Introduction
While HelioScope has a number of weather sources included, users also have the option to upload custom weather files in the weather file library here: https://app.helioscope.com/library/meteo
The weather file upload is designed for a single year of data as explained here. The HelioScope weather file loader can support a variety of file formats, corresponding to the weather sources already supported in HelioScope (EPW, TMY2, TMY3, and Prospector). These new files will typically be downloaded directly from a third-party source or can be created/edited by a user (especially if the original weather data is not already in a supported format).
SolarGIS and SolarAnywhere both have TMY3 (file format) that are compatible with HelioScope.
Best practices for uploading weather files
If editing a weather file, do so with simple text editors such as Sublime Text, Text Editor, or Notepad. Editing files with Excel, Microsoft Word, or other programs that do not explicitly text editors will create additional formatting that renders the files unreadable by the HelioScope uploader. Custom weather sources must also have exactly 8760 rows, i.e. hourly values for a non-leap-year. Finally, note that the file extension must be one of these:
| Source | File |
| TMY3 | .csv |
| TMY2 | .tmy2 |
| Energy Plus Worldwide (EPW) | .epw |
| Zipped EPW | .zip |
| Solar Prospector | .csv |
| Compressed Prospector | .csv.gz |
EPW Formatting
EPW files will be downloaded in EPW format and can be directly uploaded to HelioScope. When editing the file, the user should still use a simple text editor to avoid creating formatting that breaks the uploader.
TMY2 Formatting
UNIX: TMY2 UNIX files (.tm2) will be downloaded in a zipped format (.Z). To upload these files to HelioScope, the user must first unzip the files. The unzipped file (with .tmy2 extension) can directly upload to HelioScope.
MAC: TMY2 MAC files will be downloaded in a zipped format (.hqx). Once unzipped, these files will be extracted to another zipped format (.sit). This file type requires Stuffit Expander. Once unzipped, the new file should have a .tmy2 extension.
TMY3 Formatting
TMY3 files will be downloaded in CSV format, which can be directly uploaded to HelioScope. When editing the file, the user should still use a simple text editor to avoid creating formatting that breaks the uploader.
Sample Weather Files:
Below are example weather files that have been validated to parse correctly when uploaded. Click any of the links below to download the corresponding weather file sample.
Error Parsing File
If you try to upload a custom weather file and receive an "Error Parsing File" message you will need to make sure your weather file is properly formatted. Read our documentation to learn more about how to format your weather file.