Solar Online Tools

The Solar Online Tools are a powerful, web-based application with a simple point and click map for easily accessing renewable resource data. For help using these tools, please select from the below list of frequently asked questions. If you require additional assistance, please contact 3TIER Support.

Currently, time series data are available through the end of November 2021.

Frequently Asked Questions

• How do I enter a location?
• What's the latest month available in the solar time series tool?
• What is the Data Shown in the Solar Time Series Viewer?
• What updates were applied to the datasets in November 2019?
• Which weather data source should I pick?
• What do the Annual Mean Irradiance Tools provide?
• How do I interpret the graphs provided by the Monthly Mean Irradiance Tools?
• What solar values are shown on the map?
• Why do we show a +/- next to the annual values?
• What is Global Horizontal Irradiance?
• How can I compare sites side-by-side?
• What is Direct Normal Irradiance?
• How do I change locations for individual tools?
• What is Diffuse Horizontal Irradiance?
• Why does the map disappear?
• What are the units of irradiance?
• What affects solar radiation at a given site?
• How much area is covered by the Solar Prospecting Tools?
• How accurate are the Solar Prospecting Tools?
• What data has been created?
• How was the data behind your map created?
• How do I convert the 3TIER values to peak sun hours?
• Why does the data not match my observations?
• What were 3TIER's solar data validation procedures?