West Virginia · United States · 38.35° N · 81.63° W
Solar position in Charleston
Sun position, daylight and the best solar panel angle for Charleston — computed for 38.35° N, 81.63° W, 182 m above sea level.
The sun right now
Sun in Charleston today
Saturday, 24 October 2026 · local time UTC−4
| Event | Time | Direction / height |
|---|---|---|
| Astronomical dawn | 06:15 | sun 18° below horizon |
| Nautical dawn | 06:46 | 12° below |
| Civil dawn | 07:17 | 6° below |
| Sunrise | 07:44 | 105° ESE |
| Golden hour ends | 08:21 | sun 6° up |
| Solar noon | 13:10 | 39.7° high |
| Golden hour starts | 17:59 | sun 6° up |
| Sunset | 18:36 | 255° WSW |
| Civil dusk | 19:03 | 6° below |
| Nautical dusk | 19:34 | 12° below |
| Astronomical dusk | 20:04 | 18° below |
| Day length | 10 h 52 min | |
Sun path diagram for Charleston
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 75.1° at solar noon in Charleston; on the December solstice only 28.2°. Sunrise swings from 59° ENE in June to 120° ESE in December — a 61° 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 | 07:39 | 12:38 | 17:36 | 9 h 57 min | 31.9° |
| February | 07:09 | 12:40 | 18:11 | 11 h 02 min | 41.3° |
| March | 07:28 | 13:33 | 19:39 | 12 h 11 min | 52.1° |
| April | 06:42 | 13:25 | 20:08 | 13 h 26 min | 63.7° |
| May | 06:10 | 13:23 | 20:36 | 14 h 26 min | 71.9° |
| June | 06:03 | 13:28 | 20:53 | 14 h 50 min | 75.1° |
| July | 06:19 | 13:32 | 20:45 | 14 h 26 min | 72.0° |
| August | 06:46 | 13:29 | 20:12 | 13 h 26 min | 63.6° |
| September | 07:13 | 13:19 | 19:24 | 12 h 11 min | 52.2° |
| October | 07:41 | 13:10 | 18:40 | 10 h 59 min | 40.8° |
| November | 07:14 | 12:12 | 17:10 | 9 h 55 min | 31.7° |
| December | 07:39 | 12:24 | 17:09 | 9 h 30 min | 28.2° |
A year of daylight in Charleston
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 Charleston
Fixed array facing south (azimuth 180°). Energy per kWp from NASA POWER monthly climate, including clouds, temperature and snow reflection.
32°collects the most energy over a year: 1354 kWh per kWp.
61°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° | 1184 | 87% | 1.33 | 3.7× |
| 15° | 1306 | 96% | 1.80 | 2.8× |
| 30° | 1354 | 100% | 2.16 | 2.2× |
| 32° year-round best | 1354 | 100% | 2.20 | 2.1× |
| 38° = latitude | 1348 | 100% | 2.31 | 1.9× |
| 45° | 1325 | 98% | 2.40 | 1.7× |
| 60° | 1223 | 90% | 2.48 | 1.6× |
| 61° off-grid best | 1213 | 90% | 2.48 | 1.5× |
| 70° | 1117 | 82% | 2.45 | 1.4× |
| 90° | 835 | 62% | 2.20 | 1.8× |
A fixed array in Charleston produces the most over a year at 32°. The design month for an off-grid system is December: at 61° it makes 2.48 kWh per kWp a day, 13% more than at 32°, and costs 10% of the yearly total. Why steep panels win winter.
Off-grid solar in Charleston at 70°
Daily energy of 1 kWp by month. Bars: panels at 70°. Line: panels at 32° (year-round best).
| Month | Sun hours, flat | Sun hours at 70° | kWh/kWp/day at 70° | at 32° | Mean temp. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January snow | 1.83 | 2.95 | 2.66 | 2.40 | -0.4 °C |
| February | 2.54 | 3.20 | 2.87 | 2.93 | 1.0 °C |
| March | 3.64 | 3.73 | 3.28 | 3.74 | 6.0 °C |
| April | 4.89 | 3.83 | 3.29 | 4.37 | 12.2 °C |
| May | 5.51 | 3.50 | 2.93 | 4.41 | 17.3 °C |
| June | 6.15 | 3.46 | 2.85 | 4.63 | 21.6 °C |
| July | 5.83 | 3.47 | 2.83 | 4.44 | 23.8 °C |
| August | 5.40 | 3.85 | 3.16 | 4.42 | 23.7 °C |
| September | 4.51 | 4.24 | 3.54 | 4.25 | 20.2 °C |
| October | 3.24 | 4.06 | 3.49 | 3.61 | 13.3 °C |
| November | 2.35 | 3.82 | 3.37 | 3.11 | 6.6 °C |
| December | 1.63 | 2.75 | 2.45 | 2.20 | 1.9 °C |
| Year | 3.97 avg | 3.57 avg | 1117 kWh | 1354 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 480 Wp of panels at 70°, versus 540 Wp at 32°. The steep array is 10% smaller for the same winter. Size your own system.
Row spacing in Charleston
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.
4.7 mrow pitch at 70°
4.0 mrow pitch at 32°
How Charleston 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.
2024thof 3,121 places in the United States for sunshine, shared: 3.97 peak sun hours a day on flat ground.
−11%solar energy a year compared with the average place in the United States: 1,354 against 1,515 kWh per kWp.
−15 mindaylight on the longest day, compared with New York City: 14 h 50 min against 15 h 06 min.
32°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); Charleston ranks joint 2024th. In its darkest month, December, 1 kWp of off-grid panels at 70° makes 2.45 kWh a day here, against 2.55 kWh on average in the United States. The shortest day lasts 9 h 30 min, +14 min compared with New York City.
Solar forecast for Charleston, 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 Charleston
What is the best solar panel angle in Charleston?
What time is sunrise and sunset in Charleston today?
How many peak sun hours does Charleston get?
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Places near Charleston
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A free, live card for Charleston: 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.