Thailand · 18.79° N · 98.98° E
Solar position in Chiang Mai
Sun position, daylight and the best solar panel angle for Chiang Mai — computed for 18.79° N, 98.98° E, 313 m above sea level.
The sun right now
Sun in Chiang Mai today
Sunday, 25 October 2026 · local time UTC+7
| Event | Time | Direction / height |
|---|---|---|
| Astronomical dawn | 05:07 | sun 18° below horizon |
| Nautical dawn | 05:33 | 12° below |
| Civil dawn | 05:58 | 6° below |
| Sunrise | 06:21 | 102° ESE |
| Golden hour ends | 06:50 | sun 6° up |
| Solar noon | 12:08 | 59.1° high |
| Golden hour starts | 17:25 | sun 6° up |
| Sunset | 17:54 | 257° WSW |
| Civil dusk | 18:17 | 6° below |
| Nautical dusk | 18:42 | 12° below |
| Astronomical dusk | 19:08 | 18° below |
| Day length | 11 h 34 min | |
Sun path diagram for Chiang Mai
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 85.4° at solar noon in Chiang Mai; on the December solstice only 47.8°. Sunrise swings from 65° ENE in June to 115° ESE in December — a 50° 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 | 06:59 | 12:35 | 18:10 | 11 h 11 min | 51.3° |
| February | 06:48 | 12:37 | 18:26 | 11 h 38 min | 60.7° |
| March | 06:27 | 12:31 | 18:35 | 12 h 08 min | 71.5° |
| April | 06:02 | 12:22 | 18:42 | 12 h 40 min | 83.1° |
| May | 05:48 | 12:20 | 18:53 | 13 h 05 min | 88.6° |
| June | 05:47 | 12:25 | 19:03 | 13 h 16 min | 85.4° |
| July | 05:57 | 12:30 | 19:03 | 13 h 06 min | 88.3° |
| August | 06:06 | 12:27 | 18:47 | 12 h 41 min | 83.3° |
| September | 06:12 | 12:17 | 18:21 | 12 h 09 min | 71.9° |
| October | 06:19 | 12:08 | 17:57 | 11 h 38 min | 60.5° |
| November | 06:34 | 12:09 | 17:45 | 11 h 11 min | 51.3° |
| December | 06:51 | 12:21 | 17:52 | 11 h 00 min | 47.8° |
A year of daylight in Chiang Mai
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 Chiang Mai
Fixed array facing south (azimuth 180°). Energy per kWp from NASA POWER monthly climate, including clouds, temperature and snow reflection.
21°collects the most energy over a year: 1501 kWh per kWp.
2°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 | August kWh/kWp/day | Best ÷ worst month |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0° | 1420 | 95% | 3.40 | 1.4× |
| 2° off-grid best | 1434 | 96% | 3.40 | 1.4× |
| 15° | 1494 | 100% | 3.34 | 1.4× |
| 19° = latitude | 1500 | 100% | 3.30 | 1.5× |
| 21° year-round best | 1501 | 100% | 3.27 | 1.5× |
| 30° | 1487 | 99% | 3.12 | 1.6× |
| 45° | 1399 | 93% | 2.76 | 1.9× |
| 60° | 1237 | 82% | 2.27 | 2.3× |
| 70° | 1094 | 73% | 1.90 | 2.6× |
| 90° | 775 | 52% | 1.15 | 3.1× |
A fixed array in Chiang Mai produces the most over a year at 21°. The design month for an off-grid system is August: at 2° it makes 3.40 kWh per kWp a day, 4% more than at 21°, and costs 4% of the yearly total. Why steep panels win winter.
Off-grid solar in Chiang Mai at 70°
Daily energy of 1 kWp by month. Bars: panels at 70°. Line: panels at 21° (year-round best).
| Month | Sun hours, flat | Sun hours at 70° | kWh/kWp/day at 70° | at 21° | Mean temp. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 4.61 | 5.38 | 4.51 | 4.61 | 19.7 °C |
| February | 5.35 | 5.08 | 4.22 | 4.93 | 22.2 °C |
| March | 5.63 | 4.11 | 3.37 | 4.73 | 25.1 °C |
| April | 6.01 | 3.24 | 2.61 | 4.64 | 27.6 °C |
| May | 5.48 | 2.41 | 1.93 | 4.05 | 26.2 °C |
| June | 4.81 | 2.14 | 1.71 | 3.52 | 25.2 °C |
| July | 4.41 | 2.12 | 1.70 | 3.27 | 24.5 °C |
| August | 4.27 | 2.35 | 1.90 | 3.27 | 24.1 °C |
| September | 4.56 | 3.02 | 2.46 | 3.69 | 24.1 °C |
| October | 4.45 | 3.69 | 3.04 | 3.87 | 23.2 °C |
| November | 4.58 | 4.96 | 4.14 | 4.42 | 21.3 °C |
| December | 4.33 | 5.31 | 4.46 | 4.41 | 19.2 °C |
| Year | 4.87 avg | 3.64 avg | 1094 kWh | 1501 kWh |
Sizing example. To run a 1 kWh-per-day load through July on LiFePO4 batteries (charge controller, battery and inverter losses included) you need about 690 Wp of panels at 70°, versus 360 Wp at 21°. Here the lower tilt is the better winter choice — the sun stays high enough. Size your own system.
Row spacing in Chiang Mai
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.
2.6 mrow pitch at 70°
2.6 mrow pitch at 21°
How Chiang Mai compares in Thailand
Against the other 294 places in Thailand with climate data, for a fixed array at its best angle.
271stof 295 places in Thailand for sunshine, shared: 4.87 peak sun hours a day on flat ground.
−1%solar energy a year compared with the average place in Thailand: 1,501 against 1,509 kWh per kWp.
+19 mindaylight on the longest day, compared with Bangkok: 13 h 16 min against 12 h 56 min.
21°best year-round tilt here; across Thailand it runs from 4° in Narathiwat to 23° in Mae Chan.
Of the 295 places in Thailand, Bangkok and 7 other places get the most sun (5.23 peak sun hours a day) and Mae Ramat the least (4.74); Chiang Mai ranks joint 271st. In its darkest month, July, 1 kWp of off-grid panels at 70° makes 1.70 kWh a day here, against 1.53 kWh on average in Thailand. The shortest day lasts 11 h 00 min, −19 min compared with Bangkok.
Solar forecast for Chiang Mai, 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 Chiang Mai
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Places near Chiang Mai
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A free, live card for Chiang Mai: 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.