Primary Uses
- Efficient and easy resource prospecting
- Setting customer expectations
- Integrating into your everyday workflow
- Prioritizing leads and potential sites
- Feasibility for small solar installations
Gain quick and easy access to critical prospecting information using 3TIER's Solar Prospecting Tools. They feature a user-friendly point and click interface and offer unlimited access to detailed resource information from our in-depth solar assessment dataset. With the click of your mouse you can obtain the annual and monthly mean for GHI (Global Horizontal Irradiance), DNI (Direct Normal Irradiance), and DIF (Diffuse Horizontal Irradiance) for nearly any location worldwide.
The Solar Prospecting Tools also offer a 'link and unlink' feature, which allows the user to lock the data displays for a potential site while continuing to browse and compare it against other locations.
These tools are ideal for developers, manufacturers, and installers to quickly explore solar potential without having to visit sites or collect observational data. Our subscription model offers two purchasing options for added flexibility. Light users can gain access to product tools on a short-term basis for a small, one-time fee. Heavy users can purchase a cost-effective ongoing monthly subscription. This model allows anyone, from the individual homeowner to commercial and utility-scale developers and manufacturers, to make informed early-stage decisions using a more robust set of information.
Tailor the way you see information to the specific needs and demands of your work all within a seamless, drag and drop interface featuring page layout options, maximize and scale tools, and multiple page views.
Select the area you want to explore from 3TIER‘s vast solar dataset. With widespread coverage from a consistent dataset, you have access to the most accurate, seamless information available. If you are looking for an area to develop, we can provide the tools to get you started.
Prospecting data tools are made available via a client-specific dashboard interface.
3TIER produced the first global solar irradiance map and time-series dataset at roughly three times the resolution of previous US solar datasets and at thirty times the resolution of global datasets available from NASA. Based on over a decade of satellite imagery and cutting-edge technology, our uniform methodology is supported by a large scientific and research community and results in a consistent map and dataset, enabling more accurate point-to-point comparisons.
The dataset is based on actual, half-hourly, high-resolution visible satellite imagery observations via the broadband visible wavelength channel at a 2 arc minute resolution. These data have been processed to hourly GHI, DNI, and DIF values. 3TIER processes the satellite images based on a combination of in-house research and algorithms published in peer-reviewed scientific literature. These algorithms contain parameters and coefficients that are based on empirical fits to observational data. The specific satellites and length of time varies slightly by region due to differences in the availability of data from region to region. See the chart below for more details.
| Regions | Satellites | Temporal Coverage |
| Western Hemisphere | GOES 8 - 12 | 13 years (January 1997 - December 2009) |
| South Asia and Middle East | Meteosat 5, Meteosat 7 | 10 years (January 1999 – April 2009) |
| East Asia and Oceania | GMS 5, GOES 9, AMTSAT | 10 years (December 1999 – March 2009) |
| Europe and Africa | Meteosat 7, Meteosat 9 | 11 years (July 1998 – June 2009) |
To develop and validate our model, 3TIER used observations from:
Find our validation papers here.
If you are unfamiliar with the technical terminology on this page, please visit our Glossary for more information.
