Solarposition.org

North Rhine-Westphalia · Germany · 51.56° N · 7.31° E

Solar position in Castrop-Rauxel

Sun position, daylight and the best solar panel angle for Castrop-Rauxel — computed for 51.56° N, 7.31° E, 83 m above sea level.

Sunrise today08:10108° ESE
Sunset today18:18252° WSW
Best panel angle39°year-round, facing south
Off-grid angle72°best for the darkest month

The sun right now

Azimuth180.0°
Elevation26.6°
At solar noon, 13:14Open on the sun map

Sun in Castrop-Rauxel today

Saturday, 24 October 2026 · local time UTC+2

EventTimeDirection / height
Astronomical dawn06:18sun 18° below horizon
Nautical dawn06:5612° below
Civil dawn07:356° below
Sunrise08:10108° ESE
Golden hour ends08:58sun 6° up
Solar noon13:1426.6° high
Golden hour starts17:31sun 6° up
Sunset18:18252° WSW
Civil dusk18:536° below
Nautical dusk19:3212° below
Astronomical dusk20:1018° below
Day length10 h 09 min

Sun path diagram for Castrop-Rauxel

Where the sun stands in the sky: the centre is straight overhead, the outer ring is the horizon. Numbers mark local clock hours.

15°30°45°60°75°N30°60°E120°150°S210°240°W300°330°June solstice6789101112131415161718192021EquinoxDecember solstice910111213141516Today
  • June solstice
  • Equinox
  • December solstice
  • Today

On the June solstice the sun reaches 61.9° at solar noon in Castrop-Rauxel; on the December solstice only 15.1°. Sunrise swings from 49° NE in June to 128° SE in December — a 80° 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.

MonthSunriseSolar noonSunsetDay lengthNoon elevation
January08:2412:4217:008 h 37 min18.7°
February07:3212:4417:5610 h 24 min28.0°
March06:3112:3818:4512 h 14 min38.8°
April06:2213:2920:3714 h 15 min50.4°
May05:3013:2721:2515 h 54 min58.7°
June05:1313:3221:5216 h 39 min61.9°
July05:3813:3721:3515 h 57 min58.9°
August06:2513:3320:4114 h 16 min50.5°
September07:1513:2319:3112 h 17 min39.1°
October08:0413:1518:2410 h 20 min27.7°
November07:5812:1616:338 h 35 min18.5°
December08:3412:2816:237 h 49 min15.1°

A year of daylight in Castrop-Rauxel

Each column is one day of 2026. Bright: sun above the horizon; soft: civil twilight; line: solar noon. Steps are daylight saving time changes.

00:0003:0006:0009:0012:0015:0018:0021:0000:00JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec

Best solar panel angle in Castrop-Rauxel

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: 1082 kWh per kWp.

72°gives the most in the darkest month — the one an off-grid system is sized for.

30%40%50%60%70%80%90%100%0°10°20°30°40°50°60°70°80°90°Best year-round 39°Best worst-month 72°70°Yearly energyWorst-month energy
  • Yearly energy
  • Worst-month energy
TiltkWh/kWp per yearShare of best yearDecember kWh/kWp/dayBest ÷ worst month
0°88081%0.4310.3×
15°100393%0.706.5×
30°107099%0.934.8×
39° year-round best1082100%1.044.2×
45°1078100%1.103.8×
52° = latitude106198%1.163.5×
60°102695%1.213.2×
70°96089%1.232.9×
72° off-grid best94487%1.232.8×
90°76370%1.182.3×

A fixed array in Castrop-Rauxel produces the most over a year at 39°. The design month for an off-grid system is December: at 72° it makes 1.23 kWh per kWp a day, 18% more than at 39°, and costs 13% of the yearly total. Why steep panels win winter.

Off-grid solar in Castrop-Rauxel at 70°

Daily energy of 1 kWp by month. Bars: panels at 70°. Line: panels at 39° (year-round best).

012345January: 1.46 (70°)1.5JanFebruary: 2.14 (70°)2.1FebMarch: 3.03 (70°)3.0MarApril: 3.56 (70°)3.6AprMay: 3.37 (70°)3.4MayJune: 3.23 (70°)3.2JunJuly: 3.19 (70°)3.2JulAugust: 3.18 (70°)3.2AugSeptember: 3.13 (70°)3.1SepOctober: 2.44 (70°)2.4OctNovember: 1.56 (70°)1.6NovDecember: 1.23 (70°)1.2Dec39°
MonthSun hours, flatSun hours at 70°kWh/kWp/day at 70°at 39°Mean temp.
January0.751.641.461.261.2 °C
February1.442.412.142.021.8 °C
March2.653.423.033.144.8 °C
April4.194.103.564.159.1 °C
May5.013.953.374.3313.0 °C
June5.363.843.234.3316.6 °C
July5.153.833.194.2118.8 °C
August4.333.813.183.8718.4 °C
September3.213.683.133.4014.6 °C
October1.862.832.442.3910.2 °C
November0.911.791.561.405.7 °C
December0.581.401.231.042.2 °C
Year2.96 avg3.06 avg960 kWh1082 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 960 Wp of panels at 70°, versus 1,130 Wp at 39°. The steep array is 16% smaller for the same winter. Size your own system.

Row spacing in Castrop-Rauxel

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.

9.6 mrow pitch at 70°

7.6 mrow pitch at 39°

Row spacing calculator

How Castrop-Rauxel compares in Germany

Against the other 959 places in Germany with climate data, for a fixed array at its best angle.

490thof 960 places in Germany for sunshine, shared: 2.96 peak sun hours a day on flat ground.

−1%solar energy a year compared with the average place in Germany: 1,082 against 1,097 kWh per kWp.

−11 mindaylight on the longest day, compared with Berlin: 16 h 39 min against 16 h 50 min.

39°best year-round tilt here; across Germany it runs from 38° in Munich to 41° in Flensburg.

Of the 960 places in Germany, Weil am Rhein and one other place get the most sun (3.42 peak sun hours a day) and Berlin and 3 other places the least (2.83); Castrop-Rauxel ranks joint 490th. In its darkest month, December, 1 kWp of off-grid panels at 70° makes 1.23 kWh a day here, against 1.26 kWh on average in Germany. The shortest day lasts 7 h 49 min, +10 min compared with Berlin.

The sunniest places in Germany

Solar forecast for Castrop-Rauxel, next 48 hours

Expected output of 1 kWp at 70°, computed from the ICON-EU weather model of the Deutscher Wetterdienst (DWD), Europe.

Loading the latest forecast…

Questions about the sun in Castrop-Rauxel

What is the best solar panel angle in Castrop-Rauxel?
For a fixed array facing south, the best year-round tilt in Castrop-Rauxel is 39°, worth about 1082 kWh per kWp a year. An off-grid system that has to get through December does better at about 72°.
What time is sunrise and sunset in Castrop-Rauxel today?
On 24 October 2026 the sun rises at 08:10 and sets at 18:18 local time (UTC+2), giving 10 h 09 min of daylight. Solar noon is at 13:14.
How many peak sun hours does Castrop-Rauxel get?
On a flat surface 3.0 hours a day averaged over the year, from 0.6 in December to 5.4 in June. Panels tilted at 70° receive 1.4 sun hours a day in December.
How high does the sun get in Castrop-Rauxel?
At solar noon the sun stands 61.9° above the horizon on the June solstice and 15.1° on the December solstice.
Is Castrop-Rauxel a good place for solar panels?
With 3.0 peak sun hours a day on flat ground, Castrop-Rauxel ranks joint 490th of 960 places in Germany for sunshine. A 1 kWp array at the best angle (39°) makes about 1,082 kWh a year here, 1% less than the average place in Germany.

Places near Castrop-Rauxel

All places in Germany

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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.