(Abstract): Each TMY is a data set of hourly values of solar radiation and meteorological elements for a 1-year period. Solar radiation is modeled using the NREL METSTAT model, with surface observed cloud cover being the principal model input. The container file contains one TMY file for each selected station in the region, plus documentation files and a TMY data reader file for use with Microsoft Excel.
(Purpose): Simulations>
(Supplemental Information): A TMY consists of months selected from individual years and concatenated to form a complete year. The intended use is for computer simulations of solar energy conversion systems and building systems. Because of the selection criteria, these TMYs are not appropriate for simulations of wind energy conversion systems. A TMY provides a standard for hourly data for solar radiation and other meteorological elements that permit performance comparisons of system types and configurations for one or more locations. A TMY is not necessarily a good indicator of conditions over the next year, or even the next 5 years. Rather, it represents conditions judged to be typical over a long period of time, such as 30 years. Because they represent typical rather than extreme conditions, they are not suited for designing systems and their components to meet the worst-case conditions occurring at a location.
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