Solarposition.org

Iowa · United States · 42.53° N · 92.45° W

Solar position in Cedar Falls

Sun position, daylight and the best solar panel angle for Cedar Falls — computed for 42.53° N, 92.45° W, 268 m above sea level.

Sunrise today07:33105° ESE
Sunset today18:13254° WSW
Best panel angle38°year-round, facing south
Off-grid angle71°best for the darkest month

The sun right now

Azimuth180.0°
Elevation35.6°
At solar noon, 12:53Open on the sun map

Sun in Cedar Falls today

Saturday, 24 October 2026 · local time UTC−5

EventTimeDirection / height
Astronomical dawn05:59sun 18° below horizon
Nautical dawn06:3112° below
Civil dawn07:046° below
Sunrise07:33105° ESE
Golden hour ends08:12sun 6° up
Solar noon12:5335.6° high
Golden hour starts17:34sun 6° up
Sunset18:13254° WSW
Civil dusk18:426° below
Nautical dusk19:1512° below
Astronomical dusk19:4718° below
Day length10 h 40 min

Sun path diagram for Cedar Falls

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 solstice67891011121314151617181920EquinoxDecember solstice8910111213141516Today
  • June solstice
  • Equinox
  • December solstice
  • Today

On the June solstice the sun reaches 70.9° at solar noon in Cedar Falls; on the December solstice only 24.1°. Sunrise swings from 56° 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.

MonthSunriseSolar noonSunsetDay lengthNoon elevation
January07:3312:2117:099 h 36 min27.7°
February06:5712:2317:4910 h 52 min37.1°
March07:1113:1719:2312 h 12 min47.9°
April06:1813:0819:5813 h 40 min59.5°
May05:4213:0620:3114 h 49 min67.8°
June05:3213:1120:5015 h 18 min70.9°
July05:5113:1620:4014 h 49 min67.8°
August06:2313:1220:0113 h 39 min59.4°
September06:5613:0219:0812 h 12 min48.0°
October07:3012:5418:1810 h 48 min36.6°
November07:0811:5516:429 h 34 min27.5°
December07:3612:0716:399 h 03 min24.1°

A year of daylight in Cedar Falls

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 Cedar Falls

Fixed array facing south (azimuth 180°). Energy per kWp from NASA POWER monthly climate, including clouds, temperature and snow reflection.

38°collects the most energy over a year: 1463 kWh per kWp.

71°gives the most in the darkest month — the one an off-grid system is sized for.

40%50%60%70%80%90%100%0°10°20°30°40°50°60°70°80°90°Best year-round 38°Best worst-month 71°70°Yearly energyWorst-month energy
  • Yearly energy
  • Worst-month energy
TiltkWh/kWp per yearShare of best yearDecember kWh/kWp/dayBest ÷ worst month
0°120883%1.274.0×
15°136994%1.852.8×
30°145299%2.352.1×
38° year-round best1463100%2.561.9×
43° = latitude1458100%2.681.7×
45°145399%2.721.7×
60°137394%2.941.6×
70°127887%2.991.5×
71° off-grid best126787%2.991.5×
90°100269%2.882.3×

A fixed array in Cedar Falls produces the most over a year at 38°. The design month for an off-grid system is December: at 71° it makes 2.99 kWh per kWp a day, 17% more than at 38°, and costs 13% of the yearly total. Why steep panels win winter.

Off-grid solar in Cedar Falls at 70°

Daily energy of 1 kWp by month. Bars: panels at 70°. Line: panels at 38° (year-round best).

0123456January: 3.56 (70°)3.6JanFebruary: 4.57 (70°)4.6FebMarch: 3.93 (70°)3.9MarApril: 3.49 (70°)3.5AprMay: 3.20 (70°)3.2MayJune: 3.06 (70°)3.1JunJuly: 3.25 (70°)3.3JulAugust: 3.48 (70°)3.5AugSeptember: 3.83 (70°)3.8SepOctober: 3.49 (70°)3.5OctNovember: 3.24 (70°)3.2NovDecember: 2.99 (70°)3.0Dec38°
MonthSun hours, flatSun hours at 70°kWh/kWp/day at 70°at 38°Mean temp.
January snow1.933.843.563.11-7.5 °C
February snow3.034.954.574.25-5.8 °C
March3.894.383.934.331.7 °C
April4.754.013.494.408.8 °C
May5.603.783.204.5015.2 °C
June6.173.703.064.5921.0 °C
July6.343.963.254.7823.2 °C
August5.504.213.484.6121.8 °C
September4.404.543.834.4117.6 °C
October2.944.013.493.579.6 °C
November2.043.623.243.012.4 °C
December snow1.543.262.992.56-4.5 °C
Year4.02 avg4.01 avg1278 kWh1463 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 390 Wp of panels at 70°, versus 460 Wp at 38°. The steep array is 14% smaller for the same winter. Size your own system.

Row spacing in Cedar Falls

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.

5.6 mrow pitch at 70°

4.8 mrow pitch at 38°

Row spacing calculator

How Cedar Falls 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.

1873rdof 3,121 places in the United States for sunshine, shared: 4.02 peak sun hours a day on flat ground.

−3%solar energy a year compared with the average place in the United States: 1,463 against 1,515 kWh per kWp.

+13 mindaylight on the longest day, compared with New York City: 15 h 18 min against 15 h 06 min.

38°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); Cedar Falls ranks joint 1873rd. In its darkest month, December, 1 kWp of off-grid panels at 70° makes 2.99 kWh a day here, against 2.55 kWh on average in the United States. The shortest day lasts 9 h 03 min, −12 min compared with New York City.

The sunniest places in the United States

Solar forecast for Cedar Falls, 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 Cedar Falls

What is the best solar panel angle in Cedar Falls?
For a fixed array facing south, the best year-round tilt in Cedar Falls is 38°, worth about 1463 kWh per kWp a year. An off-grid system that has to get through December does better at about 71°.
What time is sunrise and sunset in Cedar Falls today?
On 24 October 2026 the sun rises at 07:33 and sets at 18:13 local time (UTC−5), giving 10 h 40 min of daylight. Solar noon is at 12:53.
How many peak sun hours does Cedar Falls get?
On a flat surface 4.0 hours a day averaged over the year, from 1.5 in December to 6.3 in July. Panels tilted at 70° receive 3.3 sun hours a day in December.
How high does the sun get in Cedar Falls?
At solar noon the sun stands 70.9° above the horizon on the June solstice and 24.1° on the December solstice.
Is Cedar Falls a good place for solar panels?
With 4.0 peak sun hours a day on flat ground, Cedar Falls ranks joint 1873rd of 3,121 places in the United States for sunshine. A 1 kWp array at the best angle (38°) makes about 1,463 kWh a year here, 3% less than the average place in the United States.

Places near Cedar Falls

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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.