HelpSolar Reports

The program can generate various reports that give times of sunrise and sunset, azimuth and altitude, angles of incidence, and length and direction of shadows:

Daily Sunrise, Sunset & Solar Noon
For each day of the selected month, shows times of Sunrise, Sunset and Solar Noon.

Daily Sunrise, Sunset & Azimuths
For each day of the selected month, shows times of Sunrise and Sunset, together with Sunrise and Sunset Azimuths. You can choose whether azimuths are calculated from True North or Magnetic North.

Daily Altitude at Solar Noon
For each day of the selected month, shows time of Solar Noon and the Solar Altitude.

Solar Azimuth/ Altitude
For each half hour of the day for the selected date, shows Solar Azimuth and Altitude. You can choose whether azimuths are calculated from True North or Magnetic North.

Horizontal & Vertical Shadow Angles
For each half hour of the day for the selected date, shows Horizontal and Vertical Shadow Angles. The Horizontal Shadow Angle (HSA) is the angle between the orientation of a surface and the solar azimuth. The Vertical Shadow Angle (VSA) is the angle between the HSA and the solar altitude, measured as a normal to the surface plane.

Angle of Incidence
For each half hour of the day for the selected date, shows Solar Azimuth and Altitude, and, for the specified orientation and inclination of surface plane, shows the sun’s angle of incidence. You can choose whether azimuths are calculated from True North or Magnetic North. The angle of incidence is the angle between a normal to the surface plane and the direction of the sun. The sun will be perpendicular to the surface plane if the angle of incidence is zero.

Shadow Length & Direction
For each half hour of the day for the selected date, shows Solar Azimuth and Altitude, and, for specified orientation and inclination of surface plane, shows the length and direction of shadows cast.. You can choose whether azimuths and shadow directions are calculated from True North or Magnetic North.

Magnetic or True North
When generating solar reports, you can choose to have coordinates expressed from magnetic or true north. Magnetic variation is automatically calculated by the program. This is based on the geomagnetic model (IGRF-10) from the International Association of Geomagnetism and Aeronomy.