IO Tools#

Functions for retrieving, reading, and writing data from a variety of sources and file formats relevant to solar energy modeling. See also Weather data.

Gridded solar resource data #

Modeled irradiance and meteorological data, available for large regions of the world.

Public datasets #

These APIs are free to access, although some require registration.

PVGIS #

Multiple gridded irradiance datasets and weather data with global coverage.

`iotools.get_pvgis_tmy`(latitude, longitude[, ...])	Get TMY data from PVGIS.
`iotools.read_pvgis_tmy`(filename[, ...])	Read a file downloaded from PVGIS.
`iotools.get_pvgis_hourly`(latitude, longitude)	Get hourly solar irradiation and modeled PV power output from PVGIS.
`iotools.read_pvgis_hourly`(filename[, ...])	Read a PVGIS hourly file.
`iotools.get_pvgis_horizon`(latitude, longitude)	Get horizon data from PVGIS.

CAMS #

Satellite-derived irradiance data for Europe, Africa, and Asia, and clear-sky irradiance globally.

iotools.get_cams(latitude, longitude, start, ...)

Retrieve irradiance and clear-sky time series from CAMS.

iotools.read_cams(filename[, integrated, ...])

Read a file or file-like buffer with data in the format of a CAMS Radiation or McClear file.

iotools.parse_cams(filename[, integrated, ...])

Deprecated since version 0.12.1.

NSRDB #

Satellite-derived irradiance and weather data for the Americas.

`iotools.get_nsrdb_psm4_aggregated`(latitude, ...)	Retrieve NSRDB PSM4 timeseries weather data from the PSM4 NSRDB GOES Aggregated v4 API.
`iotools.get_nsrdb_psm4_tmy`(latitude, ...[, ...])	Retrieve NSRDB PSM4 timeseries weather data from the PSM4 NSRDB GOES TMY v4 API.
`iotools.get_nsrdb_psm4_conus`(latitude, ...)	Retrieve NSRDB PSM4 timeseries weather data from the PSM4 NSRDB GOES CONUS v4 API.
`iotools.get_nsrdb_psm4_full_disc`(latitude, ...)	Retrieve NSRDB PSM4 timeseries weather data from the PSM4 NSRDB GOES Full Disc v4 API.
`iotools.read_nsrdb_psm4`(filename[, ...])	Read an NSRDB PSM4 weather file (formatted as SAM CSV).
`iotools.get_psm3`(latitude, longitude, ...[, ...])	Retrieve NSRDB PSM3 timeseries weather data from the PSM3 API.
`iotools.read_psm3`(filename[, map_variables])	Read an NSRDB PSM3 weather file (formatted as SAM CSV).
`iotools.parse_psm3`(filename[, map_variables])	Deprecated since version 0.12.1.

Commercial datasets #

Accessing these APIs typically requires payment. Datasets provide near-global coverage.

SolarAnywhere #

`iotools.get_solaranywhere`(latitude, ...[, ...])	Retrieve historical irradiance time series data from SolarAnywhere.
`iotools.read_solaranywhere`(filename[, ...])	Read a SolarAnywhere formatted file into a pandas DataFrame.

Solcast #

`iotools.get_solcast_tmy`(latitude, longitude, ...)	Get irradiance and weather for a Typical Meteorological Year (TMY) at a requested location.
`iotools.get_solcast_historic`(latitude, ...)	Get historical irradiance and weather estimates.
`iotools.get_solcast_forecast`(latitude, ...)	Get irradiance and weather forecasts from the present time up to 14 days ahead.
`iotools.get_solcast_live`(latitude, ...[, ...])	Get irradiance and weather estimated actuals for near real-time and past 7 days.

Solargis #

iotools.get_solargis(latitude, longitude, ...)

Retrieve irradiance time series data from Solargis.

Ground station solar data #

Measurements from various networks of ground stations focusing on solar irradiance.

BSRN #

A global network dedicated to high-quality monitoring of solar and long-wave radiation.

`iotools.get_bsrn`(station, start, end, ...[, ...])	Retrieve ground measured irradiance data from the BSRN FTP server.
`iotools.read_bsrn`(filename[, logical_records])	Read a BSRN station-to-archive file into a DataFrame.
`iotools.parse_bsrn`(fbuf[, logical_records])	Parse a file-like buffer of a BSRN station-to-archive file.

SOLRAD #

A solar radiation network in the USA, run by NOAA.

`iotools.read_solrad`(filename)	Read NOAA SOLRAD fixed-width file into pandas dataframe.
`iotools.get_solrad`(station, start, end[, url])	Request data from NOAA SOLRAD and read it into a Dataframe.

SURFRAD #

A solar radiation network in the USA, run by NOAA.

iotools.read_surfrad(filename[, map_variables])

Read in a daily NOAA SURFRAD file.

MIDC #

A solar radiation network in the USA, run by NREL.

`iotools.read_midc`(filename[, variable_map, ...])	Read in National Renewable Energy Laboratory Measurement and Instrumentation Data Center weather data.
`iotools.read_midc_raw_data_from_nrel`(site, ...)	Request and read MIDC data directly from the raw data api.

SRML #

A solar radiation network in the northwestern USA, run by the University of Oregon.

`iotools.read_srml`(filename[, map_variables])	Read University of Oregon SRML 1min .tsv file into pandas dataframe.
`iotools.get_srml`(station, start, end[, ...])	Request data from UoO SRML and read it into a Dataframe.

Weather data #

Meteorological data from a variety of modeled and measured datasets.

ACIS #

A combination of many meteorological datasets providing temperature, precipitation, wind speed, and other weather measurements.

`iotools.get_acis_prism`(latitude, longitude, ...)	Retrieve estimated daily precipitation and temperature data from PRISM via the Applied Climate Information System (ACIS).
`iotools.get_acis_nrcc`(latitude, longitude, ...)	Retrieve estimated daily precipitation and temperature data from the Northeast Regional Climate Center via the Applied Climate Information System (ACIS).
`iotools.get_acis_mpe`(latitude, longitude, ...)	Retrieve estimated daily Multi-sensor Precipitation Estimates via the Applied Climate Information System (ACIS).
`iotools.get_acis_station_data`(station, ...)	Retrieve weather station climate records via the Applied Climate Information System (ACIS).
`iotools.get_acis_available_stations`(...[, ...])	List weather stations in a given area available from the Applied Climate Information System (ACIS).

CRN #

A network of ground stations from NOAA. Irradiance measurements are of lower quality.

iotools.read_crn(filename[, map_variables])

Read a NOAA USCRN fixed-width file into a pandas dataframe.

Generic data file readers #

Functions for reading irradiance/weather data files.

`iotools.read_tmy2`(filename)	Read a TMY2 file into a DataFrame.
`iotools.read_tmy3`(filename[, coerce_year, ...])	Read a TMY3 file into a pandas dataframe.
`iotools.read_epw`(filename[, coerce_year])	Read an EPW file in to a pandas dataframe.
`iotools.parse_epw`(csvdata[, coerce_year])	Given a file-like buffer with data in Energy Plus Weather (EPW) format, parse the data into a dataframe.
`iotools.read_panond`(filename[, encoding])	Retrieve Module or Inverter data from a .pan or .ond text file, respectively.

A Location object may be created from metadata in some files.

`location.Location.from_tmy`(tmy_metadata[, ...])	Create an object based on a metadata dictionary from tmy2 or tmy3 data readers.
`location.Location.from_epw`(metadata[, data])	Create a Location object based on a metadata dictionary from epw data readers.