Vaisala Energy Support
What is the Data Shown in the Solar Time Series Viewer?
The data shown are from 5 different proprietary solar datasets created by Vaisala. All of the solar datasets are created by modeling satellite imagery into irradiance estimates on the ground. The spatial resolution of the datasets are all 2 arc minutes, roughly 3km, and start between 1997 to 199 depending on the region and go through the last month at an hourly temporal resolution.
The datasets use different algorithms to calculate irradiance from satellite imagery and have different inputs such as aerosol optical depth, water vapor, etc. Each dataset has also been validated independently against 100+ ground stations for accuracy. To learn more about each dataset see their FAQ entries: Vaisala 1.0, Vaisala 1.1 Vaisala 1.2, Vaisala 2.0, Vaisala 2.1
In the viewer the long-term mean GHI values shown at the top cover the entire data period for each dataset. If a particular dataset is not available in a region it will say “unavailable”. The graph shows either the monthly or annual means for each dataset selected by the user. The graph can be modified to show only some datasets or a certain time period of particular interest.
More Solar Online Tools Questions
- How do I enter a location?
- What's the latest month available in the solar time series tool?
- 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?
- What affects solar radiation at a given site?
- 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.