Azuay · Ecuador · 2.90° S · 79.00° W
Solar position in Cuenca
Sun position, daylight and the best solar panel angle for Cuenca — computed for 2.90° S, 79.00° W, 2484 m above sea level.
The sun right now
Sun in Cuenca today
Saturday, 24 October 2026 · local time UTC−5
| Event | Time | Direction / height |
|---|---|---|
| Astronomical dawn | 04:43 | sun 18° below horizon |
| Nautical dawn | 05:08 | 12° below |
| Civil dawn | 05:33 | 6° below |
| Sunrise | 05:54 | 102° ESE |
| Golden hour ends | 06:22 | sun 6° up |
| Solar noon | 12:00 | 81.0° high |
| Golden hour starts | 17:38 | sun 6° up |
| Sunset | 18:05 | 258° WSW |
| Civil dusk | 18:27 | 6° below |
| Nautical dusk | 18:51 | 12° below |
| Astronomical dusk | 19:16 | 18° below |
| Day length | 12 h 12 min | |
Sun path diagram for Cuenca
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 63.7° at solar noon in Cuenca; on the December solstice only 69.5°. Sunrise swings from 67° ENE in June to 114° ESE in December — a 47° 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 | 06:19 | 12:27 | 18:35 | 12 h 16 min | 73.1° |
| February | 06:24 | 12:29 | 18:34 | 12 h 11 min | 82.5° |
| March | 06:19 | 12:23 | 18:26 | 12 h 06 min | 86.7° |
| April | 06:13 | 12:14 | 18:15 | 12 h 02 min | 75.1° |
| May | 06:13 | 12:12 | 18:11 | 11 h 59 min | 66.8° |
| June | 06:19 | 12:17 | 18:16 | 11 h 57 min | 63.7° |
| July | 06:23 | 12:22 | 18:21 | 11 h 59 min | 66.7° |
| August | 06:18 | 12:19 | 18:20 | 12 h 02 min | 75.2° |
| September | 06:05 | 12:09 | 18:12 | 12 h 06 min | 86.6° |
| October | 05:55 | 12:00 | 18:06 | 12 h 11 min | 82.0° |
| November | 05:54 | 12:01 | 18:09 | 12 h 16 min | 72.9° |
| December | 06:05 | 12:14 | 18:22 | 12 h 18 min | 69.5° |
A year of daylight in Cuenca
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 Cuenca
Fixed array facing north (azimuth 0°). Energy per kWp from NASA POWER monthly climate, including clouds, temperature and snow reflection.
3°collects the most energy over a year: 1153 kWh per kWp.
4°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 | June kWh/kWp/day | Best ÷ worst month |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0° | 1151 | 100% | 2.85 | 1.2× |
| 3° year-round best = latitude | 1153 | 100% | 2.90 | 1.2× |
| 4° off-grid best | 1153 | 100% | 2.92 | 1.2× |
| 15° | 1135 | 98% | 3.08 | 1.2× |
| 30° | 1059 | 92% | 3.14 | 1.4× |
| 45° | 931 | 81% | 3.04 | 1.7× |
| 60° | 764 | 66% | 2.77 | 2.2× |
| 70° | 648 | 56% | 2.51 | 2.4× |
| 90° | 453 | 39% | 1.83 | 2.0× |
A fixed array in Cuenca produces the most over a year at 3°. The design month for an off-grid system is June: at 4° it makes 2.92 kWh per kWp a day, and costs 0% of the yearly total. Why steep panels win winter.
Off-grid solar in Cuenca at 70°
Daily energy of 1 kWp by month. Bars: panels at 70°. Line: panels at 3° (year-round best).
| Month | Sun hours, flat | Sun hours at 70° | kWh/kWp/day at 70° | at 3° | Mean temp. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 3.88 | 1.32 | 1.06 | 3.09 | 20.5 °C |
| February | 3.65 | 1.53 | 1.23 | 2.93 | 20.4 °C |
| March | 3.81 | 2.00 | 1.63 | 3.08 | 20.3 °C |
| April | 3.94 | 2.61 | 2.15 | 3.21 | 20.3 °C |
| May | 3.74 | 2.94 | 2.44 | 3.07 | 20.1 °C |
| June | 3.52 | 3.02 | 2.51 | 2.90 | 19.5 °C |
| July | 3.61 | 3.00 | 2.50 | 2.98 | 19.4 °C |
| August | 3.89 | 2.79 | 2.31 | 3.19 | 19.8 °C |
| September | 4.16 | 2.31 | 1.90 | 3.39 | 20.3 °C |
| October | 4.24 | 1.74 | 1.41 | 3.42 | 20.4 °C |
| November | 4.33 | 1.37 | 1.09 | 3.46 | 20.4 °C |
| December | 4.00 | 1.31 | 1.04 | 3.18 | 20.5 °C |
| Year | 3.90 avg | 2.16 avg | 648 kWh | 1153 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 1,130 Wp of panels at 70°, versus 410 Wp at 3°. Here the lower tilt is the better winter choice — the sun stays high enough. Size your own system.
Row spacing in Cuenca
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.
1.7 mrow pitch at 70°
2.1 mrow pitch at 3°
How Cuenca compares in Ecuador
Against the other 70 places in Ecuador with climate data, for a fixed array at its best angle.
48thof 71 places in Ecuador for sunshine, shared: 3.90 peak sun hours a day on flat ground.
−3%solar energy a year compared with the average place in Ecuador: 1,153 against 1,193 kWh per kWp.
+9 mindaylight on the longest day, compared with Quito: 12 h 18 min against 12 h 08 min.
3°best year-round tilt here; across Ecuador it runs from 0° in Puerto Francisco de Orellana to 6° in Cariamanga.
Of the 71 places in Ecuador, Huaquillas and one other place get the most sun (4.70 peak sun hours a day) and Rosa Zarate the least (3.61); Cuenca ranks joint 48th. In its darkest month, December, 1 kWp of off-grid panels at 70° makes 1.04 kWh a day here, against 1.01 kWh on average in Ecuador. The shortest day lasts 11 h 57 min, −9 min compared with Quito.
Solar forecast for Cuenca, 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 Cuenca
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A free, live card for Cuenca: 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.