# Sun path diagram¶

Examples of generating sunpath diagrams.

This example shows basic usage of pvlib’s solar position calculations with pvlib.solarposition.get_solarposition(). The examples shown here will generate sunpath diagrams that shows solar position over a year.

## Polar plot¶

Below is an example plot of solar position in polar coordinates.

from pvlib import solarposition
import pandas as pd
import numpy as np
import matplotlib.pyplot as plt

tz = 'Asia/Calcutta'
lat, lon = 28.6, 77.2

times = pd.date_range('2019-01-01 00:00:00', '2020-01-01', closed='left',
freq='H', tz=tz)
solpos = solarposition.get_solarposition(times, lat, lon)
# remove nighttime
solpos = solpos.loc[solpos['apparent_elevation'] > 0, :]

ax = plt.subplot(1, 1, 1, projection='polar')
# draw the analemma loops
s=2, label=None, c=solpos.index.dayofyear)
ax.figure.colorbar(points)

# draw hour labels
for hour in np.unique(solpos.index.hour):
# choose label position by the smallest radius for each hour
subset = solpos.loc[solpos.index.hour == hour, :]
r = subset.apparent_zenith
pos = solpos.loc[r.idxmin(), :]

# draw individual days
for date in pd.to_datetime(['2019-03-21', '2019-06-21', '2019-12-21']):
times = pd.date_range(date, date+pd.Timedelta('24h'), freq='5min', tz=tz)
solpos = solarposition.get_solarposition(times, lat, lon)
solpos = solpos.loc[solpos['apparent_elevation'] > 0, :]
label = date.strftime('%Y-%m-%d')

ax.figure.legend(loc='upper left')

# change coordinates to be like a compass
ax.set_theta_zero_location('N')
ax.set_theta_direction(-1)
ax.set_rmax(90)

plt.show()


This is a polar plot of hourly solar zenith and azimuth. The figure-8 patterns are called analemmas and show how the sun’s path slowly shifts over the course of the year . The colored lines show the single-day sun paths for the winter and summer solstices as well as the spring equinox.

The soltice paths mark the boundary of the sky area that the sun traverses over a year. The diagram shows that there is no point in the year when is the sun directly overhead (zenith=0) – note that this location is north of the Tropic of Cancer.

Examining the sun path for the summer solstice in particular shows that the sun rises north of east, crosses into the southern sky around 10 AM for a few hours before crossing back into the northern sky around 3 PM and setting north of west. In contrast, the winter solstice sun path remains in the southern sky the entire day. Moreover, the diagram shows that the winter solstice is a shorter day than the summer soltice – in December, the sun rises after 7 AM and sets before 6 PM, whereas in June the sun is up before 6 AM and sets after 7 PM.

Another use of this diagram is to determine what times of year the sun is blocked by obstacles. For instance, for a mountain range on the western side of an array that extends 10 degrees above the horizon, the sun is blocked:

• after about 6:30 PM on the summer solstice

• after about 5:30 PM on the spring equinox

• after about 4:30 PM on the winter solstice

## PVSyst Plot¶

PVSyst users will be more familiar with sunpath diagrams in Cartesian coordinates:

from pvlib import solarposition
import pandas as pd
import numpy as np
import matplotlib.pyplot as plt

tz = 'Asia/Calcutta'
lat, lon = 28.6, 77.2
times = pd.date_range('2019-01-01 00:00:00', '2020-01-01', closed='left',
freq='H', tz=tz)

solpos = solarposition.get_solarposition(times, lat, lon)
# remove nighttime
solpos = solpos.loc[solpos['apparent_elevation'] > 0, :]

fig, ax = plt.subplots()
points = ax.scatter(solpos.azimuth, solpos.apparent_elevation, s=2,
c=solpos.index.dayofyear, label=None)
fig.colorbar(points)

for hour in np.unique(solpos.index.hour):
# choose label position by the largest elevation for each hour
subset = solpos.loc[solpos.index.hour == hour, :]
height = subset.apparent_elevation
pos = solpos.loc[height.idxmax(), :]
ax.text(pos['azimuth'], pos['apparent_elevation'], str(hour))

for date in pd.to_datetime(['2019-03-21', '2019-06-21', '2019-12-21']):
times = pd.date_range(date, date+pd.Timedelta('24h'), freq='5min', tz=tz)
solpos = solarposition.get_solarposition(times, lat, lon)
solpos = solpos.loc[solpos['apparent_elevation'] > 0, :]
label = date.strftime('%Y-%m-%d')
ax.plot(solpos.azimuth, solpos.apparent_elevation, label=label)

ax.figure.legend(loc='upper left')
ax.set_xlabel('Solar Azimuth (degrees)')
ax.set_ylabel('Solar Elevation (degrees)')

plt.show()


Total running time of the script: ( 0 minutes 1.039 seconds)

Gallery generated by Sphinx-Gallery