nut. 2 long extension Pic 3a Notice how the coupler rests on the bearing bracket Pic 3b 7 long Pivot pole Coupler Notice the orientation of the actuator, be sure the actuator is level before tightening. This bolt should be 44 up from the paver & should face South. Pic 3c Page3

8 Wiring up the Actuator to the Controller 7. Install the controller on the back plate of the bracket that the actuator is attached to. The controller will need to have a receptacle or you can hardwire the controller into a disconnect. You will need to supply and locate the 2 ft section of wire. 7a. Take the cover off of the motor on the actuator. Locate the Black and White wires. Take the Black wire from the 2 ft section and hook up the black to the terminal under the black wire. Do the same for the White wire, going to the terminal under the White wire. Then run the wire down to the controller. Black wire goes here White wire goes here Pic 4. Actuator motor with cover off Pic 4a. 7b. Take the black wire and connect it in the controller to the West terminal. Take the White wire and connect the wire to the East terminal. The North & South terminals are not used. 7c.Once you have the controller and actuator wired you need to manually move the actuator arm with the controller. See controller instructions on how to manually move the arm. Actuator connection to Linkage Rod 8. You will need to extend the actuator out halfway. This is roughly 9. Pic 4b. Inside the controller, lower right corner 8a. Take the two small triangle pieces(linkage rod clamp) with 5 holes in them and locate 4 ¼ x 1-1/2 bolts, washers, & nuts. Place one triangle piece in front of the linkage rod and one behind. Two of the holes should line up above the linkage rod, while the other two are right below. The center hole will be centered on the linkage rod. Lightly tighten these bolts. See Pic 4c. Pic 4c. Notice 2 bolts above and 2 bolts below linkage rod 8b. Slide the two triangle pieces on the linkage rod until you line up the hole with the actuator rod. The actuator rod fits between the two piece linkage rod clamp. Insert a ½ x 1-1/2 bolt to secure the actuator rod to the linkage rod clamp. Tighten the 4 bolts holding the linkage rod clamp. See pic 4d. Pic 4d. Notice the actuator arm between the clamp 8c. When you have secured the actuator arm and 4 bolts, you must make sure that you don t run the actuator/controller until the panels are installed to ensure all things are lined up. Also at this time, drill a hole through the linkage rod where the center hole is on the clamp. Then insert a ¼ x 1-1/2 bolt, washer and nut to secure it. Pic 4e. Assembled Framework Page 4

9 Anchoring System for Penetrating Model 9. You will need to square up the system measuring from corner to corner. Also, make sure that your tracking system in facing South. 9a. Take one arrow anchor, piece of cable, and a swedge and loop the cable through the two holes on the anchor as shown in Pic 5. Fasten the cable together with a swedge if you have a swedge tool, otherwise fasten with the included clamp. Pic 5 9b. Drive the anchor into the ground next to the front corner of the frame with the anchor driver. Drive the anchor down at least 3, then pull the driver out of the ground. Tug on the wire to secure it into the ground. Take the remainder of the cable and wrap it around the bottom pipe twice and then clamp the cable together with swedge or clamp. As an extra security measure, drill two holes per bottom section and then drive the stakes through the holes and into the ground. You will need to anchor each bottom section in three places: front and back, in the middle of the bottom section. Notice the cable is wrapped around the bottom section twice and then clamped onto the cable leading to the anchor. Pic 5a. Anchor with cable & driver Pic5b Anchoring System for Non-Penetrating Model If your system was built to be anchored by concrete blocks instead of ground anchors, you will need to be sure to put the correct amount of weight on the weight plates. If your weight plates aren t attached, attached them with the provided hardware which would be 3/8 x 3 bolts, washers, nuts. Below is a diagram of the weight in which you must put on the weight plates for each module section. 275 pounds 180 pounds 180 pounds Installation of Solar Panels 10. When the anchoring is complete you are ready to prepare the tracker for panels. The first thing you want to do is align all of the panel brackets so they are all flat. 10a. Once all of the brackets are flat, you will need to measure the mounting holes on the back of your panels. Since two panels are installed per section, you will want to keep the panels even so that the same distance of overhang from the top of the top panel is the same as the bottom panel s bottom. 10b. There are several slotted holes on the panel brackets, use the ones that best fits your panel application. Finishing up the Installation When all the panels are on, you will want to go back and check to make sure that all nuts are tightened. Also make sure that all of the allen wrench screws are tight as well on all of the components with them. When you have all of your panels connected to an inverter and the system grounded per the National Electrical Code, you can now begin tracking the sun. Refer to the controller manual to learn how to set up the automatic mode and any adjustments you may need. Page 5

10 SOLAR SINGLE AXIS CONTROLLER The DH Solar Single Axis Tracker Controller was developed to be very reliable in all weather conditions. The controller is enclosed in an all-weatherproof durable case. The controller also is easily mounted with four mounting holes. The controller runs off of 110v power that you can hard wire or plug into an outlet. The DH Solar Controller is programmed to start the panels facing south. As the sun rises in the East, the controller angles the panels towards the Southeast to capture the sun s rays. Another hour later, the controller angles the panels all the way to the East and the tracks the sun hourly, throughout the day. In the evening, the controller moves the panels back Southwest so there is no shadowing, and then lays the panels back South for the overnight store position. *Easy to navigate menu allows you to scroll through the options that the controller has to offer. Controller Movements FEATURES TO CONSIDER NO SENSORS TO FAIL HOURLY MOVEMENTS ARE PRE- PROGRAMMED CONTROLLER TIMES CAN BE ADJUSTED LARGE LCD DISPLAY SCREEN USER FRIENDLY MENUS WEATHER TIGHT SEALED ENCLOSURE Technical Features Move Time Duration Direction 1 7:00 28 seconds East 2 8:00 59 seconds East 3 9:00 21 seconds West 4 10:00 21 seconds West 5 11:00 21 seconds West 6 12:00 21 seconds West 7 13:00 21 seconds West 8 14:00 20 seconds West 9 15:00 30 seconds West Power Source Type of Power Motor Spec Motor Wiring to Controller 110v AC Can be hard wired or plugged in 2 Amp DC motor 16-2 Wire 10 16:00 31 seconds East 11 17:00 27 seconds East 600 N. Marquette Rd Prairie du Chien, WI Controller new spec sheet single