HelioClim-3 Info

  Helioclim-3 Archives - Web service USAGE

    Inputs - Outputs

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HelioClim-3 database provides from 1 min up to monthly time series of all the radiation components over the horizontal, fix-tilted and normal plane for the actual weather conditions. The Web service is for free from Feb. 2004 up to Dec. 2006. For more recent years up to yesterday, the Web service is restricted to registered users who purchased an annual subscription to HC3.

For more information, see:

INPUTS

  • HelioClim-3 version: the most recent versions are version 4 (available at d-1 and in real time) and version 5 (d-2). More information on the HelioClim-3 versions.
  • Add Meteo Data: include (or not) meteo data in the output CSV file. When this option is selected, the unified output format is automatically selected. MERRA-2 data will be provided from 2004 up to approx. a month ago, and GFS afterwards.
  • Latitude and longitude: enter the values in decimal degrees (we advise 3 or 4 digits after comma), or directly click on the map to select your point, or you can also use the "Search Address" tool on the top of the map.
  • Altitude: enter the altitude, or let us use our default high resolution elevation database SRTM (spatial resolution 90 m, uncertainty 10 m) by letting the default "Automatic" value.
  • Start date and End date: format yyyy-mm-dd.
    NB: Please pay attention to ask for complete months when asking for monthly values. If incomplete, the given monthly value results from an interpolation based on the selected days.
  • Time step: "1 min", "5 min", "10 min", "15 min", "30 min", "hour", "day", "week", or "month". NB: "1 min" and "5 min" time steps are limited to one month of data per delivery.
  • Time reference: UT or TST. More information on time references
  • Compute relief shadows: take into account (or not) the shadowing effect due to the far horizon.
  • Plane mode: "Horizontal Plane", "Fixed tilted plane", "2D Sun Tracking (DNI)", "1D Sun Tracking (North-South axis)", "1D Sun Tracking (East-West axis)", "1D Sun Tracking (Tilt tracking)", "1D Sun Tracking (Azimuth tracking)".
    More details on plane orientations and on how to set the tilt, azimuth and albedo parameters =>
  

+ Add Meteo data

Meteo data from MERRA-2 and GFS (NCEP) can be retrieved.

NB: When "+ Add meteo data" is selected, the new Unified CSV Format is selected by default.

OUTPUTS

  • Launch: push the "process" button, wait a while and right-click on the appeared link to retrieve your file.
  • Output formats: "Classic CSV" or "Unified CSV Format"
  • Missing data: -999
  • "End of interval" integration hypothesis: the integration hypothesis e.g. hourly data at 11:00 means data averaged over 10:00 to 11:00. Please note that all data in SoDa are integrated on the given interval, i.e. irradiances are average irradiances on the given interval, and irradiations are the sum of all irradiations on the given interval. Other database such as CM-SAF SARAH provides instantaneous values at the exact time of acquisition of each pixel in the image (this means that each pixel has a different acquisition time).

  "Classic CSV"

This format is obsolete and won't be maintained since the number and content of the columns change depending on the plane orientation and the time step. Take a look to the column description of "Classic CSV".

  "Unified CSV Format"

This format is simpler which Excel can read seamlessly. It aims at being identical whatever the time step. The consequence is that you can only have two different output columns content: one for horizontal, and another one for all other plane options (fix-tilted, tracking).
NB: When "+ Add meteo data" is selected, new Unified CSV Format is automatically selected.

Horizontal

  1. Date: format yyyy-mm-dd
  2. Time: format HH:MM (no decimal anymore)
  3. Global Horizontal irradiation over the period in Wh/m² (-999 if no data)
  4. Clear-Sky: Irradiation over the period if the sky were clear in Wh/m²
  5. Top of Atmosphere: Irradiation over the period at the top of the atmosphere (extraterrestrial) in Wh/m² computed from Solar Geometry 1
  6. The reliability column has several forms depending of the time step:
    1. Code: 0: no data, 1: sun below horizon, 2: satellite assessment, 5: interpolation in time, 6: forecast
    2. Nb slots (%): ratio of the number of valid slots and the number of slots during the daylength in percent
    3. Nb valid days: number of valid days in the period

If meteorological data (MERRA-2 and GFS)

  1. Temperature : Temperature at 2 m above ground
  2. Relative Humidity : Relative humidity at 2 m above ground
  3. Pressure : Pressure at ground level
  4. Wind Speed : Wind speed at 10 m above ground
  5. Wind direction : Wind direction at 10 m above ground (0 means from North, 90 from East...)
  6. Rainfall : rain depth in mm
  7. Snowfall 
  8. Snow depth
 

Other plane options (fix-tilted, tracking)

  1. Date: format YYYY/MM/DD
  2. Time: format HH:MM (no decimal anymore)
  3. Direct Inclined: irradiation over the period in Wh/m² (-999 if no data)
  4. Diffuse Inclined irradiation over the period in Wh/m² (-999 if no data)
  5. Reflected inclined irradiation over the period in Wh/m² (-999 if no data)
  6. Global Inclined irradiation over the period in Wh/m² (-999 if no data)
  7. Direct Horizontal irradiation over the period in Wh/m² (-999 if no data)
  8. Diffuse Horizontal irradiation over the period in Wh/m² (-999 if no data)
  9. Global Horizontal irradiation over the period in Wh/m² (-999 if no data)
  10. Clear-Sky: Irradiation over the period if the sky were clear in Wh/m²
  11. Top of Atmosphere: Irradiation over the period at the top of the atmosphere (extraterrestrial) in Wh/m² computed from Solar Geometry 1
  12. The reliability column has several forms depending of the time step:
    1. Code: 0: no data, 1: sun below horizon, 2: satellite assessment, 5: interpolation in time, 6: forecast
    2. Nb slots (%): ratio of the number of valid slots and the number of slots during the daylength in percent
    3. Nb valid days: number of valid days in the period

If meteorological data (MERRA-2 and GFS)

  1. Temperature : Temperature at 2 m above ground
  2. Relative Humidity : Relative humidity at 2 m above ground
  3. Pressure : Pressure at ground level
  4. Wind Speed : Wind speed at 10 m above ground
  5. Wind direction : Wind direction at 10 m above ground (0 means from North, 90 from East...)
  6. Rainfall : rain depth in mm
  7. Snowfall
  8. Snow depth