	NREL's Spectral Solar Radiation Data Base

The Solar Energy Research Institute (SERI)*, Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), Florida Solar Energy Center (FSEC), and Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) cooperated to produce a spectral solar radiation data base representing a range of atmospheric conditions (or climates) that is applicable to several different types of solar collectors. Data that are included in the data base were collected at FSEC from October 1986 to April 1988, and at PG&E from April 1987 to April 1988. FSEC operated one EPRI and one SERI spectroradiometer almost daily at Cape Canaveral, which contributed nearly 2800 spectra to the data base. PG&E operated one EPRI spectroradiometer at San Ramon, Calif., as resources permitted contributing nearly 300 spectra to the data base. SERI collected about 200 spectra in the Denver/Golden, Colo., area form November 1987 to February 1988 as part of a research project to study urban spectral solar radiation, and added these data to the data base.

*In September 1991 the Solar Energy Research Institute became the National Renewable Energy Laboratory.

Spectral Solar Radiation Data Base
Documentation, Vol. I

Spectral Solar Radiation Data Base
Documentation, Vol. II

Map of Sites

Click here to expand figure.

Note:

Some of these files are too large to view on-line as they are. It is possible to download them directly, however, using Netscape. We do not know currently if it is possible with other browsers, but to get them using Netscape do the following:

Macintosh

Hold down the mouse button on the link of the file which you want until an option menu pops up. Then choose the "save this link as" option and it will ask you where you want to save it.

UNIX or Windows

Click the right mouse button on the link and choose the "save this link as" option from the pop-up menu.

These instructions hold for all of the config and data files as well as the notes, quality control, and uncertainty files listed below. Some of the files are small enough to load in Netscape so you can view them on-line as well, but this downloading method will work for all of them regardless.

Configuration and Data Files

Notes Files

FSEC.NOTES: View 111K

PG&E.NOTES: View 8K

SERI.NOTES: View 14K

Quality Control (QC) Files

FSEC

PG&E

SERI

Uncertainty Files

These files are not in the format listed in the manual, but they are pretty self-explanatory as stand alone files. If you have questions about these files, send e-mail to rredc@nrel.gov.

FSEC Licor PRS-102: View 42K

SERI Licor PRS-158: View 28K

FSEC Licor PRS-172: View 14K

PG&E Licor PRS-174: View 53K

FSEC Licor PRS-218: View 6K