Michigan · United States · 42.28° N · 83.74° W
Solar position in Ann Arbor
Sun position, daylight and the best solar panel angle for Ann Arbor — computed for 42.28° N, 83.74° W, 269 m above sea level.
The sun right now
Sun in Ann Arbor today
Saturday, 24 October 2026 · local time UTC−4
| Event | Time | Direction / height |
|---|---|---|
| Astronomical dawn | 06:24 | sun 18° below horizon |
| Nautical dawn | 06:57 | 12° below |
| Civil dawn | 07:29 | 6° below |
| Sunrise | 07:58 | 105° ESE |
| Golden hour ends | 08:37 | sun 6° up |
| Solar noon | 13:18 | 35.8° high |
| Golden hour starts | 18:00 | sun 6° up |
| Sunset | 18:39 | 254° WSW |
| Civil dusk | 19:07 | 6° below |
| Nautical dusk | 19:40 | 12° below |
| Astronomical dusk | 20:13 | 18° below |
| Day length | 10 h 41 min | |
Sun path diagram for Ann Arbor
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 71.2° at solar noon in Ann Arbor; on the December solstice only 24.3°. Sunrise swings from 57° ENE in June to 122° ESE in December — a 65° 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 | 07:57 | 12:46 | 17:35 | 9 h 37 min | 28.0° |
| February | 07:22 | 12:48 | 18:15 | 10 h 53 min | 37.4° |
| March | 07:36 | 13:42 | 19:48 | 12 h 12 min | 48.2° |
| April | 06:44 | 13:33 | 20:23 | 13 h 39 min | 59.8° |
| May | 06:08 | 13:31 | 20:55 | 14 h 47 min | 68.0° |
| June | 05:58 | 13:36 | 21:15 | 15 h 17 min | 71.2° |
| July | 06:17 | 13:41 | 21:05 | 14 h 48 min | 68.1° |
| August | 06:48 | 13:37 | 20:26 | 13 h 38 min | 59.7° |
| September | 07:21 | 13:27 | 19:33 | 12 h 12 min | 48.2° |
| October | 07:54 | 13:19 | 18:43 | 10 h 49 min | 36.9° |
| November | 07:32 | 12:20 | 17:08 | 9 h 35 min | 27.7° |
| December | 08:00 | 12:33 | 17:05 | 9 h 05 min | 24.3° |
A year of daylight in Ann Arbor
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 Ann Arbor
Fixed array facing south (azimuth 180°). Energy per kWp from NASA POWER monthly climate, including clouds, temperature and snow reflection.
34°collects the most energy over a year: 1331 kWh per kWp.
66°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° | 1142 | 86% | 1.02 | 4.9× |
| 15° | 1270 | 95% | 1.39 | 3.7× |
| 30° | 1328 | 100% | 1.70 | 2.9× |
| 34° year-round best | 1331 | 100% | 1.76 | 2.7× |
| 42° = latitude | 1321 | 99% | 1.88 | 2.4× |
| 45° | 1312 | 99% | 1.91 | 2.3× |
| 60° | 1224 | 92% | 2.01 | 2.0× |
| 66° off-grid best | 1170 | 88% | 2.02 | 1.9× |
| 70° | 1128 | 85% | 2.02 | 1.8× |
| 90° | 866 | 65% | 1.88 | 1.7× |
A fixed array in Ann Arbor produces the most over a year at 34°. The design month for an off-grid system is December: at 66° it makes 2.02 kWh per kWp a day, 15% more than at 34°, and costs 12% of the yearly total. Why steep panels win winter.
Off-grid solar in Ann Arbor at 70°
Daily energy of 1 kWp by month. Bars: panels at 70°. Line: panels at 34° (year-round best).
| Month | Sun hours, flat | Sun hours at 70° | kWh/kWp/day at 70° | at 34° | Mean temp. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January snow | 1.58 | 2.80 | 2.56 | 2.21 | -4.7 °C |
| February snow | 2.44 | 3.69 | 3.38 | 3.11 | -3.8 °C |
| March | 3.54 | 3.87 | 3.47 | 3.83 | 1.5 °C |
| April | 4.66 | 3.91 | 3.42 | 4.34 | 8.0 °C |
| May | 5.45 | 3.68 | 3.12 | 4.48 | 14.5 °C |
| June | 6.16 | 3.69 | 3.06 | 4.73 | 19.8 °C |
| July | 6.22 | 3.89 | 3.20 | 4.81 | 22.6 °C |
| August | 5.36 | 4.08 | 3.38 | 4.54 | 22.0 °C |
| September | 4.28 | 4.35 | 3.66 | 4.23 | 18.1 °C |
| October | 2.79 | 3.69 | 3.20 | 3.25 | 10.8 °C |
| November | 1.80 | 3.02 | 2.68 | 2.46 | 4.1 °C |
| December snow | 1.25 | 2.24 | 2.02 | 1.76 | -1.6 °C |
| Year | 3.80 avg | 3.57 avg | 1128 kWh | 1331 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 580 Wp of panels at 70°, versus 670 Wp at 34°. The steep array is 13% smaller for the same winter. Size your own system.
Row spacing in Ann Arbor
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.
5.5 mrow pitch at 70°
4.6 mrow pitch at 34°
How Ann Arbor 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.
2671stof 3,121 places in the United States for sunshine, shared: 3.80 peak sun hours a day on flat ground.
−12%solar energy a year compared with the average place in the United States: 1,331 against 1,515 kWh per kWp.
+11 mindaylight on the longest day, compared with New York City: 15 h 17 min against 15 h 06 min.
34°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); Ann Arbor ranks joint 2671st. In its darkest month, December, 1 kWp of off-grid panels at 70° makes 2.02 kWh a day here, against 2.55 kWh on average in the United States. The shortest day lasts 9 h 05 min, −10 min compared with New York City.
Solar forecast for Ann Arbor, 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 Ann Arbor
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Places near Ann Arbor
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A free, live card for Ann Arbor: 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.