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    Solar panels that track the sun

    Scheduled Pinned Locked Moved Dynamic Components
    sketchup
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    • D Offline
      dejan216
      last edited by

      Hi there ppl,

      I'm a new one to the forum, but after searching it i couldn't find
      info about how to make a dynamic surface to face the sun.
      I need it to design solar trackers with PV panels and to space them so that they won't shade eachother...
      Please help me.

      Thank you

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      • R Offline
        remus
        last edited by

        You should be able to get something together using the SUNANGLE() and SUNELEVATION() commands provided.

        It'll take a bit of fiddling, though.

        http://remusrendering.wordpress.com/

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        • thomthomT Offline
          thomthom
          last edited by

          I think there's a sun-facing solar panel among the examples. Have you looked at that?

          Thomas Thomassen — SketchUp Monkey & Coding addict
          List of my plugins and link to the CookieWare fund

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          • D Offline
            dejan216
            last edited by

            Thanks for the answers, I'll look into it and let you know if i managed to work it out or no!
            Thanks again!

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            • M Offline
              matthew.robert
              last edited by

              I am a little late to this thread but thought I would chime in. At one time I was excited about the sun-tracking ability of DCs, but the buzzkill for me was that the DC would need to be refreshed with a right-click... it would not track the sun as the sun moved.

              Matt

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              • Chris FullmerC Offline
                Chris Fullmer
                last edited by

                But Simone just published some ruby code to help make a plugin that will make DC's respond to scene changes. So it would be possible using that plugin to make a DC that changes with each scene change. Might be interesting.

                Chris

                Lately you've been tan, suspicious for the winter.
                All my Plugins I've written

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                • thomthomT Offline
                  thomthom
                  last edited by

                  @chris fullmer said:

                  But Simone just published some ruby code to help make a plugin that will make DC's respond to scene changes.

                  When? Where?

                  Thomas Thomassen — SketchUp Monkey & Coding addict
                  List of my plugins and link to the CookieWare fund

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                  • Chris FullmerC Offline
                    Chris Fullmer
                    last edited by

                    http://sketchupapi.blogspot.com/2009/07/dynamic-components-that-react-to-scene.html

                    he posted the link yesterday in the ruby forum I think?

                    Lately you've been tan, suspicious for the winter.
                    All my Plugins I've written

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                    • thomthomT Offline
                      thomthom
                      last edited by

                      ok thanks.
                      I haven't been on top of things during my summer vacation.

                      Thomas Thomassen — SketchUp Monkey & Coding addict
                      List of my plugins and link to the CookieWare fund

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                      • GaieusG Offline
                        Gaieus
                        last edited by

                        @thomthom said:

                        I think there's a sun-facing solar panel among the examples. Have you looked at that?

                        Hi Thom

                        Do you still have that component? I can't find it anywhere...

                        Gai...

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                        • thomthomT Offline
                          thomthom
                          last edited by

                          I just saw it once in the component browser - when SU 7.0 first came out. On G Warehouse - think it was made by Google...

                          Thomas Thomassen — SketchUp Monkey & Coding addict
                          List of my plugins and link to the CookieWare fund

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                          • GaieusG Offline
                            Gaieus
                            last edited by

                            Yes, I can also remember but for the life cannot find it. Thanks anyway.

                            Gai...

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                            • D Offline
                              dsarchs
                              last edited by

                              The solar panel is under the "solar panel" tab for this component

                              Knowledge is a polite word for dead but not buried imagination.

                              -e.e.cummings

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                              • GaieusG Offline
                                Gaieus
                                last edited by

                                👍 👍

                                Thanks a bunch!

                                Gai...

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                                • G Offline
                                  giusepped
                                  last edited by

                                  Does anybody know how to create an exact sun tracker?
                                  I mean, I saw the DC by google, but the problem is that that DC has the center
                                  of the coordinates system in the bottom line of the panel, while, actually,
                                  the center of real trackers is in the center of the platform containing the panels.
                                  I tried to make a DC by playing with sunangle and sunelevation and putting the axis
                                  orientation of the DC yet in the center of a rectangle.
                                  But no success!
                                  Does anybody know how to set RotX RotZ RotY and the axis ref.?
                                  Thank you

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