Current date simulation

[MahnamR]

Hi,

I just got a free trial version 6 of PVsyst.

Why cannot I enter a current date like 2014. The date in the simulation has been set at 1990 and I can not change it. Please provide comment.

Thanks,

Mahnam

[André Mermoud]

For the 1990 reference in meteo data: please see the FAQ How to obtain meteo data other than for 1990 ?

[MahnamR]

Where are you trying to enter the date? There are many date fields in the application, some are populated from outside sources.

 

Thank you Mhamon,

When I hit the simulation, it goes in a page that has simulation date in it. It says that it is using the year 1990, and it is a generic year. There, I cannot change the date. I need to do my analysis in a different time frame (let say, January 2014).

Is it possible?

Thanks for the reply,

Mahnam

[MahnamR]

For the 1990 reference in meteo data: please see the FAQ How to obtain meteo data other than for 1990 ?

 

Thank you Andre,

I would like to do my analysis in a particular month (i.e. January 2014). How can I get the meteo data for that?

Regard,

Mahnam

[André Mermoud]

It depends where you are.

In the US territories, you have some providers for recent data (SolarAnywhere).

But for other places in the world, the only data I know are SolarGIS, 3Tiers, or perhaps Helioclim. These data are for pay.

You can try also the meteorological service of your country.

[MahnamR]

Maybe there is more to your question. If you want to run a simulation using meteo data for a specific time frame, like Jan 2014, then you have to find that data and load it into PVsyst. If you are just trying to find out what the estimated production of a system would be for Jan 2014 and you want to use TMY meteo data then you just need to look at the monthly production estimates and ignore that 1990 date you are seeing.

Thank you Mhamon,

Your first assumption is right. I have a data set of Jan. 2014 in 15 minute time interval. I would like to simulate this meteo data to generate and analyze power output for this period. I have already imported this file into PVsyst using "import ASCII meteo file". Now, I am wondering how to pick this file when I want to simulate a project from "Grid-Connected" "Project design".

Mahnam

[MahnamR]

It depends where you are.

In the US territories, you have some providers for recent data (SolarAnywhere).

But for other places in the world, the only data I know are SolarGIS, 3Tiers, or perhaps Helioclim. These data are for pay.

You can try also the meteorological service of your country.

 

I already have a set of 15 minute meteo data for Jan. 2014. I have successfully entered the this data set into PVsyst from "Import ASCII meteo file". But now my problem is how to feed this meteo file into a project and analyze it.

Mahnam

[MahnamR]

You should just need to select the meteo file name in the Site and Meteo screen when you are setting up a new project. Is your file not showing up in the list?

 

You are right Mhamon. When I open the "Site and Meteo" and click open under Meteo File, I don't see the ASCII file that I created and saved in the Database section. Should I check something first? Would you please comment on that?

Thanks,

Mahnam

[MahnamR]

There could be a problem with the file names or the files not being generated. I've only imported meteo data and not ascii files so I don't know if there is a difference in how the files and file names are generated.

Start by looking in the PVsyst data directory under Meteo and Sites. You should see at least one file in each directory with the site name you gave when you imported the file. If the file under Sites is missing then the site will not show up in the dropdown menu and if the file name is not what you expected then you would not find it in the dropdown. If this is set up correctly and the file names are what you think they should be then I don't know why the site would not be showing up in the dropdown.

 

Thank you Mhamon,

I think with your explanation I am getting closer, but not there yet.

My file is saved with MEF extension, but the files that shows up in the drop down menu are all MET extension. How can I change this? Should I change it? I think in Format protocol file I picked New Format. Should I pick PVsyst_Standard_GHI_ instead?

Mahnam

[MahnamR]

The MEF file file is not the meteo file, is a specification file used for the ascii import. There needs to be an MET file generated from your data so maybe the import failed at some point.

How and where should I check? Do you have any sugestion?

Thanks.

[Bruno Wittmer]

The files with meteorological data (.MET extension) are associated to specific sites.

When you import the data, you specify the site, to which this file will be linked.

When you want to use the imported file, you have to make sure that you first select the correct site, then the .MET file will show up in the dropdown menu.

Note that you can associate more than one .MET file to the same site (for example to compare different data sources or different years).

PVsyst will always compare the geographical coordinates of the meteorological data file (.MET) and the site for which you want to use it, and issue a warning, if they are too far away from each other.