PVLIB_Python

This package is no longer actively maintained. The project has been moved to pvlib-python

Compatibility

PV_LIB is currently compatible with python 2.7.X

Installation

After cloning the directory there are two set-up steps to configure PVLIB for your computer

*In order to create a local compile of the NREL SPA algorithm, Navigate to pvlib/spa_c_files and run the following command in that folder:

	python setup.py build_ext --inplace

*To install the required dependancy, pyepehem, open a terminal anywhere and run the following command

	pip install pyephem

Getting Started

After cloning the directory onto your local computer, the best place to start is running the example ipython notebook files (.ipynb)

To start a notebook session, enter the local directory of the PV_LIB library and run

 ipython notebook --pylab

Development

The PV_LIB package is functional as it is currently implemented (though, if you run into a issue, please report it through the issues tracker!)

However, the pacakge is still under development, and an upgraded version is available under the 'develop' branch of the repository. This version includes the following changes:

• Remove pvl_ from module names.
• Consolidation of similar modules. For example, functions from pvl_clearsky_ineichen.py and pvl_clearsky_haurwitz.py have been consolidated into clearsky.py.
• Added /pvlib/data for lookup tables
• Return one DataFrame instead of a tuple of DataFrames
• Upgraded handling of timezones and location information
• Expanded unit testing
• Add PyEphem option to solar position calculations.

This new version increases the usability of the system, and shifts it towards a more "pythonic" implementation.

Notebooks to run

• /tutorial/Tutorial.ipynb for an introduction to the overall functionality

• /pvlib/Test_scripts_1.ipynb an example of a complete workflow

• /pvlib/TS_2_irradiance_functions.ipynb an example of implementing the included irradiance translation functions