Solcast's Historical Time Series and TMY data is available in multiple formats including PVSyst, SAM, TMY3 and the Solcast standard CSV format.
Solcast standard CSV format
The Solcast standard CSV format includes the following parameters and units of measurement:
Name | Description |
Period End | Date time of the end of the period.Note that the year is always 2059(or greater) to signify this is sample data, rather than actual data |
Period Start | Date time of the start of the period |
Period | Length of the averaging period in ISO8601 duration format |
Air Temp | The air temperature 2 meters above ground |
Azimuth | Solar azimuth angle (degrees). Zero means true north. Varies from -180 to 180. A value of 90 means the sun is in the east |
Cloud Opacity | The attenuation of incoming sunlight due to cloud. Varies from 0 (no cloud) to 100 (full attenuation of incoming sunlight) |
Dewpoint | The dewpoint temperature 2 meters above ground level |
DHI | The horizontal component of diffuse irradiance |
DNI | Direct Normal Irradiance. Solar irradiance arriving in a direct line from the sun as measured on a surface held perpendicular to the sun |
EBH | The horizontal component of direct normal irradiance |
GHI | The total irradiance received on a horizontal surface. It is the sum of the horizontal components of direct and diffuse irradiance |
Precipitable Water | Precipitable water of the entire atmospheric column |
Relative Humidity | The air relative humidity 2 meters above ground level |
Snow Depth | The snow depth liquid-water-equivalent |
Surface Pressure | The air pressure at ground level |
Wind Direction | Wind direction (degrees) at 10m above ground level. Zero means true north. Varies from 0 to 360. A value of 270 means the wind is coming from the west |
Wind Speed | Wind speed (in m/s) at 10m above ground level. |
Zenith | The angle between a line perpendicular to the earth's surface and the sun (90 deg = sunrise and sunset; 0 deg = sun directly overhead) |
Albedo Daily | The average daytime surface reflectivity of visible light, expressed as a value between 0 and 1. 0 represents complete absorption. 1 represents complete reflection |
GTI | The total irradiance received on a surface with defined tilt and azimuth, fixed or tracking |
We provide sample files on our website
You can also use our API Toolkit, along with a Free Tier plan to download data from locations of interest, free of charge.
Lastly, you can even use unmetered locations to access real-world test data via our synchronous TMY P50 API. Check that out in this article.