Automatic motion system by dilatation of a fluid, said system acting on elements of a compact solar collector with integrated storage tank, said solar collector having least a face exposed to the solar radiation and at least another face not facing the solar radiation, said solar collector comprising a plurality of primary tubes (1), for containing at least one primary heat carrier element adapted to the storage of thermal energy, and an external sensor element arranged movable with respect to each primary conduit (1), adapted to overlap, at least partially, during its motion, in each primary conduit (1).

A mechanical solar tracking and solar concentrating system having a Fresnel lens, moving frame, track, retaining mechanism, and solar collector. The lens focuses solar energy at the collector; the frame holds the collector and lens, keeping them aligned as the frame rotates; the track guides the frame to maintain a perpendicular orientation to the Sun; the solar collector receives the Sun's rays; and the retaining mechanism releases at established intervals, allowing the frame to rotate to the next location. The cycle repeats, tracking the Sun and concentrating its rays at a focal point, to generate temperatures at the focal point in excess of 500 C. These high temperatures can be exploited in several applications, such as producing drinking water from dirty water; cooking food; disinfecting medical instruments; accelerating fermentation of certain types of flora to produce electricity; generating work for generic purposes; etc.

Solar tracking assemblies and methods for tracking the movement of the Sun are described herein. The dual axis solar tracking system generally includes a foundation, a primary layer, a secondary layer, and at least one motor that controls a first and second actuator. The foundation is designed to uniformly distribute the weight of the solar tracking assembly in the absence of additional securing or structural supports. The primary layer is adapted to rotate relative to a primary axis. The secondary layer is adapted to rotate relative to a secondary axis. The secondary layer is adapted for attachment of a payload thereto which may absorb the Sun's energy.

A tracking system for performing a movement control of a solar panel is provided, having a single axis solar tracking solution allowing an individual actuation of a solar panel and its respective rotation axis. The tracking system is applied in an individual solar panel, and has a local control unit, an electrical motor, a tracking actuator mechanism, a blockage unit and a tracking support mechanism, which is useful for solar power plant installations where individual panel tracking is an advantage due to site conditions such as irregular grounds or unstable locations as in aquatic sites or locations with variable slopes.

A calibration process of a solar panel installation measures current from a plurality of tracker tables, and based upon the time of day of the detected shade transitions, day of the year and the location of the solar panel installation, the time difference of the detected shade transition for each tracker panel can be used to determine the relative elevation of adjacent tracker tables. The calculation is performed using the known angle of the tracker and the elevation of the sun when the transition occurred to calculate the height offset of the tables. This transition of charging current marks the point where shading ended and the sun elevation is used to calculate the height offset of adjacent tables. This calculation uses the known angle of the tracker and the elevation of the sun when shading ended to calculate the height offset of the tables.

The present disclosure provides a thermomechanical actuator and a cleaning system implementing the thermomechanical actuator. The thermomechanical actuator includes a solar heat collector (SHC) housing shape memory alloy springs connected between a piston movably disposed therein and one end of the SHC. A cable extending from the piston through an opposite end of the SHC is connected to a bias load that develops returning force on the springs. In presence of solar radiation, the springs contract and cause linear movement of the piston in a direction of contraction and, in absence of the solar radiation, the springs expand and cause linear movement of the piston in direction of expansion. Useful power and work is extracted in form of the cleaning system from such linear movement of the piston.

A solar tracker bearing and a solar tracker incorporating the bearing, the bearing including at least one rotatable part, the rotatable part including a notch for receiving a torque tube, a slot, formed in the rotatable part and extending below the notch, the slot defining an arc having multiple radii, at least one engagement member configured to be received in the slot, and at least one base configured to secure the engagement member in the slot and to secure the bearing to a pier.

Disclosed embodiments provide apparatuses and techniques for use and construction of a two-axis solar tracking device that closely approximates the efficiency of Vertical Biaxial Trackers but with simplified construction, and thus are cost competitive with uniaxial horizontal tracking systems. The flexible mounting system can accommodate both photovoltaic and solar thermal panels. Disclosed embodiments provide a solar panel stand that provides biaxial tracking for solar energy generation efficiency, with reduced cost and complexity, enabling more off-grid and micro-grid energy generation capabilities.

A system is described for tracking light energy, or solar energy, on at least one axis and a connector mechanism connecting multiple tracking systems. The connector mechanism may create a bridge for a robot, which may be a cleaning robot, to move from independent tracking systems. This bridge may allow a single robot to clean multiple PV The system may include extended rails from each tracking system that are configured to engage when needed to traverse an opening between tracking systems and disengage when not needed.

Azimuthal and elevation rotation mechanism for solar trackers, which provides an azimuthal rotation around a vertical pedestal to an azimuthal rotating support on which a support structure of solar panels is in turn mounted with elevation rotation capacity around a horizontal shaft linked to the azimuthal rotating support. The azimuthal rotation is obtained by means of a single azimuthal linear actuator and the elevation rotation is obtained by means of a single elevation linear actuator, such that only two linear actuators are needed to obtain all the positions of the solar panels required for a complete solar tracking.