Compared to a fixed mount the additional cost per watt or premium to track is 1 33 per watt 2 24 0 91.
Installation cost of fixed tilt vs tracking solar panels.
4 minutes there are many unique ways to design and install a solar energy system for your property.
As an independent o m provider in the utility scale pv market maxgen energy services maxgen has been asked many times to evaluate the long term o m costs on a fixed tilt racking system versus a single axis tracking system.
It might appear that tracking is a luxury addition to a pv system.
Produce more energy than non tracking system.
The average solar panel payback period is 7 to 12 years and solar energy saves 600 to 2 000 per year on electricity costs.
The tracking price is 2 24 per dc watt.
A fixed tilt tracking system hybrid project design site boundaries also significantly impact the design of a system.
If you are considering a ground mounted solar panel installation you might be considering a solar tracking system so that your panels follow the sun across the sky this article will examine what installing a solar tracker means and if a tracking system is right for your solar project.
This is the most basic additional cost to include in a financial model.
The average cost to install solar panels is from 10 626 to 26 460 after tax credit for a 6kw to 12kw system to power an entire house.
Calculations can be made based on the ppa rates and other outside cost factors to determine if the increased dollar amount of the fixed tilt o m plan are worth the lowered overall system size using the tracker.
The black line represents an allearth dual axis solar tracker.
The same preventive maintenance plan on a fixed tilt 24mwdc system would be about 0 0108 per watt dc 10 8k mwdc per year.
That increases the installed cost for a tracked pv system from 8 63 to 9 96 per dc watt.
Tracking equipment can cost anywhere from 500 per panel to over 1 000 per panel.
Tracker systems generally add a premium of 15 20 to the overall system costs when compared to a fixed tilt system of similar size.
That s a premium of 57 over the cost of the fixed array for just 35 more solar output.
If you included a single axis tracking system on the same array it would drive the cost up to about 20 000.
Single axis trackers are most economical in long rows to spread the cost of the drive system over as many modules as possible but not all potential sites are evenly square or rectangular.
Most solar panels last for 50 years have a 25 year warranty and start generating a return on investment after 8.
Trackers are more expensive to procure and install than fixed tilt racking systems.
A negative thing is necessary to go up to the roof two or four times and adjust the construction to the right tilt angle because of the coming irradiation angles from the sun changes winter time and summer time.
