Communities¶
The POWER project targets three user communities: Renewable Energy (RE), Sustainable Buildings (SB), and Agroclimatology (AG). All community specific parameters and outputs are derived from the same underlying solar and/or meteorological data values in the POWER Data Archive. Additionally, the respective community-specific parameters and outputs are given in formats, naming conventions, and units that are commonly employed in each user community.
| Abbreviation | Name | Description |
|---|---|---|
| AG | Agroclimatology | The Agroclimatology (AG) solar and meteorological parameters are available as daily mean time series formats. All parameters are provided on the original resolution grid, which is dependent on the parameter. The daily time series include the basic solar and meteorology parameters to support agricultural decision support tools such as the Decision Support System for Agro-technology Transfer. The hourly time series is a smaller subset of the solar and meteorology parameters. |
| RE | Renewable Energy | The Renewable Energy (RE) solar and meteorological parameters are available as climatologically and inter-annual (monthly and annual) averaged values, as well as in a daily time series format for user selected grids. All RE parameters are provided on the original resolution grid, which is dependent on the parameter. The climatologically averaged parameters are calculated to support applications such as solar cooking, sizing solar panels, and sizing battery backup systems. The monthly and annually averaged parameters are provided as monthly and annual averaged values by year for each of the base solar and meteorological data parameters. The daily and hourly time series include the basic solar and meteorology parameters as well as additional calculated parameters such as diffuse and direct normal radiation. |
| SB | Sustainable Buildings | The Sustainable Buildings (SB) solar and meteorological parameters are available as climatologically, monthly, and annually average values, as well as in a daily time series format. All parameters are provided on the original resolution grid, which is dependent on the parameter. The climatologically averaged parameters are calculated to support the preliminary design and site selection for building projects. Monthly and annually averaged parameters are provided as monthly and annual averaged values by year. The daily time series include a range of the basic solar and meteorology parameters as well as additional calculated parameters such as diffuse and direct normal radiation, heating and cooling degree days, climate zones, etc. The hourly time series is a smaller subset of the solar and meteorology parameters. |
Finding Parameters
- Full list of parameters is available through the Parameter Dictionary located on the POWER Homepage under the Resources Section.
- Tailored list of parameters is available by community and temporal level through the Data Access Viewer (DAV) widget's Parameters Section.
For more information on how to find the available POWER parameters please see the POWER Parameters Tutorial.
POWER now has enhanced tools to provide full parameter information. These include an enhanced Application Programming Interface (API) supporting a queryable parameter dictionary and allowing for direct URLs to list community and temporal level parameter availability.
General Data Set Information
- All parameters are available on original resolution latitude and longitude global grid.
- Solar parameters are derived from NASA's GEWEX SRB Release 4-Integrated Product (R4-IP) archive (Jan. 1, 1984 – Dec. 31, 2000) and NASA’s CERES SYN1deg and FLASHFlux projects (Jan. 1, 2001– to the previous year).
- Meteorological parameters are derived from the NASA's GMAO MERRA-2 assimilation model (Jan. 1, 1981 to the previous year).
Temporal Availability
- Climatology Parameters: Provides parameters as climatologies for a pre-defined period with monthly average, maximum, and/or minimum values available.
- Monthly and Annual Parameters: Provides parameters by year; the annual and each month's average, maximum, and/or minimum values.
- Daily Parameters: Provides parameters by day with average, maximum, and/or minimum values.
- Hourly Parameters: Provides parameters by hour with average values.