Solarposition.org

Minnesota · United States · 44.83° N · 92.94° W

Solar position in Cottage Grove

Sun position, daylight and the best solar panel angle for Cottage Grove — computed for 44.83° N, 92.94° W, 248 m above sea level.

Sunrise today07:39106° ESE
Sunset today18:11254° WSW
Best panel angle40°year-round, facing south
Off-grid angle74°best for the darkest month

The sun right now

Azimuth180.0°
Elevation33.3°
At solar noon, 12:55Open on the sun map

Sun in Cottage Grove today

Saturday, 24 October 2026 · local time UTC−5

EventTimeDirection / height
Astronomical dawn06:01sun 18° below horizon
Nautical dawn06:3512° below
Civil dawn07:096° below
Sunrise07:39106° ESE
Golden hour ends08:20sun 6° up
Solar noon12:5533.3° high
Golden hour starts17:30sun 6° up
Sunset18:11254° WSW
Civil dusk18:416° below
Nautical dusk19:1612° below
Astronomical dusk19:4918° below
Day length10 h 33 min

Sun path diagram for Cottage Grove

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 68.6° at solar noon in Cottage Grove; on the December solstice only 21.8°. Sunrise swings from 55° NE in June to 123° ESE in December — a 68° 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
January07:4112:2317:049 h 23 min25.4°
February07:0212:2517:4810 h 46 min34.8°
March07:1213:1919:2512 h 13 min45.6°
April06:1613:1020:0413 h 48 min57.2°
May05:3713:0820:4015 h 03 min65.5°
June05:2513:1321:0115 h 36 min68.6°
July05:4513:1820:4915 h 04 min65.5°
August06:2113:1420:0713 h 47 min57.1°
September06:5713:0419:1012 h 13 min45.7°
October07:3512:5618:1610 h 41 min34.3°
November07:1711:5716:379 h 21 min25.2°
December07:4612:0916:338 h 47 min21.8°

A year of daylight in Cottage Grove

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 Cottage Grove

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

40°collects the most energy over a year: 1432 kWh per kWp.

74°gives the most in the darkest month — the one an off-grid system is sized for.

30%40%50%60%70%80%90%100%0°10°20°30°40°50°60°70°80°90°Best year-round 40°Best worst-month 74°70°Yearly energyWorst-month energy
  • Yearly energy
  • Worst-month energy
TiltkWh/kWp per yearShare of best yearDecember kWh/kWp/dayBest ÷ worst month
0°115981%1.044.9×
15°132492%1.563.4×
30°141599%2.002.5×
40° year-round best1432100%2.242.1×
45° = latitude1427100%2.342.0×
60°136095%2.551.8×
70°127489%2.601.8×
74° off-grid best123186%2.611.8×
90°101871%2.522.2×

A fixed array in Cottage Grove produces the most over a year at 40°. The design month for an off-grid system is December: at 74° it makes 2.61 kWh per kWp a day, 16% more than at 40°, and costs 14% of the yearly total. Why steep panels win winter.

Off-grid solar in Cottage Grove at 70°

Daily energy of 1 kWp by month. Bars: panels at 70°. Line: panels at 40° (year-round best).

0123456January: 3.55 (70°)3.6JanFebruary: 4.69 (70°)4.7FebMarch: 4.25 (70°)4.2MarApril: 3.61 (70°)3.6AprMay: 3.24 (70°)3.2MayJune: 3.14 (70°)3.1JunJuly: 3.39 (70°)3.4JulAugust: 3.52 (70°)3.5AugSeptember: 3.70 (70°)3.7SepOctober: 3.33 (70°)3.3OctNovember: 2.97 (70°)3.0NovDecember: 2.60 (70°)2.6Dec40°
MonthSun hours, flatSun hours at 70°kWh/kWp/day at 70°at 40°Mean temp.
January snow1.793.783.553.10-10.6 °C
February snow2.935.024.694.35-8.9 °C
March snow3.804.694.254.45-0.7 °C
April4.674.113.614.436.8 °C
May5.423.813.244.4213.5 °C
June6.033.783.144.5319.5 °C
July6.334.113.394.8122.4 °C
August5.314.243.524.5320.9 °C
September4.084.373.704.1916.5 °C
October2.663.803.333.377.8 °C
November snow1.723.292.972.700.5 °C
December snow1.272.812.602.24-7.1 °C
Year3.84 avg3.98 avg1274 kWh1432 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 450 Wp of panels at 70°, versus 530 Wp at 40°. The steep array is 14% smaller for the same winter. Size your own system.

Row spacing in Cottage Grove

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.

6.3 mrow pitch at 70°

5.4 mrow pitch at 40°

Row spacing calculator

How Cottage Grove 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.

2452ndof 3,121 places in the United States for sunshine, shared: 3.84 peak sun hours a day on flat ground.

−5%solar energy a year compared with the average place in the United States: 1,432 against 1,515 kWh per kWp.

+30 mindaylight on the longest day, compared with New York City: 15 h 36 min against 15 h 06 min.

40°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); Cottage Grove ranks joint 2452nd. In its darkest month, December, 1 kWp of off-grid panels at 70° makes 2.60 kWh a day here, against 2.55 kWh on average in the United States. The shortest day lasts 8 h 47 min, −28 min compared with New York City.

The sunniest places in the United States

Solar forecast for Cottage Grove, 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 Cottage Grove

What is the best solar panel angle in Cottage Grove?
For a fixed array facing south, the best year-round tilt in Cottage Grove is 40°, worth about 1432 kWh per kWp a year. An off-grid system that has to get through December does better at about 74°.
What time is sunrise and sunset in Cottage Grove today?
On 24 October 2026 the sun rises at 07:39 and sets at 18:11 local time (UTC−5), giving 10 h 33 min of daylight. Solar noon is at 12:55.
How many peak sun hours does Cottage Grove get?
On a flat surface 3.8 hours a day averaged over the year, from 1.3 in December to 6.3 in July. Panels tilted at 70° receive 2.8 sun hours a day in December.
How high does the sun get in Cottage Grove?
At solar noon the sun stands 68.6° above the horizon on the June solstice and 21.8° on the December solstice.
Is Cottage Grove a good place for solar panels?
With 3.8 peak sun hours a day on flat ground, Cottage Grove ranks joint 2452nd of 3,121 places in the United States for sunshine. A 1 kWp array at the best angle (40°) makes about 1,432 kWh a year here, 5% less than the average place in the United States.

Places near Cottage Grove

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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.