Pocster Posted April 3, 2022 Share Posted April 3, 2022 Can’t seem to find anything . Rather than a basic weather forecast is there something more accurate to show cloud / light ‘type ‘ ? . Want to understand when conditions are favourable for PV . Overcast days can sometimes generate more than you would expect and equally clear skies sometimes generate less than you would anticipate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jack Posted April 3, 2022 Share Posted April 3, 2022 Have you seen https://solcast.com/ ? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Radian Posted April 3, 2022 Share Posted April 3, 2022 25 minutes ago, jack said: Have you seen https://solcast.com/ ? I've been using that to simulate a virtual array on my place since last year. Almost kidding myself it's actually generating (SWMBO is fed up with me giving her an update on how many watts wer're 'generating' now). Best I can do until the real thing turns up. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteamyTea Posted April 3, 2022 Share Posted April 3, 2022 Having looked into cloud cover for PV generation at university, short of real time radar, you are not going to get a brilliant forecast. Wind direction and air pressure are your best indicators. Or a battery to just store what is available. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adrian Walker Posted April 3, 2022 Share Posted April 3, 2022 I use this one - https://joint-research-centre.ec.europa.eu/pvgis-photovoltaic-geographical-information-system_en 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Radian Posted April 3, 2022 Share Posted April 3, 2022 2 hours ago, SteamyTea said: Having looked into cloud cover for PV generation at university, short of real time radar, you are not going to get a brilliant forecast. Quote Solcast gathers the latest satellite imagery from five weather satellites in order to model and forecast PV power generation across the planet. Every 5-15 minutes we detect the latest cloud cover conditions nearby your rooftop power generation site(s), and run sophisticated prediction algorithms to anticipate where the cloud cover will move next. Using PV power modelling tools, we convert the predictions of local cloud cover into forecasts of power output from each Rooftop PV system registered in our API Toolkit. Not sure which satellites they use but it's not dependent on where abouts in the world you live, so probably out at geostationary orbit locations. Anyway, they say they use 'sophisticated prediction algorithms' so it must be good 😄 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteamyTea Posted April 3, 2022 Share Posted April 3, 2022 (edited) 41 minutes ago, Radian said: sophisticated prediction algorithms So does my cheap Lidl weather station. And it is spookily accurate. Except for the time, but UTC is better. Edited April 3, 2022 by SteamyTea Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Radian Posted April 3, 2022 Share Posted April 3, 2022 Is your outdoor probe just lying on the floor by any chance? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteamyTea Posted April 3, 2022 Share Posted April 3, 2022 1 hour ago, Radian said: Is your outdoor probe just lying on the floor by any chance? Yes. I forgot to put it back outside when I changed the battery, it is somewhere under the workbench I think. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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