Daily, weekly and annual profiles represent time series which follow patterns related to weeks or months (with exceptions for holidays). If the aim is to replicate a measured time series, it would be necessary to create 365 (or 366) daily profiles embedded in 52 weekly profiles comprising an annual profile. Every data point would then have to be entered manually.
Instead, the use of the Free-form Profile facility allows the creation or import of time series data, via .ffd files. .ffd files can be created from .csv spreadsheets via the Python Script .ffd file creator, accessed from the VE Navigators tab. .ffd files can also be created from IES tools such as iSCAN. This data series can then be used to drive a profile. Alternatively, data covering a period of up to an entire year can be manually entered, without having to specify daily, weekly and annual profiles.
