Solar Tracking Mount – 5 Types to Choose From

PV Panel or Solar Tracking Panel mountings come in varied sizes and shapes, which depend on the purpose. Some of these can be mounted over a pole for ease of tracking the sun all through the day. Read on to know about 5 of the main types of solar tracking mounts, and which one is ideal for your solar panel system.

Solar Mount Rail System

These can be used for tilted mounts or for flat roof mounts. Tilt mounts can be placed in the horizontal mode or in a horizontal posture, or in a vertical posture known as the landscape mode. This type of rail system is easy and versatile, and offers plenty of choices. Most of the common rail mounts are first attached onto roofs.

Side-of-Pole Mounts

These are designed for holding anywhere between 1 and 4 modules. Either U-bolts or hose clamps are used to mount these to the pole. Poles of varied sizes can be accommodated to the racks, which can be adjusted for optimal angle of exposure to the sun in 10 ° increments from 15 – 65 °. The size of pole is decided by the number of modules which have to be mounted.

Ground Mounts

These are possibly the most convenient way to have solar panels mounted. This type of mount looks like an A-frame. It is safest to get this type of structure attached to a slab of cement to keep it secure in position. These types of mounts have been designed to handle anywhere between 1 and 8 solar modules. Such kinds of mounts can be utilized for fixing solar panels to a vertical surface, a roof or to the ground. Some of these mounts are fixed while others have legs which can be adjusted or tilted. There are optional tilt legs of adjustable variety, which area available for panels of varied styles.

Vehicle mounted racks

These are also referred to as Boat Mounts or RV mounts, and can help you to attach your solar panels to places where and when you require them.

Pole Top Mount

These can easily be set up atop a strong pole, and are usually recommended for home solar arrays. Pole top mounts can easily be set up, and can keep solar panels off the surface of the ground and out of danger. These can easily be adjusted and can allow convenient removal of snow. But once snowing stops and the sun peeps through again, you will have to sweep snow from the panels. Naturally, you should consider you should have them placed and how high from the ground and how far from your home you would like to get them placed.

Roof mounts

These are great in appearance, but it is difficult to reach them for the adjustment of the angle. You have to consider whether your roof is sloped enough to allow maximum efficiency of the solar panels. You should also consider whether you need to tilt the legs in order to make your panels face the sun in a more perpendicular posture.