Upgrade the drive. Keep the tracker. Extend the lifetime. The SAT CONTROL BLDC-SL Upgrade Kit is a cost-effective retrofit solution for existing solar tracking systems with older brushed DC motors and encoder-based position feedback. Instead of replacing the complete actuator or tracker, only the critical drive and control components are upgraded. The new brushless sensorless BLDC-SL motor eliminates brushes, Hall sensors and encoder feedback wiring – reducing wear, EMC sensitivity and moisture-related failures. The new PICO-G positioner measures the real tracker angle directly with an inclinometer integrated on the positioner board. This eliminates motor encoder pulse counting errors and provides direct absolute tilt feedback. Together with integrated LoRa wireless communication, Sigma compatibility and USB-C service access, the system provides a modern and reliable retrofit path for existing SAT CONTROL solar tracker installations. Lower cost. Less downtime. Longer lifetime.<\/p>\n
Give your old solar tracker a new heart. Old solar tracking systems do not always need a complete mechanical replacement. In many cases, the tracker structure, linear actuator body, Sigma server, power supply and existing field cabling can remain in operation.<\/p>\n
SAT CONTROL now offers a dedicated retrofit upgrade kit for existing solar trackers equipped with older brushed DC motors and motor encoder position feedback. The upgrade replaces the most sensitive and wear-prone parts of the old system – the brushed DC motor, encoder-based motor feedback and outdated drive electronics – with a new BLDC-SL brushless sensorless motor and the new PICO-G solar positioner. The result is a modern, robust and long-life drive solution for existing solar tracking plants – without replacing the complete actuator and without rebuilding the tracker.<\/p>\n
Retrofit instead of replacement<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n A full actuator replacement is often unnecessary, expensive and time-consuming. With the SAT CONTROL BLDC-SL Upgrade Kit, only the old DC gearmotor and control unit are replaced. The existing actuator mechanical body can remain installed, provided it is mechanically suitable.<\/span><\/p>\n This gives the customer the best return on investment:<\/span><\/p>\n What remains unchanged?<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n The main advantage of this retrofit solution is that the existing installation can largely remain as it is.<\/span><\/p>\n This makes the upgrade fast, cost-efficient and technically clean.<\/span><\/p>\n Why BLDC-SL?<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n BLDC-SL means Brushless DC – Sensorless. The motor has no brushes and no Hall encoder. It is controlled by three-phase electronic commutation directly through the motor phases.<\/span><\/p>\n The motor uses only three motor phase wires in star connection:<\/span><\/p>\n U – V – W<\/span><\/p>\n The motor cable connection is designed as a robust power connection. The wires are soldered together and protected with adhesive heat-shrink tubing, preventing water, condensation or moisture from reaching the electrical joint.<\/span><\/p>\n The motor winding has 2 kV insulation strength between the winding and the motor housing. This is an important protection feature in solar tracker installations. If a PV cable is damaged and voltage is transferred to the tracker structure, the metal structure can rise to a much higher electrical potential compared to other trackers or control electronics. Low insulation strength between the motor housing and winding could allow this voltage to break through into the motor winding and then into the electronic motor driver, damaging the power transistor stage and potentially spreading the fault through the electrical network.<\/span><\/p>\n The same risk can occur during atmospheric overvoltage events, such as nearby lightning or surge discharge. <\/span>Higher winding-to-housing insulation strength reduces the risk of electrical breakdown from the tracker structure into the motor and driver electronics.<\/span><\/p>\n The motor is also equipped with stainless steel ball bearings. This improves long-term reliability in outdoor applications where condensation, humidity or water ingress may occur, because the bearings are much less sensitive to corrosion than standard steel bearings. This creates a much more reliable motor concept for long-term field operation:<\/span><\/p>\n From encoder counting to absolute tracker angle measurement<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n Older systems measured the position indirectly on the motor with a Hall quadrature encoder. This means that the controller had to count motor pulses and calculate tracker position from motor rotation. In demanding outdoor solar tracker installations, this can become a weak point. Long motor cables, high starting currents, electromagnetic interference, moisture, condensation or water ingress into the motor can disturb the encoder signals.<\/span><\/p>\n This can cause:<\/span><\/p>\n The new BLDC-SL retrofit system does not measure position on the motor anymore. Instead, the real tracker angle is measured directly by the inclinometer integrated on the PICO-G positioner board. This gives direct absolute tilt feedback from the tracker control unit and eliminates motor encoder pulse counting errors.<\/span><\/p>\n Why sensorless motor control is better for solar trackers<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n In solar trackers, motor cables often run over long distances and can be exposed to strong electrical disturbances. With Hall sensors or quadrature encoders, low-voltage feedback signals can be affected by:<\/span><\/p>\n The BLDC-SL concept removes this weak point completely. The motor has no internal position sensor and no encoder signal cable. The PICO-G positioner drives the motor through a sensorless BLDC algorithm and measures the real tracker angle with its integrated inclinometer. This is a major reliability improvement for outdoor solar tracker applications.<\/span><\/p>\n PICO-G positioner – compact controller for modern retrofit<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n The PICO-G positioner is the core of the upgrade kit. It controls the BLDC-SL motor with an advanced sensorless motor algorithm and is designed for single-axis solar tracker applications.<\/span><\/p>\n Main functions:<\/span><\/p>\n Designed for harsh solar tracker environments<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n Solar trackers operate outdoors for decades. They are exposed to heat, cold, humidity, condensation, dust, lightning-related disturbances, cable ageing and mechanical vibration. The BLDC-SL retrofit concept is designed exactly for this environment.<\/span><\/p>\n\n
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