I've been trying to model a detailed photovoltaic system using data for Arcata California, downloaded from
www.nrel.gov/midc/hsu/. I formatted the data to SAM CSV, and to test that the data worked, created a basic simulation that only specified the data file attached as FaultySamFile.csv), and left all other settings at default. I received the following error message:
exec fail(pvsamv1): could not determine number of records in CSV weather file
Simulation pvsamv1 failed.
SSC requires input 'hourly_energy', but was not found in the SAM UI or from previous simulations
Simulation singleowner failed.
I checked that my data file had the right number of lines, and then tried to debug my data file. I wound up copy/pasting the information into a new file (sorms-sam-final.csv), and to my shock, it worked perfectly. I use a text editor's compare tool to verify that both files were exactly the same.
My only thought is that during my initial debugging, I changed the file in some way that SAM did not recognize until I had created a new file.
I have a working weather file, so I can continue my simulations, but I am scratching my head as to why one file would cause SAM to crash, but an identical file works just fine.