In this document
You will learn how to work with the Time series analysis tool of the Analyst application and how to examine the data.
The Time series analysis tool offers a wide range of visualizations and data comparison options to analyze your data from all your datasets. This is the main data analysis tool of the Analyst application.
Key points to remember:
The interface offers several types of visualizations, separated into individual tabs, to examine the data in various ways.
Each visualization window contains common and visualization-specific filtering and comparison options.
Zooming and moving charts is synchronized across all plots in the respective visualizations.
Filters, aggregations, and other options must always be applied using the “Redraw” button.
Zooming the chart also considers the selected height as well. You can use this advantage when selecting data range with low values which would otherwise appear close to zero in the chart.
The Y-axis range of the Time series chart is always set based on the highest numerical value of any selected parameter. Other values are only numerically inserted into the chart. This may render some parameters hard to read or position them very close to zero.
Time series analysis tool
You can open the Time series comparison tool from the main menu via Analysis/Time series or by using the 
quick access icon located below the main menu. This will open the Time series analysis tool with all datasets loaded in the interface. To quickly examine a single dataset in this tool, double-click the dataset directly in the Project datasets window.
The interface offers the following:
Visualization windows: Switch between different data representations, charts, and data comparison tools.
The visualization plot: Main visualization plot with legend explaining the color representation of each dataset.
Datasets and parameters: Loaded dataset from your project and their parameters. Use checkboxes to add parameters to the visualization plot.
Options: Filter the data, use aggregations, filters, and other data comparison tools specific to the selected visualization window.
Redraw: Use this button to apply selected filters, aggregations, and other configurations.
The visualization options
You can customize the charts and configure the visualizations to your requirements. Each data visualization method offers data aggregation, filtering, and comparison options for better data examination. These are located under the Options in the right-hand panel.
Aggregations, Filters, Flags, and Comparison options are identical for all visualization screens. Additionally, there are visualization-specific options that each window offers for even better customization, separated by a line.
Data aggregation
The datasets are displayed in the charts with their original temporal resolution by default. If you want, you can aggregate it to a bigger one to highlight broader trends and patterns (e.g., 1-minute data to 15-minute data).
Aggregation is also useful when comparing multiple parameters to correlate and benchmark datasets. It improves the reliability of parameters for comparisons.
To aggregate the data:
Select the desired aggregation in the Aggregation dropdown.
Set the minimum of valid points (in percent) that must surround the aggregated value to display it in the chart. You can leave this on the default.
Tip: Aggregation is also used in conjunction with data comparison using the Compare mode (visualization-specific option). It helps to aggregate datasets with various temporal resolutions to the same one for better analysis.
Filtering options
Take advantage of dedicated filters to filter your data based on your requirements.
You can filter by year/month or exact dates, depending on your preference.
You can apply a time interval to see values only at a particular time period of each day. Additionally, you can include/exclude daytime and nighttime values using the respective checkboxes.
The sun elevation filter is also at your disposal to select a period between certain sun elevation levels.
Always apply the filters using the “Redraw” button.
Flags filter
An additional Flags filter is provided for you to view values with particular flags only. This can be useful when you need to examine, for example, values that were flagged with the shading flag. This filter needs to be enabled first before usage (the checkbox). Passed values are selected by default - make sure to uncheck them if you do not want to see them in the chart.
Note: Keep in mind that the dataset must contain flags from relevant quality control (QC) checks to use the flag filter.
Enable the Flags filter.
Select the flagged values you want to display.
Apply filter using the “Redraw” button.
Data comparison mode
The data comparison mode lets you compare values of different parameters that have the same timestamp. In this mode, the application will take and display only points that have matching time step. If the time steps are not matching entirely, it will show points only and you will need to align the timestamps to display it as a continuous curve.
Activate the Compare mode.
Select the “Align timestamp” checkbox to align timestamps.
Click “Redraw” to show the comparison the charts.
Tip: You can use aggregation options to aggregate data with different temporal resolution into a single one and compare the data this way.
Analyzing your data in the Time series tool
You can analyze your data using the following visualizations:
Time Series: Visualizes data trends over time, allowing you to spot patterns, seasonality, and anomalies in time-dependent behavior.
Heatmap: Displays data intensity across two dimensions, enabling detection of clusters, high/low concentration areas, and temporal or spatial correlations.
Histogram: Shows the distribution of a dataset by frequency of value ranges, useful for spotting common ranges, outliers, and skewness.
CDF (Cumulative Distribution Function): Illustrates cumulative probabilities, helping users identify percentile thresholds and overall probability distribution.
Diurnal Profiles: Visualizes average daily cycles, allowing users to observe regular daily patterns and compare behavior between time periods.
Monthly Averages: Summarizes data as averages for each month, making it easy to track seasonal changes, monthly trends, and long-term patterns.
Statistics: View statistics per parameter in a table form.
Time series visualization
The general workflow with the Time series visualization is as follows:
If required, you can add up to three separate Time series charts to the visualization to compare different data separately. For example, you can compare GHIs in one chart and temperatures in another.
Select parameters from datasets to add to charts. Each column represents one visualization chart. If there are GHI, DNI, or GTI parameters in the dataset, theoretical clear sky curves will be added to the selection pool for you to compare to the data in the dataset.
Use the zoom tool to focus on the preferred period of data.
Set aggregations or filters to customize the visualization to your requirements or compare values.
Examining the data in the Time series window
Note: The Time series visualization offers numerous filters and configuration options to customize the visualizations for better data examination. These options are further explained in the Visualization options chapter.
Use the toolbar options to zoom on the data to see required details. After you zoom to a certain level where individual values per time stamp can be identified, you can use the value visualizer to compare individual values per time stamp.
Enable the timestep point data visualization by selecting the “Show values under cursor” checkbox.
Hover over the chart to see the values of the displayed parameters in the chart. Each point, its respective source, and exact value will be displayed inside the chart.
Usage tips:
Right-click the mouse on the chart to add vertical/horizontal lines at the cursor position to help you with data comparison.
Right-click the dataset name in the right parameter selection tab to zoom the chart to the dataset size or select/deselect all its parameters.
Customization of the Time series chart
Sometimes it can be hard to spot exact points on the visualization charts when there are plenty of parameters shown and colors are similar. You can customize the view of each parameter in the Time series chart to change its color, marker visualization, and size.
Open the chart customization menu.
Switch to the Curves tab.
Select the parameter you want to adjust.
Configure the markers visualization style, marker size, or color.
Heatmap visualization
You can add up to four heatmaps to the visualization to view different parameters at a time. You can zoom to the required time range, use theoretical curves, aggregations, and other visualization options to compare your data. Additionally, if your heatmaps are not displayed correctly inside the plots, you can use the time zone shift feature in the Heatmap options to align them to the middle.
Histogram visualization
The histogram visualization shows the frequency distribution of different value ranges, highlighting how often specific levels of the parameter occur within the dataset. You can use the histogram-specific options to define the visualization’s starting point, decide on the bin size, or set how many bins you want to display.
Tip: Apart from histogram-specific options, you can use the standard aggregation and filtering options to display the chart as required.
Cumulative distribution function (CDF)
Here, you can examine the data in the CDF chart. Use the checkboxes to show required parameters.
Diurnal profiles visualization
The diurnal profiles charts shows the typical daily variation of selected parameters, illustrating average patterns and changes throughout the day. It can be displayed in monthly (12 charts) or yearly (single chart) mode. Additionally, you can enable displaying preferred Pxx scenarios.
Monthly averages
The monthly averages visualization shows monthly averages from all years in the dataset in a form of time series chart. You can use all standard aggregation, filtering, and comparison tools to work with this chart.
Data statistics
The Statistics table gives you various numerical values for every selected parameter, such as Pxx scenarios, minimum, or maximum values. Select which parameters you want to display the data for.
