Minnesota · United States · 43.65° N · 93.37° W
Solar position in Albert Lea
Sun position, daylight and the best solar panel angle for Albert Lea — computed for 43.65° N, 93.37° W, 379 m above sea level.
The sun right now
Sun in Albert Lea today
Saturday, 24 October 2026 · local time UTC−5
| Event | Time | Direction / height |
|---|---|---|
| Astronomical dawn | 06:03 | sun 18° below horizon |
| Nautical dawn | 06:36 | 12° below |
| Civil dawn | 07:09 | 6° below |
| Sunrise | 07:39 | 106° ESE |
| Golden hour ends | 08:19 | sun 6° up |
| Solar noon | 12:57 | 34.4° high |
| Golden hour starts | 17:35 | sun 6° up |
| Sunset | 18:15 | 254° WSW |
| Civil dusk | 18:44 | 6° below |
| Nautical dusk | 19:18 | 12° below |
| Astronomical dusk | 19:51 | 18° below |
| Day length | 10 h 36 min | |
Sun path diagram for Albert Lea
Where the sun stands in the sky: the centre is straight overhead, the outer ring is the horizon. Numbers mark local clock hours.
- June solstice
- Equinox
- December solstice
- Today
On the June solstice the sun reaches 69.8° at solar noon in Albert Lea; on the December solstice only 22.9°. Sunrise swings from 56° NE in June to 122° ESE in December — a 67° arc along the horizon.
Sunrise, sunset and sun height by month
Values for the 21st of each month, local clock time including daylight saving time.
| Month | Sunrise | Solar noon | Sunset | Day length | Noon elevation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 07:40 | 12:25 | 17:10 | 9 h 30 min | 26.6° |
| February | 07:02 | 12:27 | 17:51 | 10 h 49 min | 36.0° |
| March | 07:14 | 13:20 | 19:27 | 12 h 13 min | 46.8° |
| April | 06:20 | 13:12 | 20:04 | 13 h 43 min | 58.4° |
| May | 05:42 | 13:10 | 20:38 | 14 h 56 min | 66.7° |
| June | 05:32 | 13:15 | 20:58 | 15 h 27 min | 69.8° |
| July | 05:51 | 13:19 | 20:47 | 14 h 56 min | 66.7° |
| August | 06:24 | 13:16 | 20:07 | 13 h 42 min | 58.3° |
| September | 06:59 | 13:06 | 19:12 | 12 h 13 min | 46.9° |
| October | 07:35 | 12:57 | 18:20 | 10 h 45 min | 35.5° |
| November | 07:15 | 11:59 | 16:43 | 9 h 28 min | 26.4° |
| December | 07:43 | 12:11 | 16:39 | 8 h 56 min | 22.9° |
A year of daylight in Albert Lea
Each column is one day of 2026. Bright: sun above the horizon; soft: civil twilight; line: solar noon. Steps are daylight saving time changes.
Best solar panel angle in Albert Lea
Fixed array facing south (azimuth 180°). Energy per kWp from NASA POWER monthly climate, including clouds, temperature and snow reflection.
39°collects the most energy over a year: 1456 kWh per kWp.
73°gives the most in the darkest month — the one an off-grid system is sized for.
- Yearly energy
- Worst-month energy
| Tilt | kWh/kWp per year | Share of best year | December kWh/kWp/day | Best ÷ worst month |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0° | 1190 | 82% | 1.17 | 4.4× |
| 15° | 1354 | 93% | 1.74 | 3.0× |
| 30° | 1442 | 99% | 2.22 | 2.3× |
| 39° year-round best | 1456 | 100% | 2.45 | 2.0× |
| 44° = latitude | 1451 | 100% | 2.56 | 1.8× |
| 45° | 1449 | 100% | 2.58 | 1.8× |
| 60° | 1375 | 94% | 2.80 | 1.6× |
| 70° | 1284 | 88% | 2.86 | 1.6× |
| 73° off-grid best | 1251 | 86% | 2.86 | 1.6× |
| 90° | 1018 | 70% | 2.76 | 2.3× |
A fixed array in Albert Lea produces the most over a year at 39°. The design month for an off-grid system is December: at 73° it makes 2.86 kWh per kWp a day, 17% more than at 39°, and costs 14% of the yearly total. Why steep panels win winter.
Off-grid solar in Albert Lea at 70°
Daily energy of 1 kWp by month. Bars: panels at 70°. Line: panels at 39° (year-round best).
| Month | Sun hours, flat | Sun hours at 70° | kWh/kWp/day at 70° | at 39° | Mean temp. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January snow | 1.86 | 3.82 | 3.57 | 3.12 | -9.0 °C |
| February snow | 2.97 | 4.96 | 4.60 | 4.28 | -7.3 °C |
| March snow | 3.80 | 4.53 | 4.09 | 4.32 | 0.5 °C |
| April | 4.73 | 4.08 | 3.57 | 4.43 | 7.7 °C |
| May | 5.52 | 3.79 | 3.22 | 4.46 | 14.3 °C |
| June | 6.14 | 3.75 | 3.11 | 4.58 | 20.2 °C |
| July | 6.43 | 4.08 | 3.36 | 4.86 | 22.7 °C |
| August | 5.46 | 4.26 | 3.54 | 4.62 | 21.1 °C |
| September | 4.27 | 4.49 | 3.80 | 4.34 | 16.9 °C |
| October | 2.84 | 3.97 | 3.47 | 3.53 | 8.5 °C |
| November | 1.90 | 3.48 | 3.13 | 2.90 | 1.3 °C |
| December snow | 1.43 | 3.10 | 2.86 | 2.45 | -5.8 °C |
| Year | 3.95 avg | 4.02 avg | 1284 kWh | 1456 kWh |
Sizing example. To run a 1 kWh-per-day load through December on LiFePO4 batteries (charge controller, battery and inverter losses included) you need about 410 Wp of panels at 70°, versus 480 Wp at 39°. The steep array is 14% smaller for the same winter. Size your own system.
Row spacing in Albert Lea
Distance between rows of 2 m long panels (slope length) so that no row shades the next between 10:00 and 14:00 solar time on the winter solstice.
5.9 mrow pitch at 70°
5.1 mrow pitch at 39°
How Albert Lea compares in the United States
Against the other 3,120 places in the United States with climate data, for a fixed array at its best angle.
2063rdof 3,121 places in the United States for sunshine, shared: 3.95 peak sun hours a day on flat ground.
−4%solar energy a year compared with the average place in the United States: 1,456 against 1,515 kWh per kWp.
+21 mindaylight on the longest day, compared with New York City: 15 h 27 min against 15 h 06 min.
39°best year-round tilt here; across the United States it runs from 18° in Honolulu to 53° in Fairbanks.
Of the 3,121 places in the United States, Fortuna Foothills and 2 other places get the most sun (5.96 peak sun hours a day) and Juneau the least (2.38); Albert Lea ranks joint 2063rd. In its darkest month, December, 1 kWp of off-grid panels at 70° makes 2.86 kWh a day here, against 2.55 kWh on average in the United States. The shortest day lasts 8 h 56 min, −20 min compared with New York City.
Solar forecast for Albert Lea, next 48 hours
Expected output of 1 kWp at 70°, computed from the ICON-EU weather model of the Deutscher Wetterdienst (DWD), Europe.
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Questions about the sun in Albert Lea
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A free, live card for Albert Lea: where the sun is right now on today's path, a countdown to sunset or sunrise, the daylight change, the moon phase at night and the best panel angle.
Sun positions: NREL Solar Position Algorithm. Climate: NASA POWER monthly climatology (NASA Langley Research Center). Forecast: Deutscher Wetterdienst, ICON-EU (CC BY 4.0), processed. Places: GeoNames (CC BY 4.0). Time zones: IANA. Sources and licences.