Weather File

A PlantPredict weather file contains time-series meteorological data required for energy predictions. Weather files are organized across three tabs for viewing summary statistics, interactive charts, and raw data.

Tab Overview

Tab	Description
Summary	Annual totals, averages, station metadata, and data source information
Charts	Interactive time-series visualization of weather variables
Raw Data	Complete time-series data table with all weather parameters

Header Actions

Action	Description
Save Weather	Save changes to the weather file
Map	View the weather station location on a map
Change Status	Change the weather file status
Quality Check	Run data quality validation checks
Export	Export the weather file
Delete	Delete the weather file

Summary Tab

The Summary tab displays aggregated statistics and metadata for the weather file.

Weather File Summary — Weather File - Summary Tab

Totals

Annual irradiance totals calculated from the time-series data.

Parameter	Units	Description
Global Horizontal	kWh/m²	Total Global Horizontal Irradiance (GHI)
Diffuse Horizontal	kWh/m²	Total Diffuse Horizontal Irradiance (DHI)
Direct Normal	kWh/m²	Total Direct Normal Irradiance (DNI)
Plane of Array	kWh/m²	Total Plane of Array Irradiance (if available)
Backside Plane of Array	kWh/m²	Total rear-side irradiance for bifacial systems (if available)
Albedo	—	Average ground reflectance (if available)

Averages

Annual average values for meteorological parameters.

Parameter	Units	Description
Air Temperature	°C / °F	Average ambient air temperature
Relative Humidity	%	Average relative humidity
Wind Speed	m/s / ft/s	Average wind speed
Precipitable Water	cm / in	Average precipitable water in atmosphere
Max Air Temperature	°C / °F	Maximum recorded air temperature
Soiling	%	Average soiling loss (if available)
Albedo	—	Average ground albedo (if available)

Weather Station

Location and metadata for the weather data source.

Parameter	Units	Description
Latitude	°	Station latitude (positive = North)
Longitude	°	Station longitude (positive = East)
Elevation	m / ft	Station elevation above sea level
Time Zone	hr	UTC offset for timestamps
Time Step	min	Data interval (e.g., 60 = hourly)
Locality	—	City or locality name
State/Province	—	State or province
Country	—	Country
Region	—	Geographic region
Station Code	—	Weather station identifier (if applicable)

Data Specifics

Information about the data source and file properties.

Parameter	Units	Description
Provider	—	Weather data provider (e.g., Meteonorm, SolarAnywhere, NSRDB)
Type	—	Data type (Measured, Satellite-derived, TMY, etc.)
Project/Station Name	—	Name or identifier for the project or station
Start Date	—	First timestamp in the data
End Date	—	Last timestamp in the data
P-Level	—	Probability level (e.g., P50, P90, P95)
Model Version	—	Provider model version (if applicable)
Import File Name	—	Original filename when imported

Charts Tab

The Charts tab provides interactive visualization of weather data time-series.

Weather File Charts — Weather File - Charts Tab

Display Options

Element	Description
Graph / Table	Toggle between graphical chart and tabular data view
Date Range Slider	Adjust the displayed time range within the dataset
Slider Display Range	Select time scale: Day, Month, or Year

Increment

Select the data aggregation level for display:

Option	Description
Hourly	Display hourly data points
Daily	Aggregate and display daily values
Monthly	Aggregate and display monthly values

Variables to Display

Measured Variables:

Variable	Units	Description
GHI	W/m²	Global Horizontal Irradiance
DHI	W/m²	Diffuse Horizontal Irradiance
DNI	W/m²	Direct Normal Irradiance
Horizontal Beam	W/m²	Horizontal beam irradiance
Backside POAI	W/m²	Rear-side Plane of Array Irradiance
Ambient Temperature	°C / °F	Ambient air temperature
Relative Humidity	%	Relative humidity
Wind Velocity	m/s / ft/s	Wind speed
Soiling Loss	%	Soiling loss factor
POAI	W/m²	Plane of Array Irradiance

Calculated Variables:

Variable	Units	Description
Clear Sky Model	W/m²	Calculated clear sky irradiance for comparison
POAI (Clear Sky)	W/m²	Clear sky Plane of Array Irradiance
POAI from GHI	W/m²	POA calculated from GHI using transposition models

Use the Clear Sky Model overlay to identify potential data quality issues such as time shifts, sensor errors, or cloud enhancement events. Measured values significantly exceeding clear sky suggest data anomalies.

Raw Data Tab

The Raw Data tab displays the complete time-series data in tabular format.

Weather File Raw Data — Weather File - Raw Data Tab

Data Columns

Column	Units	Description
Index	—	Row number
Timestamp	—	Date and time (ISO 8601 format)
GHI	W/m²	Global Horizontal Irradiance
DHI	W/m²	Diffuse Horizontal Irradiance
DNI	W/m²	Direct Normal Irradiance
POAI	kW/m²	Plane of Array Irradiance
Backside POAI	kW/m²	Rear-side Plane of Array Irradiance
Temp	°C / °F	Ambient temperature
Rel Hmdty	%	Relative humidity
Prec. Water	cm / in	Precipitable water
Dewpoint	°C / °F	Dewpoint temperature
Pressure	mbars	Atmospheric pressure
Wind Speed	m/s / ft/s	Wind speed
Wind Dir.	°	Wind direction
Wind Gust	m/s / ft/s	Maximum wind gust
Rainfall	mm / in	Precipitation
Soiling Loss	%	Soiling loss factor
Albedo	—	Ground reflectance

Not all columns will contain data for every weather file. Available parameters depend on the data source and provider. Columns without data will display as empty or with placeholder values.

Data Quality Considerations

When reviewing weather files, consider the following:

Check	Description
GHI vs Clear Sky	GHI should not consistently exceed clear sky values
DHI + DNI ≈ GHI	Component irradiances should sum approximately to GHI
Time Alignment	Irradiance peaks should align with solar noon
Temperature Range	Temperatures should be reasonable for the location and season
Missing Data	Check for gaps or extended periods of zero values

Use the Quality Check button in the header to run automated data validation checks on the weather file.

Introduction

User Interface

Prediction Results

Resources

Typical Workflows

Knowledge Base

Tab Overview

Header Actions

Summary Tab

Totals

Averages

Weather Station

Data Specifics

Charts Tab

Display Options

Increment

Variables to Display

Raw Data Tab

Data Columns

Data Quality Considerations

​Tab Overview

​Header Actions

​Summary Tab

​Totals

​Averages

​Weather Station

​Data Specifics

​Charts Tab

​Display Options

​Increment

​Variables to Display

​Raw Data Tab

​Data Columns

​Data Quality Considerations

Tab Overview

Header Actions

Summary Tab

Totals

Averages

Weather Station

Data Specifics

Charts Tab

Display Options

Increment

Variables to Display

Raw Data Tab

Data Columns

Data Quality Considerations