Links to tracking options and benefit cost?

Re: Links to tracking options and benefit cost?

I think the general consensus here is that if you have the space available, more panels are cheaper than tracking if you want more capacity. Panels are probably the cheapest part of an installation now whereas they were the most expensive in the past when the designs for trackers were dreamed up. With the current prices of panels, the cost needed to "fill in" the low charge rates in the morning and evening are less than the costs of installation and maintenance of a tracking mount.

I have no hard numbers to refer to but I did a look a couple of years ago at the efficiency increase of a tracking mount and its cost vs just adding panels to gain the solar harvest capacity during morning and evening and it was obviously cheaper to just buy panels. Like I said, this assumes you have the space available to add panels. And now that I think of it, if your situation is that you want to increase the efficiency of some old existing panels in a limited space, it might even be cheaper to just replace them completely with newer higher output panels rather than install a tracker.

So you have said you have a limited lot size. If you are starting a new installation and really are limited to a certain number of panels then a tracker might make sense, but I am still not convinced. What area do you have to mount panels? What is your real energy need? Also, of course, where do you live?