Fluid-orienting solar energy collection system and method

1 . A solar energy collection system, comprising:

a base having a center of gravity, a convex bottom adapted to rest on a ground surface, and a set of chambers within said base and distributed about said center of gravity;

a liquid partially filling each of said chambers;

a pump mounted on said base and in fluid communication with each of said chambers, wherein a self-contained tilt controller includes said chambers, said liquid and said pump, said pump operable to distribute said liquid between said chambers, wherein said convex bottom is rocked on the ground surface to position said base at a tilt orientation relative to the ground surface based on the amount of said liquid in each of said chambers; and

a solar energy collector mounted on said base, wherein said solar energy collector is arranged in a triangular waveform having adjacent linear legs defining a tooth of said triangular waveform, said triangular waveform extending upward from said base at said tilt orientation, each of said linear legs having opposing faces, each of said opposing faces including a photovoltaic element, and wherein said triangular waveform extends upward from said base relative to the ground surface along an imaginary line aligned with said center of gravity, wherein said imaginary line bisects each of said linear legs.

2 . The solar energy collection system of claim 1 , wherein said liquid comprises water.

3 . The solar energy collection system of claim 1 , wherein each said photovoltaic element is selected from the group consisting of monofacial photovoltaic elements and bifacial photovoltaic elements.

4 . The solar energy collection system of claim 1 , wherein said solar energy collector includes regions adapted for the passage of a flow of air.

5 . The solar energy collection system of claim 1 , further comprising:

wheels coupled to said base.

6 . A solar energy collection system, comprising:

a base having a center of gravity, a semi-spherical bottom adapted to rest on a ground surface, and a hollow internal region divided into a set of chambers within said base and distributed about said center of gravity;

a liquid partially filling each of said chambers;

a pump mounted on said base and in fluid communication with each of said chambers, wherein a self-contained tilt controller includes said chambers, said liquid and said pump, said pump operable to distribute said liquid between said chambers, wherein said semi-spherical bottom is rocked along any rotational direction on the ground surface to position said base at a tilt orientation relative to the ground surface based on the amount of said liquid in each of said chambers; and

a solar energy collector mounted on said base.

7 . A solar energy collection system, comprising:

a base having a center of gravity, a semi-spherical bottom adapted to rest on a ground surface, and a hollow internal region divided into a set of chambers within said base and distributed about said center of gravity;

a liquid partially filling each of said chambers;

a pump mounted on said base and in fluid communication with each of said chambers, wherein a self-contained tilt controller includes said chambers, said liquid and said pump, said pump operable to distribute said liquid between said chambers, wherein said semi-spherical bottom is rocked along any rotational direction on the ground surface to position said base at a tilt orientation relative to the ground surface based on the amount of said liquid in each of said chambers; and

a solar energy collector mounted on said base, wherein said solar energy collector is arranged in a triangular waveform having adjacent linear legs defining a tooth of said triangular waveform, said triangular waveform aligned with said center of gravity and extending upward from said base at said tilt orientation, each of said linear legs having opposing faces, each of said opposing faces including a photovoltaic element, and wherein said triangular waveform extends upward from said base relative to the ground surface along an imaginary line aligned with said center of gravity, and wherein said imaginary line bisects each of said linear legs.

8 . The solar energy collection system of claim 7 , wherein said liquid comprises water.

9 . The solar energy collection system of claim 7 , wherein each said photovoltaic element is selected from the group consisting of monofacial photovoltaic elements and bifacial photovoltaic elements.

10 . The solar energy collection system of claim 7 , wherein said solar energy collector includes regions adapted for the passage of a flow of air.

11 . The solar energy collection system of claim 7 , further comprising:

wheels coupled to said base.

12 . A method, comprising:

by a solar energy collection system that includes

a base having a center of gravity, a convex bottom, and a set of chambers within the base and distributed about the center of gravity,

a liquid partially filling each of the chambers,

a pump mounted on the base, and

a solar energy collector mounted on the base and having a set of solar energy collecting legs where the solar energy collector extends upward from the base relative to the ground surface along an imaginary line that is aligned with the center of gravity and where the imaginary line bisects each of the solar energy collecting legs,

positioning the solar energy collection system at a location having a ground surface exposed to solar energy with the convex bottom resting on the ground surface; and

distributing, via operation of the pump, the liquid between the chambers to tilt the base to a tilt orientation relative to the ground surface based on the amount of the liquid in each of the chambers, wherein the solar energy collector is positioned at the tilt orientation to receive the solar energy at the location.

13 . The method of claim 12 , wherein the liquid comprises water.

14 . The method of claim 12 , wherein the solar energy collecting legs are arranged in a triangular waveform having adjacent linear legs defining a tooth of said triangular waveform with each of the linear legs having opposing faces and with each of the opposing faces including a photovoltaic element, the triangular waveform extending upward from the base at the tilt orientation, and further comprising:

controlling the step of distributing to orient the solar energy collector at the location so that (i) each tooth of the triangular waveform extends horizontally relative to the ground surface, (ii) one of the linear legs of each tooth of the triangular waveform is positioned to directly receive solar energy during morning hours at the location and indirectly receive solar energy during afternoon hours at the location, and (iii) the other of the linear legs of each tooth of the triangular waveform is positioned to directly receive solar energy during afternoon hours at the location and indirectly receive solar energy during morning hours at the location.