Solarposition.org

Tennessee · United States · 36.16° N · 85.50° W

Solar position in Cookeville

Sun position, daylight and the best solar panel angle for Cookeville — computed for 36.16° N, 85.50° W, 334 m above sea level.

Sunrise today06:57104° ESE
Sunset today17:54256° WSW
Best panel angle31°year-round, facing south
Off-grid angle60°best for the darkest month

The sun right now

Azimuth180.0°
Elevation41.9°
At solar noon, 12:25Open on the sun map

Sun in Cookeville today

Saturday, 24 October 2026 · local time UTC−5

EventTimeDirection / height
Astronomical dawn05:31sun 18° below horizon
Nautical dawn06:0012° below
Civil dawn06:316° below
Sunrise06:57104° ESE
Golden hour ends07:32sun 6° up
Solar noon12:2541.9° high
Golden hour starts17:19sun 6° up
Sunset17:54256° WSW
Civil dusk18:206° below
Nautical dusk18:5012° below
Astronomical dusk19:2018° below
Day length10 h 57 min

Sun path diagram for Cookeville

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 solstice678910111213141516171819EquinoxDecember solstice78910111213141516Today
  • June solstice
  • Equinox
  • December solstice
  • Today

On the June solstice the sun reaches 77.3° at solar noon in Cookeville; on the December solstice only 30.4°. Sunrise swings from 60° ENE in June to 119° ESE in December — a 59° 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
January06:4911:5316:5710 h 07 min34.1°
February06:2211:5517:2911 h 07 min43.5°
March06:4412:4918:5412 h 11 min54.3°
April06:0012:4019:2113 h 20 min65.9°
May05:3112:3819:4614 h 15 min74.1°
June05:2512:4320:0214 h 37 min77.3°
July05:4012:4819:5514 h 15 min74.2°
August06:0512:4519:2413 h 19 min65.8°
September06:2912:3418:4012 h 11 min54.3°
October06:5412:2617:5811 h 04 min43.0°
November06:2411:2716:3010 h 06 min33.8°
December06:4911:4016:319 h 42 min30.4°

A year of daylight in Cookeville

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 Cookeville

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

31°collects the most energy over a year: 1437 kWh per kWp.

60°gives the most in the darkest month — the one an off-grid system is sized for.

50%60%70%80%90%100%0°10°20°30°40°50°60°70°80°90°Best year-round 31°Best worst-month 60°70°Yearly energyWorst-month energy
  • Yearly energy
  • Worst-month energy
TiltkWh/kWp per yearShare of best yearDecember kWh/kWp/dayBest ÷ worst month
0°125988%1.593.2×
15°138897%2.152.3×
30°1437100%2.581.8×
31° year-round best1437100%2.611.8×
36° = latitude1433100%2.711.7×
45°140398%2.861.5×
60° off-grid best128990%2.951.4×
70°117382%2.911.4×
90°86760%2.602.1×

A fixed array in Cookeville produces the most over a year at 31°. The design month for an off-grid system is December: at 60° it makes 2.95 kWh per kWp a day, 13% more than at 31°, and costs 10% of the yearly total. Why steep panels win winter.

Off-grid solar in Cookeville at 70°

Daily energy of 1 kWp by month. Bars: panels at 70°. Line: panels at 31° (year-round best).

012345January: 3.18 (70°)3.2JanFebruary: 3.12 (70°)3.1FebMarch: 3.40 (70°)3.4MarApril: 3.35 (70°)3.3AprMay: 2.89 (70°)2.9MayJune: 2.75 (70°)2.8JunJuly: 2.77 (70°)2.8JulAugust: 3.10 (70°)3.1AugSeptember: 3.53 (70°)3.5SepOctober: 3.80 (70°)3.8OctNovember: 3.77 (70°)3.8NovDecember: 2.91 (70°)2.9Dec31°
MonthSun hours, flatSun hours at 70°kWh/kWp/day at 70°at 31°Mean temp.
January2.223.543.182.921.8 °C
February2.793.513.123.193.7 °C
March3.903.893.403.938.6 °C
April5.213.923.354.5714.0 °C
May5.763.472.894.5318.8 °C
June6.303.362.754.6723.1 °C
July6.013.412.774.5125.0 °C
August5.563.803.104.4824.8 °C
September4.704.253.534.3321.4 °C
October3.624.453.803.9814.9 °C
November2.684.303.773.498.3 °C
December1.943.272.912.613.8 °C
Year4.23 avg3.76 avg1173 kWh1437 kWh

Sizing example. To run a 1 kWh-per-day load through June on LiFePO4 batteries (charge controller, battery and inverter losses included) you need about 430 Wp of panels at 70°, versus 450 Wp at 31°. The steep array is 5% smaller for the same winter. Size your own system.

Row spacing in Cookeville

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.

4.3 mrow pitch at 70°

3.7 mrow pitch at 31°

Row spacing calculator

How Cookeville 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.

1525thof 3,121 places in the United States for sunshine, shared: 4.23 peak sun hours a day on flat ground.

−5%solar energy a year compared with the average place in the United States: 1,437 against 1,515 kWh per kWp.

−28 mindaylight on the longest day, compared with New York City: 14 h 37 min against 15 h 06 min.

31°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); Cookeville ranks joint 1525th. In its darkest month, June, 1 kWp of off-grid panels at 70° makes 2.75 kWh a day here, against 2.55 kWh on average in the United States. The shortest day lasts 9 h 42 min, +27 min compared with New York City.

The sunniest places in the United States

Solar forecast for Cookeville, 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 Cookeville

What is the best solar panel angle in Cookeville?
For a fixed array facing south, the best year-round tilt in Cookeville is 31°, worth about 1437 kWh per kWp a year. An off-grid system that has to get through December does better at about 60°.
What time is sunrise and sunset in Cookeville today?
On 24 October 2026 the sun rises at 06:57 and sets at 17:54 local time (UTC−5), giving 10 h 57 min of daylight. Solar noon is at 12:25.
How many peak sun hours does Cookeville get?
On a flat surface 4.2 hours a day averaged over the year, from 1.9 in December to 6.3 in June. Panels tilted at 70° receive 3.4 sun hours a day in June.
How high does the sun get in Cookeville?
At solar noon the sun stands 77.3° above the horizon on the June solstice and 30.4° on the December solstice.
Is Cookeville a good place for solar panels?
With 4.2 peak sun hours a day on flat ground, Cookeville ranks joint 1525th of 3,121 places in the United States for sunshine. A 1 kWp array at the best angle (31°) makes about 1,437 kWh a year here, 5% less than the average place in the United States.

Places near Cookeville

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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.