Keep in mind, downloaded data will be shown in UTC (Coordinated Universal Time); many users convert the data to their local timezone. The timestamp format is ISO 8601 date-time format of YYYY-MM-DDThh:mm:ssZ:
YYYY = four-digit year
MM = two-digit month (01 = January, etc.)
DD = two-digit day (01 through 31)
hh = two-digit hour (00 through 23) (am/pm NOT allowed)
mm = two-digit minute (00 through 59)
ss = two-digit second (00 through 59)
Z = special UTC designator (“Z”)
For those importing data into an Excel spreadsheet, after following Step 1 here, you can then use the default date-time formats in Excel.
Hello. If I am understanding this correctly, then the 24 hour average information pulled from the PA data download tool will be a “UTC” day or the average from midnight to midnight in UTC time? However, if the sensor is in a location with a timezone other than one that coincides with UTC, what is the purpose of this “daily” value as it does not reflect a true day where the sensor is located?
Is the only way to calculate true daily/24-hour average sensor data using the local time to download <24 hour (1440 min) (e.g., 2 min, hour) data and convert to local time then sum the correct min/hours for a daily average?
The download tool now supports using timezones. Although it is important to note that this feature is only available for averages up to 1 hour. We are currently working on adding support for longer averages.
In response to your second question, you are correct in how to calculate a daily average. Just be careful of timezone changes due to daylight savings.