DVD? I don't even have a way of reading a DVD anymore... :)

You can get more current weather data without having to purchase a DVD drive from a number of websites on a per-use fee base.

There was an FAQ about this put together that included Joe, Dru, myself, and others. Unfortunately, there is no way to "sticky" it on these forums.

So I've copied and pasted it below:

Climate data in Building Energy Simulation

There are many sources and types of climate data available for energy simulation. Selection of the appropriate climate data needs to be based on many factors. These include, but are not limited to:

1. Location

2. Intent of the simulation (code/rating system compliance, predictive energy simulation, existing building calibration, PV/Solar HW potential, etc.)

3. Understanding of the source(s) of the climate data and the timeframe for which that data was collected.
It is always the responsibility of the users to understand the data (and its validity) they are working with. Since energy simulation is a deterministic exercise, the inputs used are frequently the biggest influencer of the end result of the simulation model and climate files make up significant inputs into the model. Simply picking one from a list is not a sufficient way of determining whether it's appropriate for use in your model.

Current known sources of climate data (some free, some not):

https://energyplus.net/weather

http://climate.onebuilding.org

http://www.iesve.com/support/weatherfiles

http://weather.whiteboxtechnologies.com/

http://www.techstreet.com/ashrae/products/1823067

http://doe2.com/index_Wth.html

http://www.weatheranalytics.com/wa/

If you are looking for a historical weather file look at this answer:
https://unmethours.com/question/1/what-are-the-available-sources-for-historical-weather-data/

Once you've selected (ideally multiple) climate files for a given location, an analysis of the data contained in those files is necessary to determine whether or not the data is valid. There are many tools that will enable you to open the climate data and view it - sometimes only numerically, sometimes only visually and sometimes both visually and numerically. These include:

Climate Consultant
Elements
IES Virtual Environment
A spreadsheet tool (like Excel)

Some of the tools will also allow you to edit the data in the file prior to using it. This can be useful to alleviate invalid data points (like below freezing temperatures in the summer). There are some key caveats in doing this. While it can be relatively simple to identify invalid data points, the question becomes, "What should I replace that data point with?" This is where having multiple nearby weather files can be a valuable asset along with historical weather data from sources such as NOAA, Weather Underground, and climate offices in various countries and states. Also, certain jurisdictions or rating systems may not allow you to modify the climate data on your own even if the data is not valid. Be advised this can be a very time consuming process to research and accurately correct invalid climate data.

When you find a source of data that is not valid, what should you do? If you've gotten it from a free source, contact them to let them know so they can address it. If you've paid for it, contacting them will typically result in them sending you a new file for free that corrects the problem(s) without you having to spend a lot of your own time fixing it yourself.

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Nathan Kegel
Vice President IES Midwest

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