Tryon Electronics
Simulation only

Solar Tracker Interactive Demo

Watch how a solar tracker tilts its panels as the sun changes position. Adjust the time, season, panel angle, and wind to explore tracking and protective parking. Everything runs in your browser; no real equipment is connected.

Back to Solar Tracker

Start here: Select Auto Sun, leave Motor Enabled, and click Run 24h below the illustration. Watch the requested angle change and the panel follow it.

Click Pause to explore a moment with the time slider. See the full demo guide.

Following the sun The panel tilts toward the sun to improve its angle to incoming sunlight. Watch the actual angle move toward the requested target.
AUTO SUN - TRACKING
SUN -- AUTO SUN 90° 0° FLAT PANEL TILT TARGET--ACTUAL--ERROR--
AUTO SUN - TRACKING
AUTO SUN - TRACKING AUTO SUN
Simulated timeMove through a full simulated day/night cycle.

Seasonal example at the Tryon installation near Omaha. Countdown estimates the Auto Sun flat target; the moon is illustrative.

Local requested angleUsed when Local Angle mode is selected.
42°
Flat 0°Max 84°
Wind gust40 mph triggers park; 30 mph is the real controller's resume threshold.
12 mph
0 mphThreshold: 40 mph65 mph
Demo actionsThese controls affect this browser simulation only.
Demo event logNewest event first
How to try the simulation

Explore a day of solar tracking.

This tracker tilts on one axis. As the sun rises and falls, it changes the panel’s tilt to improve alignment with sunlight within its movement limits. At night it returns toward its nearly flat resting position.

Try these controls

  1. Follow a day: Choose Auto Sun and Motor Enabled, then click Run 24h. The day repeats at an accelerated pace. Pause, drag Simulated time, or use +1 Hour to inspect a position.
  2. Compare seasons: Choose June 21 and December 21 under Season / date. Compare the sun’s path and panel tilt at the same time of day. This example uses the Tryon installation near Omaha.
  3. Set an angle: Choose Local Angle and move Local requested angle. The panel follows your chosen angle instead of the sun. Choose Auto Sun to resume automatic tracking.
  4. Try protective parking: Raise Wind gust to 40 mph or more. Wind parking overrides the selected mode and requests 0° flat to reduce exposure to wind. Lower it below 40 mph to resume in this demo, or choose Park Flat to request flat manually.
  5. Hold or restart: Click Motor Enabled to disable motion while the requested target can still change. Enable it again to move toward the target. Reset Demo stops playback and restores the default mode, time, wind, and angles; your selected date stays selected.

Read the illustration

Target is the requested tilt, shown by the dashed gold outline. Actual is the panel’s current tilt, shown by the solid panel. The simulated motor moves it gradually, so Error shrinks as it reaches the target. At Target means the panel has reached the requested position.

On the tilt gauge, 0° flat is at the top and 90° upright is at the bottom. Auto Sun stays within this example’s 1.5°–84° limits; Park Flat and wind parking request 0°.

During the day, the Flat target countdown estimates when Auto Sun will request its nearly flat resting position using the selected date and time. Once parked or at night, Sun up in counts down to the next sunrise. These are estimates; the flat countdown describes a target change, not a guarantee that the motor has already finished moving.

The sun path changes with the season. The moving moon illustrates nighttime; it is decorative and does not represent the moon’s calculated position.

Simulation only: These controls affect this page, not a real tracker. The installed controller adds sensor checks and safety holds. Its wind recovery uses a lower 30 mph threshold and a post-alert hold, so recovery on real equipment differs from this simplified demonstration.