We have developed and published the COde for Solar Irradiance (COSI) which allows us to calculate the entire solar spectrum. COSI reproduces the spectral irradiance measured by SOLSTICE (up to 320 nm) and SIM (from 320 nm onward) onboard the SORCE satellite during the 2008 solar minimum as well as SOLSPEC during the ATLAS 3 mission in 1994 with high accuracy. COSI is also used as a tool for modeling the variability of the solar irradiance. In our new reconstruction we represent the quiet Sun as a combination of two components. The first corresponds to the least active areas of the Sun as presently observed, while the second component is responsible for the magnetic activity of the quiet Sun. The time-dependent filling factors of these components are calculated based on the solar activity as derived from cosmogenic isotope concentrations in natural archieves. This allows us to obtain a time-dependent reconstructed solar spectrum from 7000 BC to the present with a temporal resolution of 22 years. From 1610 onward we have additional information from sunspot numbers, which allows the reconstruction of the spectral solar irradiance with a yearly resolution. These basic assumptions lead to a total and spectral solar irradiance that was substantially lower during the Maunder minimum than observed today. The difference is remarkably larger than other estimations published in the recent literature. Using our reconstruction as an input to a chemistry-climate model we show that the enhanced UV variability results in significant variations of stratospheric ozone and temperature.