MAGNETIC SOUTH

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PURE

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columbus, ohio
I install for a PV salesman in Columbus Ohio, we are installing a ground mount array tomorrow.
Going over the details at a meeting today, he was insistent that i orient to magnetic south and NOT true south as i believe to be proper. Thoughts??
 
:slaphead:
Only thing I can think of is that if he uses a Suneye then when you point the Suneye you don't adjust for declination because its software does that automatically. So he may think that because the Suneye works that way that everything else should.

I'm just shooting in the dark for a semi-logical explanation of his behavior. He is still totally wrong. You did say he was a salesman.
 
THANKS

THANKS

Thanks for the replies, SALESMEN can be so convincing!! For just a minute i was wondering when we had changed our rotation around the sun? Did the Axis of our rotation get bumped? WAS IT LEAP YEAR?
 
PURE said:
I install for a PV salesman in Columbus Ohio, we are installing a ground mount array tomorrow.
Going over the details at a meeting today, he was insistent that I orient to magnetic south and NOT true south as i believe to be proper. Thoughts??
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It wouldn't be the first time that Sales torpedoed Engineering. :D

He is wrong, of course. Ask him if he is willing to take the financial responsibility for the lost production. The magnetic declination for Columbus is about 7 degrees. PVWatts says that with a derate of 0.77 for a 1MW system in Columbus, OH, the difference in production between a geographic and magnetic south orientation over 20 years comes to about $8400.00.
 
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And declination changes over time. In this area its changed 2 degrees in ten years.
I do a lot of radio work with directional antennas. I always specify true north. Its much easier now with a GPS and my compass has the declination built in.
 
tom baker said:
And declination changes over time. In this area its changed 2 degrees in ten years.
I do a lot of radio work with directional antennas. I always specify true north. Its much easier now with a GPS and my compass has the declination built in.
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Since we are in the northern hemisphere, is magnetic south really pointing at the magnetic south pole, or just 180 degrees from the north magnetic pole? There could be quite a difference.
 
Smart $ said:
According to USGS, "The "south" end of the compass needle is the south end of the magnet; it points to the south magnetic pole, in the general direction of the geographic south pole."

http://www.usgs.gov/faq/index.php?sid=54684&lang=en&action=artikel&cat=11&id=475&artlang=en
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The compass needle aligns itself with the local magnetic field of the earth. That may not be directly lined up with either the North or South magnetic pole.
And it will not be in a horizontal plane either. (Look up magnetic "dip" or declination.)
The magnetic pole is a place where the magnetic field is entirely perpendicular to the Earth's surface. If you had a compass needle which was free to move in all directions, it would point straight down (or up:))

The south pole of a magnet is more properly called the south-seeking pole, and it will be attracted to the north-seeking pole of the earth, which is in the southern hemisphere. Simple isn't it.:blink:
 
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GoldDigger said:
The compass needle aligns itself with the local magnetic field of the earth. That may not be directly lined up with either the North or South magnetic pole.
And it will not be in a horizontal plane either. (Look up magnetic "dip" or declination.)
The magnetic pole is a place where the magnetic field is entirely perpendicular to the Earth's surface. If you had a compass needle which was free to move in all directions, it would point straight down (or up:))

The south pole of a magnet is more properly called the south-seeking pole, and it will be attracted to the north-seeking pole of the earth, which is in the southern hemisphere. Simple isn't it.:blink:
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But to the point of the OP, none of this has anything to do with the apparent path of the sun through the sky.
 
ggunn said:
But to the point of the OP, none of this has anything to do with the apparent path of the sun through the sky.
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Not as long as the magnetic field lines are not concentrating the photons the same way they do charged particles. :)
I imagine that somebody who knows that you have to apply a correction to magnetic north to get true north might just get the idea that if you are given true north instead you need to apply the opposite correction.
Only in the opposite direction, since you are concerned with South. ;)
 
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