Magnetic Declination Solar Panels

Begin with a compass to find magnetic north and accordingly south.

Magnetic declination solar panels.

Click on the map to find the magnetic declination at your location. The solar pathfinder has an adjustment feature to compensate for magnetic declination. If your magnetic declination is west negative rotate your panels east. Two examples to demonstrate the difference.

If a magnetic compass alone is used to determine where to point the array you may not capture the maximum amount of solar radiation. If the declination is west of the magnetic south then you add the declination value to the magnetic south to get the true south â let us say you have your solar power system in new york city. If your magnetic declination is east positive rotate your panels west. Search the web for magnetic declination to find the correction for your location.

Find the magnetic declination in mexico. Gently pull out the brass tab located to the outside of the compass about to release the magnetic declination dial the center triangle and black disk. Calculate the exact southern orientation for positioning your panels. If not then on each compass reading you must offset the compass needle from the true north mark on the compass by the declination angle.

In any pv system related project we tend to set up solar panels to face the solar south rather than the magnetic south. Books and articles on solar energy often give the advice that the tilt should be equal to your latitude plus 15 degrees in winter or minus 15 degrees in summer. Although doing this only brings about a 3 improvement in energy collection it will be a big deal if your solar array is huge or your extreme condition requires getting as much energy conversion as possible. Magnetic declination the angle difference between magnetic south and true solar south must also be taken into account when determining proper solar array or solar panel orientation.

Using magnetic declination information on the solar pathfinder. Figure the magnetic declination the angle between. If you live in san diego california your magnetic declination is about 11 east.