diff --git a/HPC_setup/requirements_HDFML_additionals.txt b/HPC_setup/requirements_HDFML_additionals.txt
index 12e09ccdd620c0c81c78ae6d4781d4feb5b94baf..7d6163a6d676cd54588ccd2ab8fe85e1375e31c6 100644
--- a/HPC_setup/requirements_HDFML_additionals.txt
+++ b/HPC_setup/requirements_HDFML_additionals.txt
@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@ chardet==4.0.0
 coverage==5.4
 cycler==0.10.0
 dask==2021.2.0
+dill==0.3.3
 fsspec==0.8.5
 gast==0.4.0
 grpcio==1.35.0
diff --git a/HPC_setup/requirements_JUWELS_additionals.txt b/HPC_setup/requirements_JUWELS_additionals.txt
index 12e09ccdd620c0c81c78ae6d4781d4feb5b94baf..7d6163a6d676cd54588ccd2ab8fe85e1375e31c6 100644
--- a/HPC_setup/requirements_JUWELS_additionals.txt
+++ b/HPC_setup/requirements_JUWELS_additionals.txt
@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@ chardet==4.0.0
 coverage==5.4
 cycler==0.10.0
 dask==2021.2.0
+dill==0.3.3
 fsspec==0.8.5
 gast==0.4.0
 grpcio==1.35.0
diff --git a/mlair/data_handler/abstract_data_handler.py b/mlair/data_handler/abstract_data_handler.py
index f085d18bb8d33839a0e3b5f6f3d5ada92134e7f6..419db059a58beeb4ed7e3e198e41b565f8dc7d25 100644
--- a/mlair/data_handler/abstract_data_handler.py
+++ b/mlair/data_handler/abstract_data_handler.py
@@ -55,3 +55,6 @@ class AbstractDataHandler:
     def get_coordinates(self) -> Union[None, Dict]:
         """Return coordinates as dictionary with keys `lon` and `lat`."""
         return None
+
+    def _hash_list(self):
+        return []
diff --git a/mlair/data_handler/data_handler_kz_filter.py b/mlair/data_handler/data_handler_kz_filter.py
index face8f3c400b702209c03fefd7818481a0fb2038..1ff1a36f61670383e1f3bf9314045e799be7394d 100644
--- a/mlair/data_handler/data_handler_kz_filter.py
+++ b/mlair/data_handler/data_handler_kz_filter.py
@@ -22,6 +22,7 @@ class DataHandlerKzFilterSingleStation(DataHandlerSingleStation):
     """Data handler for a single station to be used by a superior data handler. Inputs are kz filtered."""
 
     _requirements = remove_items(inspect.getfullargspec(DataHandlerSingleStation).args, ["self", "station"])
+    _hash = DataHandlerSingleStation._hash + ["kz_filter_length", "kz_filter_iter", "filter_dim"]
 
     DEFAULT_FILTER_DIM = "filter"
 
diff --git a/mlair/data_handler/data_handler_mixed_sampling.py b/mlair/data_handler/data_handler_mixed_sampling.py
index ebcfbb4286f40ab2f8be2e1f8e46c7fa5ee45b14..acb62df9ce1fd9b61889c0b97973c953e9bda1ff 100644
--- a/mlair/data_handler/data_handler_mixed_sampling.py
+++ b/mlair/data_handler/data_handler_mixed_sampling.py
@@ -12,6 +12,10 @@ import inspect
 from typing import Callable
 import datetime as dt
 from typing import Any
+import os
+import dill
+import logging
+from functools import partial
 
 import numpy as np
 import pandas as pd
@@ -77,6 +81,12 @@ class DataHandlerMixedSamplingSingleStation(DataHandlerSingleStation):
         assert len(sampling) == 2
         return list(map(lambda x: super(__class__, self).setup_data_path(data_path, x), sampling))
 
+    def _extract_lazy(self, lazy_data):
+        _data, self.meta, _input_data, _target_data = lazy_data
+        f_prep = partial(self._slice_prep, start=self.start, end=self.end)
+        self._data = f_prep(_data[0]), f_prep(_data[1])
+        self.input_data, self.target_data = list(map(f_prep, [_input_data, _target_data]))
+
 
 class DataHandlerMixedSampling(DefaultDataHandler):
     """Data handler using mixed sampling for input and target."""
@@ -119,14 +129,24 @@ class DataHandlerMixedSamplingWithFilterSingleStation(DataHandlerMixedSamplingSi
         new_date = dt.datetime.strptime(date, "%Y-%m-%d") + dt.timedelta(hours=delta)
         return new_date.strftime("%Y-%m-%d")
 
-    def load_and_interpolate(self, ind) -> [xr.DataArray, pd.DataFrame]:
-
+    def update_start_end(self, ind):
         if ind == 0:  # for inputs
             estimated_filter_width = self.estimate_filter_width()
             start = self._add_time_delta(self.start, -estimated_filter_width)
             end = self._add_time_delta(self.end, estimated_filter_width)
         else:  # target
             start, end = self.start, self.end
+        return start, end
+
+    def load_and_interpolate(self, ind) -> [xr.DataArray, pd.DataFrame]:
+
+        start, end = self.update_start_end(ind)
+        # if ind == 0:  # for inputs
+        #     estimated_filter_width = self.estimate_filter_width()
+        #     start = self._add_time_delta(self.start, -estimated_filter_width)
+        #     end = self._add_time_delta(self.end, estimated_filter_width)
+        # else:  # target
+        #     start, end = self.start, self.end
 
         vars = [self.variables, self.target_var]
         stats_per_var = helpers.select_from_dict(self.statistics_per_var, vars[ind])
@@ -138,6 +158,16 @@ class DataHandlerMixedSamplingWithFilterSingleStation(DataHandlerMixedSamplingSi
                                 limit=self.interpolation_limit[ind])
         return data
 
+    def _create_lazy_data(self):
+        return [self._data, self.meta, self.input_data, self.target_data, self.cutoff_period, self.cutoff_period_days]
+
+    def _extract_lazy(self, lazy_data):
+        _data, self.meta, _input_data, _target_data, self.cutoff_period, self.cutoff_period_days = lazy_data
+        start_inp, end_inp = self.update_start_end(0)
+        self._data = list(map(self._slice_prep, _data, [start_inp, self.start], [end_inp, self.end]))
+        self.input_data = self._slice_prep(_input_data, start_inp, end_inp)
+        self.target_data = self._slice_prep(_target_data, self.start, self.end)
+
 
 class DataHandlerMixedSamplingWithFilter(DefaultDataHandler):
     """Data handler using mixed sampling for input and target. Inputs are temporal filtered."""
@@ -158,6 +188,7 @@ class DataHandlerSeparationOfScalesSingleStation(DataHandlerMixedSamplingWithFil
     """
 
     _requirements = DataHandlerMixedSamplingWithFilterSingleStation.requirements()
+    _hash = DataHandlerMixedSamplingWithFilterSingleStation._hash + ["time_delta"]
 
     def __init__(self, *args, time_delta=np.sqrt, **kwargs):
         assert isinstance(time_delta, Callable)
@@ -193,7 +224,7 @@ class DataHandlerSeparationOfScalesSingleStation(DataHandlerMixedSamplingWithFil
         time_deltas = np.round(self.time_delta(self.cutoff_period)).astype(int)
         start, end = window, 1
         res = []
-        window_array = self.create_index_array(self.window_dim.range(start, end), squeeze_dim=self.target_dim)
+        window_array = self.create_index_array(self.window_dim, range(start, end), squeeze_dim=self.target_dim)
         for delta, filter_name in zip(np.append(time_deltas, 1), data.coords["filter"]):
             res_filter = []
             data_filter = data.sel({"filter": filter_name})
diff --git a/mlair/data_handler/data_handler_single_station.py b/mlair/data_handler/data_handler_single_station.py
index 820e601f25e1caa9b1860ed8f2f12efb1f0aa299..a8c6ea2e021251b72a9699426dc179d82fcb4e6d 100644
--- a/mlair/data_handler/data_handler_single_station.py
+++ b/mlair/data_handler/data_handler_single_station.py
@@ -5,10 +5,11 @@ __date__ = '2020-07-20'
 
 import copy
 import datetime as dt
+import dill
 import hashlib
 import logging
 import os
-from functools import reduce
+from functools import reduce, partial
 from typing import Union, List, Iterable, Tuple, Dict, Optional
 
 import numpy as np
@@ -46,6 +47,10 @@ class DataHandlerSingleStation(AbstractDataHandler):
     DEFAULT_INTERPOLATION_LIMIT = 0
     DEFAULT_INTERPOLATION_METHOD = "linear"
 
+    _hash = ["station", "statistics_per_var", "data_origin", "station_type", "network", "sampling", "target_dim",
+             "target_var", "time_dim", "iter_dim", "window_dim", "window_history_size", "window_history_offset",
+             "window_lead_time", "interpolation_limit", "interpolation_method"]
+
     def __init__(self, station, data_path, statistics_per_var, station_type=DEFAULT_STATION_TYPE,
                  network=DEFAULT_NETWORK, sampling: Union[str, Tuple[str]] = DEFAULT_SAMPLING,
                  target_dim=DEFAULT_TARGET_DIM, target_var=DEFAULT_TARGET_VAR, time_dim=DEFAULT_TIME_DIM,
@@ -101,7 +106,6 @@ class DataHandlerSingleStation(AbstractDataHandler):
         self.observation = None
 
         # create samples
-        # self.hash()
         self.setup_samples()
 
     def __str__(self):
@@ -223,11 +227,41 @@ class DataHandlerSingleStation(AbstractDataHandler):
         """
         Setup samples. This method prepares and creates samples X, and labels Y.
         """
-        self.make_input_target()
+        if self.lazy is False:
+            self.make_input_target()
+        else:
+            self.load_lazy()
+            self.store_lazy()
         if self.do_transformation is True:
             self.call_transform()
         self.make_samples()
 
+    def store_lazy(self):
+        hash = self._get_hash()
+        filename = os.path.join(self.lazy_path, hash + ".pickle")
+        if not os.path.exists(filename):
+            dill.dump(self._create_lazy_data(), file=open(filename, "wb"))
+
+    def _create_lazy_data(self):
+        return [self._data, self.meta, self.input_data, self.target_data]
+
+    def load_lazy(self):
+        hash = self._get_hash()
+        filename = os.path.join(self.lazy_path, hash + ".pickle")
+        try:
+            with open(filename, "rb") as pickle_file:
+                lazy_data = dill.load(pickle_file)
+            self._extract_lazy(lazy_data)
+            logging.info("<<<loaded lazy file")
+        except FileNotFoundError:
+            logging.info(">>>could not load lazy file")
+            self.make_input_target()
+
+    def _extract_lazy(self, lazy_data):
+        _data, self.meta, _input_data, _target_data = lazy_data
+        f_prep = partial(self._slice_prep, start=self.start, end=self.end)
+        self._data, self.input_data, self.target_data = list(map(f_prep, [_data, _input_data, _target_data]))
+
     def make_input_target(self):
         data, self.meta = self.load_data(self.path, self.station, self.statistics_per_var, self.sampling,
                                          self.station_type, self.network, self.store_data_locally, self.data_origin,
@@ -669,16 +703,12 @@ class DataHandlerSingleStation(AbstractDataHandler):
         return self.transform(data, dim=dim, opts=self._transformation[pos], inverse=inverse,
                               transformation_dim=self.target_dim)
 
+    def _hash_list(self):
+        return sorted(list(set(self._hash)))
+
     def _get_hash(self):
-        hash_list = [self.station, self.statistics_per_var, self.data_origin, self.station_type, self.network,
-                     self.sampling, self.target_dim, self.target_var, self.time_dim, self.iter_dim, self.window_dim,
-                     self.window_history_size, self.window_history_offset, self.window_lead_time,
-                     self.interpolation_limit, self.interpolation_method, self.min_length, self.start, self.end]
-
-        hash = "".join([str(e) for e in hash_list]).encode("utf-8")
-        m = hashlib.sha256()
-        m.update(hash)
-        return m.hexdigest()
+        hash = "".join([str(self.__getattribute__(e)) for e in self._hash_list()]).encode()
+        return hashlib.md5(hash).hexdigest()
 
 
 if __name__ == "__main__":
diff --git a/requirements.txt b/requirements.txt
index b0a6e7f59896fd0edf08977ee553c803f6c2e960..af742fdea75902515cfc180cdbe43f80cef25614 100644
--- a/requirements.txt
+++ b/requirements.txt
@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@ chardet==4.0.0
 coverage==5.4
 cycler==0.10.0
 dask==2021.2.0
+dill==0.3.3
 fsspec==0.8.5
 gast==0.4.0
 grpcio==1.35.0
diff --git a/requirements_gpu.txt b/requirements_gpu.txt
index 35fe0d5ee2a03f01737bc185d2a5bbaf26383806..7dd443a45df25a9e990888ab2ff061388ce36436 100644
--- a/requirements_gpu.txt
+++ b/requirements_gpu.txt
@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@ chardet==4.0.0
 coverage==5.4
 cycler==0.10.0
 dask==2021.2.0
+dill==0.3.3
 fsspec==0.8.5
 gast==0.4.0
 grpcio==1.35.0
diff --git a/test/test_data_handler/test_data_handler_mixed_sampling.py b/test/test_data_handler/test_data_handler_mixed_sampling.py
index d2f9ce00224a61815c89e44b7c37a667d239b2f5..2a6553b7f495bb4eb8aeddf7c39f2f2517edc967 100644
--- a/test/test_data_handler/test_data_handler_mixed_sampling.py
+++ b/test/test_data_handler/test_data_handler_mixed_sampling.py
@@ -37,7 +37,7 @@ class TestDataHandlerMixedSamplingSingleStation:
         req = object.__new__(DataHandlerSingleStation)
         assert sorted(obj._requirements) == sorted(remove_items(req.requirements(), "station"))
 
-    @mock.patch("mlair.data_handler.data_handler_mixed_sampling.DataHandlerMixedSamplingSingleStation.setup_samples")
+    @mock.patch("mlair.data_handler.data_handler_single_station.DataHandlerSingleStation.setup_samples")
     def test_init(self, mock_super_init):
         obj = DataHandlerMixedSamplingSingleStation("first_arg", "second", {}, test=23, sampling="hourly",
                                                     interpolation_limit=(1, 10))