Exemplary Energy has released a complete suite of 34-year weather and climate data sets.
The new release expands coverage to 225 Australian sites and aims to close gaps in energy modelling accuracy.
The datasets, spanning 1990 to 2023, include the ‘industry standard’ 26-year baseline (1990–2015) as well as current 15-year records (2009–2023).
This approach allows users to select reference periods best suited to their modelling needs, addressing longstanding concerns about the limitations of outdated climate files.
The collection covers all 69 NatHERS climate zones and now extends to five additional sites: Forbes, Nyngan, and Lake Cargelligo in New South Wales; Barcaldine in Queensland; and Kalbarri in Western Australia. Each site includes weather files designed for building energy simulation and renewable energy modelling.
Available datasets include Reference Meteorological Year (RMY) files across multiple periods, Typical Meteorological Year (TMY), eXtreme Meteorological Year (XMY) for solar PV testing, Ersatz Future Meteorological Year (EFMY), and the Industry Standard Meteorological Year (ISMY). Precipitation-inclusive datasets are also available for hydrological and agricultural modelling.
Exemplary Energy says its data could also address regulatory lag in the residential building sector.
“Given the seriously outdated climate files currently in use in NatHERS (and the corollary use of the same ‘climate’ in non-residential simulations) misleading designers and regulators alike, Exemplary Energy has recently offered to donate to the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (DCCEEW) a full set of current climate files for use in any future update of those effectively mandated-by-regulation data sets,” the company said.