139 places · sun position · panel angle
Solar data for Chile
Across the 139 places in Chile the best fixed tilt for solar panels runs from 16° in Arica to 43° in Punta Arenas, and flat ground gets 2.7 to 7.2 peak sun hours a day. Every number is computed for each place.
Solar power in Chile at a glance
Averages over 139 places with climate data, for a fixed array facing north.
- 2.73–3.62
- 3.62–4.51
- 4.51–5.40
- 5.40–6.30
- 6.30–7.19
Peak sun hours a day on flat ground. Each dot is one place.
The sunniest place in Chile is Calama (Antofagasta) with 7.19 peak sun hours a day on flat ground; the least sunny is Puerto Natales with 2.73. A 1 kWp array at its best angle makes from 1,039 kWh a year in Puerto Natales to 2,339 kWh in Calama — 1,668 kWh on average.
The best year-round tilt runs from 16° in Arica to 43° in Punta Arenas. Off-grid systems are sized for the darkest month and do better steeper, at 59° on average: at 70° that month brings 1.41 kWh per kWp a day in Puerto Natales and 3.12 kWh in Putaendo.
Size an off-grid system or open any place below for its sun path, monthly table and tilt curve.
Sunniest places in Chile
Ranked by peak sun hours on flat ground: the yearly average of a day's sunshine energy (NASA POWER climatology). Output: 1 kWp at its best year-round angle.
| Rank | Place | Region | Sun hours/day | kWh per kWp a year | Best tilt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Calama | Antofagasta | 7.19 | 2,339 | 23° |
| 2 | Pozo Almonte | Tarapacá | 6.60 | 2,076 | 20° |
| 3 | Antofagasta | Antofagasta | 6.25 | 1,973 | 20° |
| 4 | Copiapó | Atacama | 6.18 | 2,021 | 25° |
| 5 | Tocopilla | Antofagasta | 6.12 | 1,912 | 18° |
| 5 | Alto Hospicio | Tarapacá | 6.12 | 1,901 | 17° |
| 7 | Iquique | Tarapacá | 6.04 | 1,874 | 17° |
| 8 | Vallenar | Atacama | 6.03 | 1,965 | 25° |
| 9 | Vicuña | Coquimbo Region | 6.01 | 1,979 | 25° |
| 10 | Arica | Arica y Parinacota Region | 5.84 | 1,802 | 16° |
Least sunny places in Chile
| Rank | Place | Region | Sun hours/day | kWh per kWp a year | Best tilt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 135 | Coyhaique | Aysén | 3.62 | 1,350 | 38° |
| 136 | Quellón | Los Lagos Region | 3.57 | 1,265 | 34° |
| 137 | Puerto Aysén | Aysén | 3.05 | 1,105 | 36° |
| 138 | Punta Arenas | Region of Magallanes | 2.90 | 1,135 | 43° |
| 139 | Puerto Natales | Region of Magallanes | 2.73 | 1,039 | 41° |
Solar by region in Chile
Averages of the places in each region, sunniest first. Darkest month: what 1 kWp of off-grid panels at 70° makes a day in the worst month of the year.
| Region | Places | Sun hours/day | kWh per kWp a year | Best tilt | Darkest month at 70° | Sunniest place |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Antofagasta | 3 | 6.52 | 2,075 | 20° | 2.16 kWh | Calama |
| Tarapacá | 3 | 6.25 | 1,950 | 18° | 1.90 kWh | Pozo Almonte |
| Atacama | 3 | 5.90 | 1,923 | 25° | 2.50 kWh | Copiapó |
| Arica y Parinacota Region | 1 | 5.84 | 1,802 | 16° | 1.76 kWh | Arica |
| Coquimbo Region | 6 | 5.45 | 1,797 | 26° | 2.84 kWh | Vicuña |
| Santiago Metropolitan | 19 | 5.33 | 1,759 | 27° | 2.99 kWh | Colina |
| O'Higgins Region | 7 | 5.23 | 1,741 | 27° | 2.91 kWh | Santa Cruz |
| Valparaiso | 21 | 5.20 | 1,725 | 27° | 3.01 kWh | San Esteban |
| Maule Region | 12 | 5.15 | 1,726 | 28° | 2.79 kWh | Sagrada Familia |
| Ñuble | 6 | 5.10 | 1,728 | 30° | 2.79 kWh | San Carlos |
| Biobio | 20 | 4.94 | 1,685 | 30° | 2.72 kWh | Tomé |
| Araucania | 18 | 4.54 | 1,564 | 31° | 2.31 kWh | Angol |
| Los Ríos Region | 5 | 4.17 | 1,444 | 31° | 2.07 kWh | Valdivia |
| Los Lagos Region | 11 | 3.84 | 1,343 | 33° | 1.92 kWh | Osorno |
| Aysén | 2 | 3.33 | 1,227 | 37° | 1.88 kWh | Coyhaique |
| Region of Magallanes | 2 | 2.81 | 1,087 | 42° | 1.47 kWh | Punta Arenas |
Largest places in Chile at a glance
| Place | Latitude | Best tilt | Off-grid tilt | Sun hours/day (flat) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Santiago | 33.5° S | 26° | 58° | 5.38 |
| Puente Alto | 33.6° S | 26° | 58° | 5.37 |
| Maipú | 33.5° S | 27° | 58° | 5.34 |
| Antofagasta | 23.7° S | 20° | 46° | 6.25 |
| Viña del Mar | 33.0° S | 27° | 58° | 5.06 |
| Valparaíso | 33.0° S | 27° | 58° | 5.04 |
| San Bernardo | 33.6° S | 27° | 58° | 5.35 |
| Puerto Montt | 41.5° S | 32° | 63° | 3.82 |
| Arica | 18.5° S | 16° | 41° | 5.84 |
| Peñalolén | 33.5° S | 26° | 57° | 5.41 |
| Temuco | 38.7° S | 31° | 62° | 4.50 |
| Concepción | 36.8° S | 30° | 61° | 5.00 |
| Rancagua | 34.2° S | 27° | 58° | 5.22 |
| Quilicura | 33.4° S | 26° | 57° | 5.38 |
| La Pintana | 33.6° S | 27° | 58° | 5.36 |
| Iquique | 20.2° S | 17° | 42° | 6.04 |
| Talca | 35.4° S | 28° | 59° | 5.16 |
| Calama | 22.5° S | 23° | 28° | 7.19 |
| Coquimbo | 30.0° S | 26° | 55° | 5.24 |
| La Serena | 29.9° S | 25° | 55° | 5.34 |
Daylight and clock time in Chile
In Arica (18.5° S), the northernmost place, the longest day of the year lasts 13 h 15 min and the shortest 11 h 01 min; in Punta Arenas (53.2° S), the southernmost, 16 h 58 min and 7 h 32 min. Some parts of Chile change the clocks and some do not; the table shows each time zone.
| Time zone | Places | UTC offset | Clocks change in 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| America/Santiago | 135 | UTC−4, in summer UTC−3 | Back on Sat 4 Apr, forward on Sun 6 Sep |
| America/Coyhaique | 2 | UTC−3 | no daylight saving time |
| America/Punta_Arenas | 2 | UTC−3 | no daylight saving time |