You enter the tracker parameters
LayoutIQ is an interactive screening interface — not a fixed OEM product sheet. In the tracker profile and string / pile panels you enter:
- Max rotation (±°) — live schematic updates as you type; drives physical row width & GCR
- Ground clearance at ±φ — minimum module-to-ground clearance at max rotation; pivot height updates from this value and φ
- String gap, tracker string options, max tracker length — packing inputs for your mounting system
- Pile reveal, embedment, cantilever, spacing — foundation / site inputs from your design
Tips in the app show Industry Standard ranges from public OEM datasheets (not a mandatory standard, and not any single manufacturer's proprietary dataset). Examples: rotation ≈ ±45°–±70°; module ground clearance ≈ 300–1000 mm. Tracker length and pile layout are site- and model-specific — use your values.
Flat stack vs projected width at max rotation
For a planar collector rotating about its longitudinal axis, the horizontal projected width of the modules decreases as they rotate from flat (roughly W · cos(θ)). Over a rotation range that includes 0°, the maximum horizontal extent is the flat stack width — not the smaller projection at your entered max rotation.
PVMath therefore keeps two concepts separate:
- Table / flat-width GCR — flat (un-rotated) module stack width ÷ pitch. This is the GCR shown for layout packing and reports unless labelled otherwise.
- Physical GCR / projected row width @ your ±φ — flat width × cos(φ) plus a screening cable margin. Used for clearance, schematic, and YieldIQ tracker shading screening. Never silently replaces flat-width GCR. This is not labelled as a full swept envelope over the whole rotation range.
Also configured for packing
- Portrait count (1P / 2P) — module stack height affects flat width and projected width
- Pitch & table GCR — pitch from the layout sweep; table GCR = flat module width ÷ pitch
- Terrain floor — when TerrainIQ cross-row slope is available, recommended pitch may respect a minimum spacing for civil screening
In the app
The LayoutIQ panel includes a tracker schematic (end view) that updates live with your rotation and ground clearance. Selected layout rows show projected row width and φ on the preview. YieldIQ row shading for trackers reflects rotation-aware screening, not a fixed-tilt shading curve alone.
In the PVMath report PDF
For Single-Axis Tracker projects, the unified report includes:
- LayoutIQ section — pitch, table GCR, projected width at your entered φ, rotation limit, plus a Tracker row geometry (screening) table (flat stack vs projected width, physical GCR, pivot height, ground clearance from your inputs)
- Design basis annex — the rotation and clearance values you entered, and row shading methodology in plain language
Re-run LayoutIQ after platform updates if an older saved project lacks geometry fields in the report.