One additional note: Early in the design phase of this project when we were first working with the sellers of the panels, I spoke of my desire to build a tracking array based on calculations that showed I could achieve a 25% gain in generation over a fixed array. We were told that it would be easier to simply increase the number of panels by 25%. It would have been easier, true, but it would have added another $6k to the project, and we were out of room because the array was already planned to be 65' long and a tight fit as it was.
For two years now, we've generated an average of 24kWh per day. The normal maximum generation on a clear day is about 4800 watts even though the array is rated at 230 x 24 = 5520 watts. It has gone as high as 6000 watts on certain days when a strange "edge-of-cloud" phenomenon happens, and the sun's light seems to be concentrated or focused by shining past the edge of passing clouds. I'm imagining pouring a concrete pad in front of the array on which I'll place reflective mylar to boost the generation during winter months while the array is in a fixed, steep angle as the sun is in a low arc. The array is wired in three strings of eight panels each, so I'll start with an experimental reflector on one of the strings in order to compare the efficacy of the reflector to the panels without a boost. The generation rate of the panels rises as the temperature falls and vice versa, so boosting generation via reflected light may not work in summer, but it has a good chance of working in cooler weather as the additional heat on the panels would be more easily dissipated.
I have a "Kill-a-watt" type device on the generation loop, so I can see instantaneous generation, and it keeps a record of daily watt-hour totals.
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