Assignment task: Identify the latitude and longitude coordinates of North Bay, Ontario, Canada by completing an Internet search for them. Exactly where in North Bay won't matter but make sure you get decimal degree coordinates.
Next, visit the University of Oregon Solar Radiation Monitoring Laboratory website and enter your coordinates for North Bay, Ontario to plot your chart. Be careful to note the +/- convention for longitude as explained on the site. Note that you can accept most of the defaults offered, but set the time zone to eastern standard time (EST).
Save your chart as a PDF file as directed in the site. For best viewing, open the PDF file after you save it on your computer rather than view it in your web browser. You may need to rotate it or zoom in on it to see it properly.
Answer the following questions about your created sun path chart for North Bay, Ontario:
1. How high above the horizon (in degrees) does the sun get on December 21?
2. How high above the horizon does the sun get on June 21?
3. On April 20, at what azimuth does the sun rise occur?
4. If you were standing in front of your PV array facing south, would the sun rise on your right or left?
5. What is the azimuth of due east?
6. Is it true that the sun rises in the east and sets in the west? Explain.
7. Consider two PV arrays. One PV array faces southeast and one faces southwest. Would you expect the output to be better, the same, or worse for the array facing southeast compared to the array facing southwest? Support your answer with reference to the chart.
8. Why does the chart not show data for July to November? Explain.