Solarposition.org

England · United Kingdom · 54.86° N · 1.57° W

Solar position in Chester-le-Street

Sun position, daylight and the best solar panel angle for Chester-le-Street — computed for 54.86° N, 1.57° W, 13 m above sea level.

Sunrise today07:53110° ESE
Sunset today17:46250° WSW
Best panel angle42°year-round, facing south
Off-grid angle76°best for the darkest month

The sun right now

Azimuth180.0°
Elevation23.3°
At solar noon, 12:50Open on the sun map

Sun in Chester-le-Street today

Saturday, 24 October 2026 · local time UTC+1

EventTimeDirection / height
Astronomical dawn05:51sun 18° below horizon
Nautical dawn06:3312° below
Civil dawn07:156° below
Sunrise07:53110° ESE
Golden hour ends08:45sun 6° up
Solar noon12:5023.3° high
Golden hour starts16:54sun 6° up
Sunset17:46250° WSW
Civil dusk18:246° below
Nautical dusk19:0612° below
Astronomical dusk19:4718° below
Day length9 h 53 min

Sun path diagram for Chester-le-Street

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 solstice56789101112131415161718192021EquinoxDecember solstice9101112131415Today
  • June solstice
  • Equinox
  • December solstice
  • Today

On the June solstice the sun reaches 58.6° at solar noon in Chester-le-Street; on the December solstice only 11.8°. Sunrise swings from 45° NE in June to 132° SE in December — a 87° 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
January08:1412:1716:218 h 08 min15.4°
February07:1512:2017:2510 h 11 min24.7°
March06:0612:1318:2112 h 15 min35.5°
April05:4913:0520:2114 h 32 min47.1°
May04:4913:0321:1716 h 27 min55.4°
June04:2713:0821:4817 h 20 min58.6°
July04:5713:1221:2716 h 30 min55.6°
August05:5213:0920:2514 h 33 min47.2°
September06:4912:5919:0712 h 18 min35.7°
October07:4712:5017:5310 h 06 min24.4°
November07:4911:5115:548 h 06 min15.2°
December08:2812:0415:407 h 12 min11.8°

A year of daylight in Chester-le-Street

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 Chester-le-Street

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

42°collects the most energy over a year: 1009 kWh per kWp.

76°gives the most in the darkest month — the one an off-grid system is sized for.

20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%100%0°10°20°30°40°50°60°70°80°90°Best year-round 42°Best worst-month 76°70°Yearly energyWorst-month energy
  • Yearly energy
  • Worst-month energy
TiltkWh/kWp per yearShare of best yearDecember kWh/kWp/dayBest ÷ worst month
0°79579%0.3013.5×
15°91891%0.567.8×
30°99198%0.795.6×
42° year-round best1009100%0.944.6×
45°1008100%0.974.4×
55° = latitude98898%1.053.8×
60°96996%1.083.6×
70°91391%1.123.1×
76° off-grid best86986%1.132.9×
90°74073%1.102.5×

A fixed array in Chester-le-Street produces the most over a year at 42°. The design month for an off-grid system is December: at 76° it makes 1.13 kWh per kWp a day, 20% more than at 42°, and costs 14% of the yearly total. Why steep panels win winter.

Off-grid solar in Chester-le-Street at 70°

Daily energy of 1 kWp by month. Bars: panels at 70°. Line: panels at 42° (year-round best).

012345January: 1.34 (70°)1.3JanFebruary: 2.01 (70°)2.0FebMarch: 2.86 (70°)2.9MarApril: 3.43 (70°)3.4AprMay: 3.50 (70°)3.5MayJune: 3.11 (70°)3.1JunJuly: 3.12 (70°)3.1JulAugust: 3.01 (70°)3.0AugSeptember: 2.90 (70°)2.9SepOctober: 2.13 (70°)2.1OctNovember: 1.48 (70°)1.5NovDecember: 1.12 (70°)1.1Dec42°
MonthSun hours, flatSun hours at 70°kWh/kWp/day at 70°at 42°Mean temp.
January0.591.531.341.153.9 °C
February1.242.282.011.883.8 °C
March2.383.242.862.925.0 °C
April3.833.923.433.897.2 °C
May4.904.053.504.3410.1 °C
June4.893.673.114.0213.0 °C
July4.743.693.123.9514.9 °C
August3.873.553.013.5514.7 °C
September2.843.392.903.1012.7 °C
October1.522.472.132.069.8 °C
November0.741.711.481.316.7 °C
December0.441.291.120.944.6 °C
Year2.67 avg2.90 avg913 kWh1009 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 1,050 Wp of panels at 70°, versus 1,260 Wp at 42°. The steep array is 16% smaller for the same winter. Size your own system.

Row spacing in Chester-le-Street

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.

13.2 mrow pitch at 70°

10.4 mrow pitch at 42°

Row spacing calculator

How Chester-le-Street compares in the United Kingdom

Against the other 801 places in the United Kingdom with climate data, for a fixed array at its best angle.

700thof 802 places in the United Kingdom for sunshine, shared: 2.67 peak sun hours a day on flat ground.

−5%solar energy a year compared with the average place in the United Kingdom: 1,009 against 1,058 kWh per kWp.

+42 mindaylight on the longest day, compared with London: 17 h 20 min against 16 h 38 min.

42°best year-round tilt here; across the United Kingdom it runs from 38° in Plymouth to 45° in Elgin.

Of the 802 places in the United Kingdom, Sandown and 2 other places get the most sun (3.23 peak sun hours a day) and Fort William the least (2.32); Chester-le-Street ranks joint 700th. In its darkest month, December, 1 kWp of off-grid panels at 70° makes 1.12 kWh a day here, against 1.32 kWh on average in the United Kingdom. The shortest day lasts 7 h 12 min, −38 min compared with London.

The sunniest places in the United Kingdom

Solar forecast for Chester-le-Street, 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 Chester-le-Street

What is the best solar panel angle in Chester-le-Street?
For a fixed array facing south, the best year-round tilt in Chester-le-Street is 42°, worth about 1009 kWh per kWp a year. An off-grid system that has to get through December does better at about 76°.
What time is sunrise and sunset in Chester-le-Street today?
On 24 October 2026 the sun rises at 07:53 and sets at 17:46 local time (UTC+1), giving 9 h 53 min of daylight. Solar noon is at 12:50.
How many peak sun hours does Chester-le-Street get?
On a flat surface 2.7 hours a day averaged over the year, from 0.4 in December to 4.9 in May. Panels tilted at 70° receive 1.3 sun hours a day in December.
How high does the sun get in Chester-le-Street?
At solar noon the sun stands 58.6° above the horizon on the June solstice and 11.8° on the December solstice.
Is Chester-le-Street a good place for solar panels?
With 2.7 peak sun hours a day on flat ground, Chester-le-Street ranks joint 700th of 802 places in the United Kingdom for sunshine. A 1 kWp array at the best angle (42°) makes about 1,009 kWh a year here, 5% less than the average place in the United Kingdom.

Places near Chester-le-Street

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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.