resumably, you have already checked the website
(
www.energyplus.gov) and the EnergyPlus Discussion on Yahoo
Group.
The weather data by request from the EnergyPlus team was a volunteer
(unpaid) activity which used Meteonorm -- a program that created weather
files by interpolation based on climate data statistics. Because a number
of groups now provide weather data for virually any location in the world
at a reasonable price, the EnergyPlus team will no longer provide weather
files from Meteonorm. The Yahoo Groups site is at capacity.
Two places you can obtain files are: Weather Analytics and
Meteonorm:
Weather Analytics
(
www.wxaglobal.com) - Site specific weather files in EnergyPlus format
based on the latest 30 years of hourly data are now available from the
private sector company Weather Analytics for any official weather station
or over 600,000 35-km grid tiles across the globe. These files are built
by integrating hourly weather station observations and the new NOAA
reanalysis data sets. Both Typical Meteorological Year (TMY) files and
individual, Actual Meteorological Year (AMY) files are available as well
as files constructed from the previous 12 months.
Meteonorm
(
www.meteonorm.com) - Files for specific locations can be purchased in
EnergyPlus format from Meteonorm company. Meteonorm extrapolates hourly
data from statistical data for a location. Where statistical data aren't
available, Meteonorm interpolates from other nearby sites. Generally a
statistical approach is a last resort--weather files generated from
statistics will not demonstrate the normal hour-to-hour and day-to-day
variability seen in measured data.
Information on selecting weather data appropriate for energy simulation
is described in this paper:
Drury B. Crawley. 1998. "Which Weather Data Should You Use for
Energy Simulations of Commercial Buildings?" in ASHRAE Transactions,
pp. 498-515, Vol. 104, Pt. 2. Atlanta: ASHRAE. (PDF 197 KB)
The EnergyPlus team can provide weather files appropriate for energy
simulation created using Meteonorm. These are posted on the EnergyPlus
YahooGroup under Files > Meteonorm_Weather_Files. Locations are listed
alphabetically by continent (WMO region) and country. More than 300
locations are currently available--look there first before asking for a
new weather file.
Information on selecting weather data appropriate for energy
simulation is described in this paper:
Drury B. Crawley. 1998. "Which Weather Data Should You Use for
Energy Simulations of Commercial Buildings?" in ASHRAE Transactions,
pp. 498-515, Vol. 104, Pt. 2. Atlanta: ASHRAE. (PDF 197 KB)
NOTE: It can take a few days for the weather files to be
created. Creation of the weather files is done on an unpaid,
volunteer basis.
And you should be aware of Meteonorm limitations:
Meteonorm extrapolates hourly data from statistical data for a
location. Where statistical data aren't available, Meteonorm interpolates
from other nearby sites. Generally a statistical approach is a last
resort--weather files generated from statistics will not demonstrate the
normal hour-to-hour and day-to-day variability seen in measured
data.
Each .ZIP includes a .STAT (EnergyPlus weather data statistics), .EPW
(EnergyPlus weather file), and .INFO (Information about the source data
and limitations from Meteonorm).
IN ALL CASES, YOU SHOULD REVIEW THE .STAT FILE FOR THE LOCATION
BEFORE USING ANY OF THESE FILES TO ENSURE THAT IT REPRESENTS THE CLIMATE
OF THE LOCATION AS YOU UNDERSTAND IT. IN MANY CASES, A NEARBY LOCATION
WITH MEASURED DATA MAY BE MORE APPROPRIATE THAN ONE DERIVED FROM
STATISTICS.
YOU USE THESE FILES ENTIRELY AT YOUR OWN RISK.
As always, if you know of sources of weather data that we might be
able to share with the EnergyPlus community, please contact us.