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Solar Position

Location & Panel Geometry

To begin with, let's define the fundamental input parameters for our location of interest and a moment in time :

  • Location : (Lon, Lat) = (8, 45)
  • Elevation : 214 m
  • A good, clear-sky day over our location is 2010-01-27 12:00:00.

Next, let us consider the basic geometry of a solar panel :

  • Orientation of the panel : South which is 180 degrees counting clock-wise from due North.
  • Tilt of the Panel : a horizontally flat panel which is 0 degrees.

Symbols

  • The ∡ symbol means we are reporting an inclined component!
  • The calculations include the atmospheric refraction (as described in Hofierka, 2002)
  • The albedo is set to 0.2
  • The Linke Turbidity is set to 2

On the Linke Turbidity

By default, PVGIS does not use any Linke Turbidity input when it gets to read solar irradiance components from external datasets, such as for example SARAH3 products.

EXPLAIN HERE MORE

Solar position

As a starting point, the command position, features a sub-command introduction which returns a text explaining the flow of calculations of the position of the sun and the agle between sun-rays and the solar collector surface.

Go ahead, try it out and skim through the text !

pvgis-prototype position introduction

Note

Refer to the introduction to solar position how-to section.

Now that we have an overview, let's start with the basics :

pvgis-prototype position overview \
    8.628 45.812 180 45 \
    '2010-01-17 12:00' \
    -aou degrees
                                                            Solar Position Overview                                                             

  Time                  Declination ∢   Hour Angle 󱩷   Zenith ⦭   Altitude ⦩   Azimuth 󱦥   Incidence ⭸   Horizon ⛰   Sun-Horizon ⛰   Visible 👁  
 ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── 
  2010-01-17 12:00:00   -20.904         6.297          66.923     23.077       185.881     22.442        0.0         Above           True       

  ⅀ / μ                                                                                                                                         

╭─────────────────────────────────────────────────╮                                                             
│ Start             Every  End               Zone │                                                             
│ 2010-01-17 12:00  -      2010-01-17 12:00  UTC  │                                                             
│                                                 │                                                             
│                                                 │                                                             
╰─────────────────────────────────────────────────╯                                                             
╭──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────╮
│ Location  Longitude ϑ, Latitude ϕ = 8.628, 45.812  Angular units radians                                     │
│ Position  Surface Orientation ↻: 3.142, Surface Tilt ⦥: 0.785                                                │
│ Definitions  Azimuth origin : North, Incidence angle: Sun-Vector-to-Surface-Normal                           │
│ Algorithms  Timing: Milne1921, Positioning: NOAA, Unrefracted zenith: True, Incidence: Iqbal, Shading: PVGIS │
╰────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── Reference ─╯
╭───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────╮                                               
│  -  Loss         ⦭  Zenith       ⛰  Horizon      👁   Visible  │                                               
│  ⏲  Timing       ⦩  Altitude     ↻  Orientation  🌅  Sunrise  │                                               
│  ∢  Declination  󱦥  Azimuth      ⦥  Tilt         🮞   Shading  │                                               
│  󱩷  Hour angle   ⯐  Positioning  ⭸  Incidence                 │                                               
╰────────────────────────────────────────────────────── Legend ─╯                                               

Info

The command

pvgis-prototype position overview \
8.628 45.812 180 45 \
'2010-01-17 12:00' \
-aou degrees

reads :

  • execute pvgis-prototype command position and sub-command overview
  • set
    • the longitude to 8.628 and the latitude to 45.812
    • the surface (panel) orientation to 180 and the tilt to 45 degrees
    • the timestamp 2010-01-17 12:00
  • output the angle quantities in degrees

Degrees or radians ?

By default, PVGIS returns angle figures measured in radians. This extra bit of -aou which is a shortcut for --angle-output-units is required to get the reported numbers in degrees. Without it :

pvgis-prototype position overview \
8.628 45.812 180 45 \
'2010-01-17 12:00'
                                                            Solar Position Overview                                                             

  Time                  Declination ∢   Hour Angle 󱩷   Zenith ⦭   Altitude ⦩   Azimuth 󱦥   Incidence ⭸   Horizon ⛰   Sun-Horizon ⛰   Visible 👁  
 ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── 
  2010-01-17 12:00:00   -0.365          0.11           1.168      0.403        3.244       0.392         0.0         Above           True       

  ⅀ / μ                                                                                                                                         

╭─────────────────────────────────────────────────╮                                                             
│ Start             Every  End               Zone │                                                             
│ 2010-01-17 12:00  -      2010-01-17 12:00  UTC  │                                                             
│                                                 │                                                             
│                                                 │                                                             
╰─────────────────────────────────────────────────╯                                                             
╭──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────╮
│ Location  Longitude ϑ, Latitude ϕ = 0.151, 0.8  Angular units radians                                        │
│ Position  Surface Orientation ↻: 3.142, Surface Tilt ⦥: 0.785                                                │
│ Definitions  Azimuth origin : North, Incidence angle: Sun-Vector-to-Surface-Normal                           │
│ Algorithms  Timing: Milne1921, Positioning: NOAA, Unrefracted zenith: True, Incidence: Iqbal, Shading: PVGIS │
╰────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── Reference ─╯
╭───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────╮                                               
│  -  Loss         ⦭  Zenith       ⛰  Horizon      👁   Visible  │                                               
│  ⏲  Timing       ⦩  Altitude     ↻  Orientation  🌅  Sunrise  │                                               
│  ∢  Declination  󱦥  Azimuth      ⦥  Tilt         🮞   Shading  │                                               
│  󱩷  Hour angle   ⯐  Positioning  ⭸  Incidence                 │                                               
╰────────────────────────────────────────────────────── Legend ─╯                                               

Let's note down the solar zenith angle (in radians) : 1.16802

Altitude and Azimuth

The two solar position angles of interest initially are the solar altitude (also referred to as solar elevation) and the solar azimuth.

We can identify them individually :

pvgis-prototype position altitude \
    8.628 45.812 \
    '2010-01-17 12:00:00' \
    -aou degrees
       Solar Altitude Series        

  Time                  Altitude ⦩  
 ────────────────────────────────── 
  2010-01-17 12:00:00   23.077      

  ⅀ / μ                             

╭─────────────────────────────────────────────────╮ ╭───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────╮ ╭───────────────╮
│ Start             Every  End               Zone │ │ Location  Longitude ϑ, Latitude ϕ = 8.628, 45.812  Angular units Unitless │ │  ⦩  Altitude  │
│ 2010-01-17 12:00  -      2010-01-17 12:00  UTC  │ │ Definitions                                                               │ │               │
│                                                 │ ╰─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── Reference ─╯ ╰────── Legend ─╯
│                                                 │                                                                                                
╰─────────────────────────────────────────────────╯                                                                                                

and

pvgis-prototype position azimuth \
    8.628 45.812 \
    '2010-01-17 12:00:00' \
    -aou degrees \
    --solar-position-model noaa
       Solar Azimuth Series        

  Time                  Azimuth 󱦥  
 ───────────────────────────────── 
  2010-01-17 12:00:00   185.881    

  ⅀ / μ                            

╭─────────────────────────────────────────────────╮ ╭───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────╮ ╭──────────────╮
│ Start             Every  End               Zone │ │ Location  Longitude ϑ, Latitude ϕ = 8.628, 45.812  Angular units Unitless │ │  󱦥  Azimuth  │
│ 2010-01-17 12:00  -      2010-01-17 12:00  UTC  │ │ Definitions  Azimuth origin : North                                       │ │              │
│                                                 │ ╰─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── Reference ─╯ ╰───── Legend ─╯
│                                                 │                                                                                               
╰─────────────────────────────────────────────────╯                                                                                               

Incidence angle

Nonetheless, the single-most important angle in the context of photovoltaics, is the solar incidence angle. Let's get it for a South-facing surface, tilted at 35 degrees

pvgis-prototype position incidence \
    8.628 45.812 \
    180 35 \
    '2010-01-17 12:00:00' \
    -aou degrees
           Solar Incidence           

  Time                  Incidence ⭸  
 ─────────────────────────────────── 
  2010-01-17 12:00:00   32.222       

  ⅀ / μ                              

╭─────────────────────────────────────────────────╮ ╭─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────╮ ╭────────────────╮
│ Start             Every  End               Zone │ │ Location  Longitude ϑ, Latitude ϕ = 8.628, 45.812  Angular units Unitless   │ │  ⭸  Incidence  │
│ 2010-01-17 12:00  -      2010-01-17 12:00  UTC  │ │ Definitions  Incidence angle: Sun-Vector-to-Surface-Normal Incidence: Iqbal │ │                │
│                                                 │ ╰───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── Reference ─╯ ╰─────── Legend ─╯
│                                                 │                                                                                                   
╰─────────────────────────────────────────────────╯                                                                                                   

!!! warning Orientation & Tilt angles

The `incidence` command requires a surface orientation and tilt angle (see
highlighted figures in the above example).
Missing to provide these parameters, would cause the command to fail.

The solar radiation model presented by Hofierka (2002), defines as solar incidence the angle between the sun-rays and the plane of the solar surface. Or else : the angle between the position of the sun and the inclination of the panel.

Typically, solar incidence is defined as the angle between the sun-rays and the normal to the reference surface. It is important to disinguish between the two, hence, in PVGIS we call the Sun-To-Plane the complementary incidence angle, where as the Sun-to-Surface-Normal we call it the typical incidence angle.

To get the typical solar incidence angle, one can use the optional flag --sun-vector-to-surface-normal (or even --sun-to-normal) like so :

pvgis-prototype position overview \
    8.628 45.812 180 45 \
    '2010-01-17 12:00' \
    -aou degrees \
    --sun-vector-to-surface-normal
                                                            Solar Position Overview                                                             

  Time                  Declination ∢   Hour Angle 󱩷   Zenith ⦭   Altitude ⦩   Azimuth 󱦥   Incidence ⭸   Horizon ⛰   Sun-Horizon ⛰   Visible 👁  
 ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── 
  2010-01-17 12:00:00   -20.904         6.297          66.923     23.077       185.881     22.442        0.0         Above           True       

  ⅀ / μ                                                                                                                                         

╭─────────────────────────────────────────────────╮                                                             
│ Start             Every  End               Zone │                                                             
│ 2010-01-17 12:00  -      2010-01-17 12:00  UTC  │                                                             
│                                                 │                                                             
│                                                 │                                                             
╰─────────────────────────────────────────────────╯                                                             
╭──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────╮
│ Location  Longitude ϑ, Latitude ϕ = 8.628, 45.812  Angular units radians                                     │
│ Position  Surface Orientation ↻: 3.142, Surface Tilt ⦥: 0.785                                                │
│ Definitions  Azimuth origin : North, Incidence angle: Sun-Vector-to-Surface-Normal                           │
│ Algorithms  Timing: Milne1921, Positioning: NOAA, Unrefracted zenith: True, Incidence: Iqbal, Shading: PVGIS │
╰────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── Reference ─╯
╭───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────╮                                               
│  -  Loss         ⦭  Zenith       ⛰  Horizon      👁   Visible  │                                               
│  ⏲  Timing       ⦩  Altitude     ↻  Orientation  🌅  Sunrise  │                                               
│  ∢  Declination  󱦥  Azimuth      ⦥  Tilt         🮞   Shading  │                                               
│  󱩷  Hour angle   ⯐  Positioning  ⭸  Incidence                 │                                               
╰────────────────────────────────────────────────────── Legend ─╯                                               

Time series

The power of overview is exactly its capability to generate time series.

It suffices to provide a start-time and an end-time :

pvgis-prototype position overview \
    8.628 45.812 180 45 \
    --start-time '2010-01-17 06:00:00' \
    --end-time '2010-01-17 18:00:00' \
    -aou degrees
                                                                    Solar Position Overview                                                                     

                        Declinati…   Hour Angle                                       Incidence                Sun-Horizon                          Event Time  
  Time                  ∢            󱩷            Zenith ⦭   Altitude ⦩   Azimuth 󱦥   ⭸            Horizon ⛰   ⛰             Visible 👁   Event 🌅   ⏲           
 ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── 
  2010-01-17 06:00:00   -20.951      -83.682      100.617    -10.617      109.214     0.0          0.0         Below         False                              
  2010-01-17 07:00:00   -20.943      -68.685      90.835     -0.835       119.86      0.0          0.0         Below         False       Sunrise    07:02:07    
  2010-01-17 08:00:00   -20.935      -53.689      82.456     7.544        130.795     56.576       0.0         Above         True                               
  2010-01-17 09:00:00   -20.927      -38.692      75.342     14.658       143.013     43.501       0.0         Above         True                               
  2010-01-17 10:00:00   -20.92       -23.696      70.07      19.93        156.623     31.655       0.0         Above         True                               
  2010-01-17 11:00:00   -20.912      -8.7         67.152     22.848       171.55      23.203       0.0         Above         True                               
  2010-01-17 12:00:00   -20.904      6.297        66.923     23.077       185.881     22.442       0.0         Above         True                               
  2010-01-17 13:00:00   -20.896      21.293       69.411     20.589       201.079     29.967       0.0         Above         True                               
  2010-01-17 14:00:00   -20.888      36.29        74.324     15.676       214.917     41.47        0.0         Above         True                               
  2010-01-17 15:00:00   -20.88       51.286       81.172     8.828        227.372     54.428       0.0         Above         True                               
  2010-01-17 16:00:00   -20.872      66.283       89.196     0.804        238.289     67.57        0.0         Low angle     True        Sunset     16:07:09    
  2010-01-17 17:00:00   -20.864      81.279       98.975     -8.975       249.218     0.0          0.0         Below         False                              
  2010-01-17 18:00:00   -20.856      96.276       109.039    -19.039      259.32      0.0          0.0         Below         False                              

  ⅀ / μ                                                                                                                                                         

╭─────────────────────────────────────────────────╮                                                             
│ Start             Every  End               Zone │                                                             
│ 2010-01-17 06:00  h      2010-01-17 18:00  UTC  │                                                             
│                                                 │                                                             
│                                                 │                                                             
╰─────────────────────────────────────────────────╯                                                             
╭──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────╮
│ Location  Longitude ϑ, Latitude ϕ = 8.628, 45.812  Angular units radians                                     │
│ Position  Surface Orientation ↻: 3.142, Surface Tilt ⦥: 0.785                                                │
│ Definitions  Azimuth origin : North, Incidence angle: Sun-Vector-to-Surface-Normal                           │
│ Algorithms  Timing: Milne1921, Positioning: NOAA, Unrefracted zenith: True, Incidence: Iqbal, Shading: PVGIS │
╰────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── Reference ─╯
╭───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────╮                                               
│  -  Loss         ⦭  Zenith       ⛰  Horizon      👁   Visible  │                                               
│  ⏲  Timing       ⦩  Altitude     ↻  Orientation  🌅  Sunrise  │                                               
│  ∢  Declination  󱦥  Azimuth      ⦥  Tilt         🮞   Shading  │                                               
│  󱩷  Hour angle   ⯐  Positioning  ⭸  Incidence                 │                                               
╰────────────────────────────────────────────────────── Legend ─╯                                               

And what about every 30 minutes ? Ask this via the --frequency option :

pvgis-prototype position overview \
    8.628 45.812 180 45 \
    --start-time '2010-01-17 06:00:00' \
    --end-time '2010-01-17 18:00:00' \
    -aou degrees \
    --frequency 30min
                                                                    Solar Position Overview                                                                     

                        Declinati…   Hour Angle                                       Incidence                Sun-Horizon                          Event Time  
  Time                  ∢            󱩷            Zenith ⦭   Altitude ⦩   Azimuth 󱦥   ⭸            Horizon ⛰   ⛰             Visible 👁   Event 🌅   ⏲           
 ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── 
  2010-01-17 06:00:00   -20.951      -83.682      100.617    -10.617      109.214     0.0          0.0         Below         False                              
  2010-01-17 06:30:00   -20.951      -76.182      95.736     -5.736       114.346     0.0          0.0         Below         False                              
  2010-01-17 07:00:00   -20.943      -68.685      90.835     -0.835       119.86      0.0          0.0         Below         False       Sunrise    07:02:07    
  2010-01-17 07:30:00   -20.943      -61.185      86.491     3.509        125.23      63.23        0.0         Above         True                               
  2010-01-17 08:00:00   -20.935      -53.689      82.456     7.544        130.795     56.576       0.0         Above         True                               
  2010-01-17 08:30:00   -20.935      -46.189      78.708     11.292       136.734     49.955       0.0         Above         True                               
  2010-01-17 09:00:00   -20.927      -38.692      75.342     14.658       143.013     43.501       0.0         Above         True                               
  2010-01-17 09:30:00   -20.927      -31.192      72.444     17.556       149.65      37.338       0.0         Above         True                               
  2010-01-17 10:00:00   -20.92       -23.696      70.07      19.93        156.623     31.655       0.0         Above         True                               
  2010-01-17 10:30:00   -20.92       -16.196      68.293     21.707       163.923     26.773       0.0         Above         True                               
  2010-01-17 11:00:00   -20.912      -8.7         67.152     22.848       171.55      23.203       0.0         Above         True                               
  2010-01-17 11:30:00   -20.912      -1.2         66.695     23.305       180.0       21.695       0.0         Above         True                               
  2010-01-17 12:00:00   -20.904      6.297        66.923     23.077       185.881     22.442       0.0         Above         True                               
  2010-01-17 12:30:00   -20.904      13.797       67.843     22.157       193.68      25.445       0.0         Above         True                               
  2010-01-17 13:00:00   -20.896      21.293       69.411     20.589       201.079     29.967       0.0         Above         True                               
  2010-01-17 13:30:00   -20.896      28.793       71.596     18.404       208.166     35.439       0.0         Above         True                               
  2010-01-17 14:00:00   -20.888      36.29        74.324     15.676       214.917     41.47        0.0         Above         True                               
  2010-01-17 14:30:00   -20.888      43.79        77.546     12.454       221.318     47.85        0.0         Above         True                               
  2010-01-17 15:00:00   -20.88       51.286       81.172     8.828        227.372     54.428       0.0         Above         True                               
  2010-01-17 15:30:00   -20.88       58.786       85.133     4.867        233.074     61.1         0.0         Above         True                               
  2010-01-17 16:00:00   -20.872      66.283       89.196     0.804        238.289     67.57        0.0         Low angle     True        Sunset     16:07:09    
  2010-01-17 16:30:00   -20.872      73.783       94.142     -4.142       244.024     0.0          0.0         Below         False                              
  2010-01-17 17:00:00   -20.864      81.279       98.975     -8.975       249.218     0.0          0.0         Below         False                              
  2010-01-17 17:30:00   -20.864      88.779       103.952    -13.952      254.282     0.0          0.0         Below         False                              
  2010-01-17 18:00:00   -20.856      96.276       109.039    -19.039      259.32      0.0          0.0         Below         False                              

  ⅀ / μ                                                                                                                                                         

╭─────────────────────────────────────────────────╮                                                             
│ Start             Every  End               Zone │                                                             
│ 2010-01-17 06:00  30min  2010-01-17 18:00  UTC  │                                                             
│                                                 │                                                             
│                                                 │                                                             
╰─────────────────────────────────────────────────╯                                                             
╭──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────╮
│ Location  Longitude ϑ, Latitude ϕ = 8.628, 45.812  Angular units radians                                     │
│ Position  Surface Orientation ↻: 3.142, Surface Tilt ⦥: 0.785                                                │
│ Definitions  Azimuth origin : North, Incidence angle: Sun-Vector-to-Surface-Normal                           │
│ Algorithms  Timing: Milne1921, Positioning: NOAA, Unrefracted zenith: True, Incidence: Iqbal, Shading: PVGIS │
╰────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── Reference ─╯
╭───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────╮                                               
│  -  Loss         ⦭  Zenith       ⛰  Horizon      👁   Visible  │                                               
│  ⏲  Timing       ⦩  Altitude     ↻  Orientation  🌅  Sunrise  │                                               
│  ∢  Declination  󱦥  Azimuth      ⦥  Tilt         🮞   Shading  │                                               
│  󱩷  Hour angle   ⯐  Positioning  ⭸  Incidence                 │                                               
╰────────────────────────────────────────────────────── Legend ─╯                                               

Maybe we want shorter figures ? We can limit the output numbers to 2 decimals :

pvgis-prototype position overview \
    8.628 45.812 180 45 \
    --start-time '2010-01-17 06:00:00' \
    --end-time '2010-01-17 18:00:00' \
    -aou degrees \
    -r 2
                                                                    Solar Position Overview                                                                     

                        Declinati…   Hour Angle                                       Incidence                Sun-Horizon                          Event Time  
  Time                  ∢            󱩷            Zenith ⦭   Altitude ⦩   Azimuth 󱦥   ⭸            Horizon ⛰   ⛰             Visible 👁   Event 🌅   ⏲           
 ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── 
  2010-01-17 06:00:00   -20.95       -83.68       100.62     -10.62       109.21      0.0          0.0         Below         False                              
  2010-01-17 07:00:00   -20.94       -68.69       90.84      -0.84        119.86      0.0          0.0         Below         False       Sunrise    07:02:07    
  2010-01-17 08:00:00   -20.94       -53.69       82.46      7.54         130.79      56.58        0.0         Above         True                               
  2010-01-17 09:00:00   -20.93       -38.69       75.34      14.66        143.01      43.5         0.0         Above         True                               
  2010-01-17 10:00:00   -20.92       -23.7        70.07      19.93        156.62      31.65        0.0         Above         True                               
  2010-01-17 11:00:00   -20.91       -8.7         67.15      22.85        171.55      23.2         0.0         Above         True                               
  2010-01-17 12:00:00   -20.9        6.3          66.92      23.08        185.88      22.44        0.0         Above         True                               
  2010-01-17 13:00:00   -20.9        21.29        69.41      20.59        201.08      29.97        0.0         Above         True                               
  2010-01-17 14:00:00   -20.89       36.29        74.32      15.68        214.92      41.47        0.0         Above         True                               
  2010-01-17 15:00:00   -20.88       51.29        81.17      8.83         227.37      54.43        0.0         Above         True                               
  2010-01-17 16:00:00   -20.87       66.28        89.2       0.8          238.29      67.57        0.0         Low angle     True        Sunset     16:07:09    
  2010-01-17 17:00:00   -20.86       81.28        98.97      -8.97        249.22      0.0          0.0         Below         False                              
  2010-01-17 18:00:00   -20.86       96.28        109.04     -19.04       259.32      0.0          0.0         Below         False                              

  ⅀ / μ                                                                                                                                                         

╭─────────────────────────────────────────────────╮                                                             
│ Start             Every  End               Zone │                                                             
│ 2010-01-17 06:00  h      2010-01-17 18:00  UTC  │                                                             
│                                                 │                                                             
│                                                 │                                                             
╰─────────────────────────────────────────────────╯                                                             
╭──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────╮
│ Location  Longitude ϑ, Latitude ϕ = 8.63, 45.81  Angular units radians                                       │
│ Position  Surface Orientation ↻: 3.14, Surface Tilt ⦥: 0.79                                                  │
│ Definitions  Azimuth origin : North, Incidence angle: Sun-Vector-to-Surface-Normal                           │
│ Algorithms  Timing: Milne1921, Positioning: NOAA, Unrefracted zenith: True, Incidence: Iqbal, Shading: PVGIS │
╰────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── Reference ─╯
╭───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────╮                                               
│  -  Loss         ⦭  Zenith       ⛰  Horizon      👁   Visible  │                                               
│  ⏲  Timing       ⦩  Altitude     ↻  Orientation  🌅  Sunrise  │                                               
│  ∢  Declination  󱦥  Azimuth      ⦥  Tilt         🮞   Shading  │                                               
│  󱩷  Hour angle   ⯐  Positioning  ⭸  Incidence                 │                                               
╰────────────────────────────────────────────────────── Legend ─╯                                               

Uniplot

We can also have just a visual overview via the --uniplot option along with --quiet to hide the tabular output :

pvgis-prototype position overview \
    8.628 45.812 180 45 \
    --start-time '2010-01-17 06:00:00' \
    --end-time '2010-01-17 18:00:00' \
    -aou degrees \
    --quiet \
    --uniplot
Uniplot
                                   Solar Position observed from (longitude, latitude) 8.628, 45.812000000000005
┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▀▀▀▀▀▗▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▗▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▘▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▘                                                 │ 200 Unitless
▗▄▄▄▄▄▄▞▀▀▀▀▀▀▄▄▄▄▄▄▞▀▀▀▀▀▀▘▗▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▞▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▘▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▞▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀                                                                                                                                             │ 100 Unitless
│                                                                                                                                                │
▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▗▄▞▀▀▀▀▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▖                                                              ▗▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀       ▀▚▄▄▄▀▘             ▝▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▖                        ▗▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▘                         ▀▚▄▗▄▞▀           ▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▞▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▚▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▖                     ▀▚▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▝▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▀▚▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄│ 0 Unitless
▀▀▀▀▀                                                                                                                            ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▄▄▄▄▄└────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
06:00      07:00       08:00       09:00       10:00       11:00       12:00      13:00       14:00       15:00       16:00       17:00       18:00
                                               ██ NA Incidence  (NA)   ██ Altitude ⦩   ██ Azimuth 󱦥

We can zoom-out in time to gain a better understanding of the solar positioning angles :

pvgis-prototype position overview \
    8.628 45.812 180 45 \
    --start-time '2010-01-17' \
    --end-time '2010-01-18' \
    -aou degrees \
    --quiet \
    --uniplot
Uniplot
                                   Solar Position observed from (longitude, latitude) 8.628, 45.812000000000005
┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
▗▄▄▞▜▗▄▄▄▞▀▀▘    ▄▄▄▄▄▄▀▀▀▀▘           ▗▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▀▀▀▀▀▀▀                      ▝▖    │ 250 Unitless
▗▄▄▄▄▄▄▀▀▀▀▀▀▀                                     ▗▄▄▄▄▞▀▀▀▀▀▘                                                  ▝▖▗▄▄▄▄▞▀▀▀▀▘                                                              ▗▄▄▄▄▞▀▀▀▀▘                                                                        ▝▖▗▄▄▄▄▄▄▀▀▀▀▀▘                                                                                   ▗▄▄▄▄▄▄▞▀▀▀▀▀▀▘                                                                                               ▄▄▄▄▄▄▞▀▀▀▀▀▀▘                                                                                                              ▄▄▄▄▀▀▀▀▀                             ▗▄▄                                       ▄▄▄▄▄▞▀▄                                             ▄▄▄▀▀▀                                    ▄▞▘  ▀▀▀▀▀▀▄▄▄▄▄▄▄             ▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▀▀▀▀▀▀        ▀▚▖                                           ▞▀▀                                       ▗▞▗▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▞▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▚▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▖    ▝▚▖                                         ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▗▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▘▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▝▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▖▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀│ 0 Unitless
▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▞▀▀▀▀▀▀▘                                                                               ▝▀▀▀▀▀▀▚▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀                                                                                                             ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄└────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
2010-01-17 2010-01-17T03:00  2010-01-17T06:00  2010-01-17T09:00  2010-01-17T12:00 2010-01-17T15:00  2010-01-17T18:00  2010-01-17T21:00     2010-01-18
                                               ██ NA Incidence  (NA)   ██ Altitude ⦩   ██ Azimuth 󱦥