Among the major trends that modern age brought is the ambition to preserve the environment. This goal has become increasingly pressing in recent years with the dangerously high consumption of fossil fuels and the need to transfer to alternative energy sources. Along with water and wind, solar energy is one of the most important renewable sources. The plants that harness the energy of the sun are becoming more common on different scales. There are large area industrial-level photovoltaic solar farms, but also local custom-built personal solar power applications. This means that the popularity of solar power plants grows and will require more innovations in the future.

One such innovation deals with precision and automation. Solar farms consist of two major components. First, there are lenses or mirrors that collect sunlight and later convert the harnessed light into electricity. Second, there are tracking systems used to focus the large area of sunlight into small beams. These systems are important since they orient the mirrors (aka payloads) toward the Sun. In order to avoid constant control, tracking systems can be automated using linear actuators.

Linear actuators are versatile and comparatively cheap mechanisms that can ensure the most accurate positions for the sunlight to harness the energy or power the devices. There is a number of types of linear actuators including hydraulic, pneumatic and electric. However, it’s a common understanding that the latter type is the most beneficial for a number of reasons. Electric actuators are cheap, noiseless, clean and small.

There is a possibility to integrate electric linear actuators within the smart control of the tracking system to automate the process entirely. Intelligent solutions are important as they decrease the need for human intervention and can significantly lower labor costs. This also means that the control process will become more manageable as part of it will be performed by the specialized control center. You will not be required to track the direction of sunlight; the carefully constructed and smartly programmed actuators will do it for you.

Linear actuators are a perfect choice for solar industry solutions. They are lightweight but also rigorous, durable, and provide high amounts of force necessary in dealing with the heavy solar tracking machinery. Besides, weather resistance is an important factor. Manufacturers offer customize solar tracking actuators with wind and water protection solutions. In addition, flexible mountings like trunnion or fisheye, or even more standard options like bottom mounting allow easy installation and low maintenance for the linear actuators.

With the problems that arise due to the lack of fossil fuel, the solar industry is rapidly gaining relevance in the modern world. Electric linear actuators offer a clean and simple way of automating the solar industry. It’s an affordable option, too: the actuators are inexpensive, don’t require a lot of maintenance and are durable, especially with modern wind and weather resistance installed. The simplicity of the basic structural elements of any actuators allows the versatility of construction. This translates into the flexibility and ease of installation. Most importantly, linear actuators allow precision control that cannot be achieved easily without them. Any renewable energy requires control, and electric linear actuators can help with the simplification of the process.