Electrical switching & drive systems & components


Worm gearboxes for solar tracking systems

2nd Quarter 2019 Electrical switching & drive systems & components

BMG has extended the supply of Varvel gearboxes and variators for small and medium power applications to include customised worm gearboxes for installation in photovoltaic (PV) solar tracking systems. Customised Varvel worm gearboxes – designed to minimise efficiency losses associated with the energy conversion process – are incorporated in PiA Solar’s ContouR+ single-axis trackers. These compact gearboxes, which are maintenance-free and sealed for the life of the unit, maximise efficiency by ensuring solar panels are always in the optimal position to track the sun.

The PiA Solar tracker solution consists of a horizontal single-axis tracker that is capable of contour tracking the sun, both along and between rows of solar panels The modular design requires no cutting, drilling or welding on-site and forms a mass-balanced system, reducing wear and self-consumption of the PV plant. The spring structure eliminates deviations in tilt within the rows, reduces peak power requirements of the electrical push-pull drive system that provides a constant tension drive beam and also protects against oscillation of the system at low tilts.

BMG’s lightweight Varvel worm gearboxes are installed on solar panels to ensure that they are constantly in an optimal position to be able to effectively track the sun. They have numerous advantages for PV installations, including an ingress protection rating of IP66. Other features include a high ratio of 1 120:1 and the non-back driveability design for locking the solar panels in place to resist external forces from moving the panels off their stopped position.

For more information contact Lauren Holloway, BMG, +27 11 620 7597, [email protected], www.bmgworld.net



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