Solar Tracking Carport with Modular Deck for Rapid Installation
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
The solar industry faces challenges in efficiently and cost-effectively creating large-scale solar canopies or carports due to traditional methods being cumbersome, unsafe, and expensive, with a lack of standardized technologies and methods for installation, leading to prolonged site occupation and high costs.
Innovation Solution
A modular solar tracking carport system with a supporting structure, a three-dimensionally rigid canopy deck, a deck frame, and a drive system that allows the canopy deck to tilt and rotate to track the sun, enabling efficient energy collection while minimizing self-shading and allowing for rapid installation and deployment.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If traditional manual installation methods are used for solar canopies, then installation can be performed with simple equipment, but installation time is prolonged and labor costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
The solar canopy system is divided into modular components including pre-assembled deck frames, individual solar panels, and standardized supporting structures. This segmentation allows for parallel assembly operations and rapid deployment, directly addressing the installation time and productivity contradiction by enabling crews to work on multiple modules simultaneously rather than assembling the entire structure sequentially
Solution Approach 2:
Deck frames and supporting structures are pre-assembled and pre-positioned before solar panel installation begins. This preliminary action eliminates the need for on-site frame assembly, significantly reducing the time solar panels are exposed to environmental elements and reducing overall site occupation time while maintaining simple installation procedures
2Productivity
If solar panels are installed on fixed canopies, then structure is simple and stable, but energy production is reduced due to self-shading and inability to track the sun
Solution Approach 1:
The canopy incorporates adjustable and movable components including tiltable deck frames and repositionable solar panels. These dynamic elements allow the system to optimize its orientation toward the sun throughout the day and season, dramatically increasing energy production while maintaining relatively simple structural principles through standardized mechanical adjustment mechanisms
Solution Approach 2:
The supporting structures and deck frames are designed to serve multiple functions: providing structural support, enabling solar panel attachment, and facilitating adjustment for sun tracking. This multi-functionality reduces the need for separate specialized components, thereby limiting the increase in structural complexity while achieving enhanced energy production through dynamic positioning
3Adaptability or versatility
If custom-designed canopies are built for each site, then the structure can be optimized for specific conditions, but manufacturing and installation costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system employs universal, standardized components including modular deck frames, standardized supporting structures, and interchangeable solar panel mounting systems. These universal elements can be configured for various site conditions and canopy types, enabling site optimization without requiring custom manufacturing, thereby maintaining ease of manufacture and reducing costs while achieving adaptability
Solution Approach 2:
The canopy is segmented into standardized modular units that can be replicated and reconfigured for different site requirements. This segmentation allows the same manufactured components to serve multiple site-specific applications through different arrangements and configurations, achieving site adaptability through combinatorial design rather than custom manufacturing
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The modular solar tracking carport system enhances energy production by dynamically orienting solar panels to face the sun, reduces installation time and costs, and can be easily deployed in various sites, addressing the inefficiencies of traditional methods while ensuring safety and standardization.
Implementation Method 1
each of the upper blocks including at least one solar panel
Data Source
AI summary
A solar tracking carport comprises a supporting structure including a foundation and at least two columns connected or connectable to the foundation; a three-dimensionally rigid canopy deck having a length from a first edge to a second edge of at least one car, the three-dimensionally rigid canopy deck including one or more upper blocks, each of the upper blocks being rigid at least in its longitudinal direction, each of the upper blocks including at least one solar panel; a deck frame configured to support the one or more upper blocks, the deck frame including a torque transmitting member; a rotation enabling connection configured to rotatably connect at least the torque transmitting member of the three-dimensionally rigid canopy deck to the at least two columns of the supporting structure; and a drive system configured to control tilting of the three-dimensionally rigid canopy deck about the supporting structure over one axis of rotation to a first maximum angle in a first direction and to a second maximum angle in a second direction, the first maximum angle preventing the first edge of the three-dimensionally rigid canopy deck from going below a first minimum threshold height, the second maximum angle preventing the second edge of the three-dimensionally rigid canopy deck from going below a second minimum threshold height.