Maryland · United States · 38.98° N · 76.49° W
Solar position in Annapolis
Sun position, daylight and the best solar panel angle for Annapolis — computed for 38.98° N, 76.49° W, 12 m above sea level.
The sun right now
Sun in Annapolis today
Saturday, 24 October 2026 · local time UTC−4
| Event | Time | Direction / height |
|---|---|---|
| Astronomical dawn | 05:55 | sun 18° below horizon |
| Nautical dawn | 06:26 | 12° below |
| Civil dawn | 06:57 | 6° below |
| Sunrise | 07:24 | 105° ESE |
| Golden hour ends | 08:01 | sun 6° up |
| Solar noon | 12:49 | 39.1° high |
| Golden hour starts | 17:38 | sun 6° up |
| Sunset | 18:14 | 255° WSW |
| Civil dusk | 18:42 | 6° below |
| Nautical dusk | 19:13 | 12° below |
| Astronomical dusk | 19:44 | 18° below |
| Day length | 10 h 50 min | |
Sun path diagram for Annapolis
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 74.5° at solar noon in Annapolis; on the December solstice only 27.6°. Sunrise swings from 58° ENE in June to 120° ESE in December — a 62° 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 | 07:20 | 12:17 | 17:14 | 9 h 54 min | 31.3° |
| February | 06:49 | 12:19 | 17:50 | 11 h 01 min | 40.7° |
| March | 07:07 | 13:13 | 19:18 | 12 h 11 min | 51.5° |
| April | 06:20 | 13:04 | 19:49 | 13 h 28 min | 63.1° |
| May | 05:48 | 13:02 | 20:17 | 14 h 29 min | 71.3° |
| June | 05:40 | 13:07 | 20:35 | 14 h 54 min | 74.5° |
| July | 05:57 | 13:12 | 20:26 | 14 h 29 min | 71.4° |
| August | 06:24 | 13:08 | 19:52 | 13 h 28 min | 63.0° |
| September | 06:52 | 12:58 | 19:04 | 12 h 12 min | 51.5° |
| October | 07:21 | 12:50 | 18:18 | 10 h 57 min | 40.2° |
| November | 06:55 | 11:51 | 16:47 | 9 h 52 min | 31.0° |
| December | 07:21 | 12:04 | 16:47 | 9 h 26 min | 27.6° |
A year of daylight in Annapolis
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 Annapolis
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: 1448 kWh per kWp.
63°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° | 1235 | 85% | 1.49 | 3.4× |
| 15° | 1380 | 95% | 2.11 | 2.4× |
| 30° | 1445 | 100% | 2.59 | 1.9× |
| 34° year-round best | 1448 | 100% | 2.69 | 1.7× |
| 39° = latitude | 1443 | 100% | 2.80 | 1.6× |
| 45° | 1426 | 98% | 2.91 | 1.5× |
| 60° | 1325 | 91% | 3.04 | 1.3× |
| 63° off-grid best | 1295 | 89% | 3.05 | 1.3× |
| 70° | 1216 | 84% | 3.03 | 1.3× |
| 90° | 918 | 63% | 2.74 | 1.9× |
A fixed array in Annapolis produces the most over a year at 34°. The design month for an off-grid system is December: at 63° it makes 3.05 kWh per kWp a day, 13% more than at 34°, and costs 11% of the yearly total. Why steep panels win winter.
Off-grid solar in Annapolis 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 | 2.10 | 3.77 | 3.40 | 3.02 | 0.3 °C |
| February | 2.95 | 4.07 | 3.66 | 3.65 | 1.4 °C |
| March | 3.93 | 4.18 | 3.69 | 4.16 | 5.8 °C |
| April | 5.06 | 4.02 | 3.45 | 4.55 | 12.0 °C |
| May | 5.66 | 3.57 | 3.00 | 4.49 | 17.6 °C |
| June | 6.33 | 3.54 | 2.90 | 4.68 | 22.8 °C |
| July | 6.24 | 3.67 | 2.98 | 4.66 | 25.7 °C |
| August | 5.48 | 3.93 | 3.21 | 4.47 | 25.0 °C |
| September | 4.44 | 4.24 | 3.52 | 4.20 | 21.3 °C |
| October | 3.28 | 4.22 | 3.61 | 3.73 | 14.6 °C |
| November | 2.41 | 4.06 | 3.56 | 3.29 | 8.1 °C |
| December | 1.84 | 3.39 | 3.03 | 2.69 | 3.1 °C |
| Year | 4.15 avg | 3.89 avg | 1216 kWh | 1448 kWh |
Sizing example. To run a 1 kWh-per-day load through June on LiFePO4 batteries (charge controller, battery and inverter losses included) you need about 410 Wp of panels at 70°, versus 440 Wp at 34°. The steep array is 7% smaller for the same winter. Size your own system.
Row spacing in Annapolis
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.
4.8 mrow pitch at 70°
4.1 mrow pitch at 34°
How Annapolis 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.
1603rdof 3,121 places in the United States for sunshine, shared: 4.15 peak sun hours a day on flat ground.
−4%solar energy a year compared with the average place in the United States: 1,448 against 1,515 kWh per kWp.
−11 mindaylight on the longest day, compared with New York City: 14 h 54 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); Annapolis ranks joint 1603rd. In its darkest month, June, 1 kWp of off-grid panels at 70° makes 2.90 kWh a day here, against 2.55 kWh on average in the United States. The shortest day lasts 9 h 26 min, +11 min compared with New York City.
Solar forecast for Annapolis, 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 Annapolis
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Places near Annapolis
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A free, live card for Annapolis: 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.