Vaisala Energy Support
What affects solar radiation at a given site?
The intensity of the solar radiation at a given location depends on your latitude, terrain, season, time of day, and atmospheric conditions. For example, clouds, dust, and water vapor all affect the amount of radiation that reaches the surface at any given location.
The 3TIER solar dataset irradiance estimates do not directly account for local shades and shadows, such as those caused by trees or buildings. As a result, you need to take local conditions into account when interpreting estimates displayed by the Solar Prospecting Tools.
More Solar Online Tools Questions
- How do I enter a location?
- What's the latest month available in the solar time series tool?
- What is the Data Shown in the Solar Time Series Viewer?
- What updates were applied to the datasets in November 2019?
- Which weather data source should I pick?
- What do the Annual Mean Irradiance Tools provide?
- How do I interpret the graphs provided by the Monthly Mean Irradiance Tools?
- What solar values are shown on the map?
- Why do we show a +/- next to the annual values?
- What is Global Horizontal Irradiance?
- How can I compare sites side-by-side?
- What is Direct Normal Irradiance?
- How do I change locations for individual tools?
- What is Diffuse Horizontal Irradiance?
- Why does the map disappear?
- What are the units of irradiance?
- How much area is covered by the Solar Prospecting Tools?
- How accurate are the Solar Prospecting Tools?
- What data has been created?
- How was the data behind your map created?
- How do I convert the 3TIER values to peak sun hours?
- Why does the data not match my observations?
- What were 3TIER's solar data validation procedures?
If you didn't find what you were looking for, please contact 3TIER Support for additional assistance.