Solarposition.org

San José · Costa Rica · 9.91° N · 84.04° W

Solar position in Curridabat

Sun position, daylight and the best solar panel angle for Curridabat — computed for 9.91° N, 84.04° W, 1192 m above sea level.

Sunrise today05:25102° ESE
Sunset today17:15258° WSW
Best panel angle11°year-round, facing south
Off-grid angle9°best for the darkest month

The sun right now

Azimuth180.0°
Elevation68.2°
At solar noon, 11:20Open on the sun map

Sun in Curridabat today

Saturday, 24 October 2026 · local time UTC−6

EventTimeDirection / height
Astronomical dawn04:14sun 18° below horizon
Nautical dawn04:3912° below
Civil dawn05:036° below
Sunrise05:25102° ESE
Golden hour ends05:53sun 6° up
Solar noon11:2068.2° high
Golden hour starts16:46sun 6° up
Sunset17:15258° WSW
Civil dusk17:366° below
Nautical dusk18:0112° below
Astronomical dusk18:2618° below
Day length11 h 50 min

Sun path diagram for Curridabat

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 solstice67891011121314151617EquinoxDecember solstice67891011121314151617Today
  • June solstice
  • Equinox
  • December solstice
  • Today

On the June solstice the sun reaches 76.5° at solar noon in Curridabat; on the December solstice only 56.7°. Sunrise swings from 66° ENE in June to 114° ESE in December — a 48° 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
January05:5811:4717:3611 h 38 min60.3°
February05:5311:4917:4511 h 52 min69.7°
March05:3911:4317:4612 h 07 min80.5°
April05:2211:3417:4612 h 24 min87.9°
May05:1411:3217:5112 h 37 min79.6°
June05:1611:3817:5912 h 42 min76.5°
July05:2411:4218:0112 h 37 min79.6°
August05:2711:3917:5112 h 24 min88.0°
September05:2511:2917:3212 h 07 min80.6°
October05:2411:2017:1611 h 51 min69.2°
November05:3211:2117:1111 h 38 min60.1°
December05:4711:3417:2011 h 33 min56.7°

A year of daylight in Curridabat

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 Curridabat

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

11°collects the most energy over a year: 1369 kWh per kWp.

9°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 11°Best worst-month 9°70°Yearly energyWorst-month energy
  • Yearly energy
  • Worst-month energy
TiltkWh/kWp per yearShare of best yearJuly kWh/kWp/dayBest ÷ worst month
0°134798%3.351.5×
9° off-grid best1368100%3.231.4×
10° = latitude1369100%3.211.4×
11° year-round best1369100%3.191.5×
15°1367100%3.111.5×
30°131396%2.731.7×
45°118887%2.222.0×
60°100373%1.642.6×
70°85763%1.273.0×
90°58743%1.022.8×

A fixed array in Curridabat produces the most over a year at 11°. The design month for an off-grid system is July: at 9° it makes 3.23 kWh per kWp a day, 1% more than at 11°, and costs 0% of the yearly total. Why steep panels win winter.

Off-grid solar in Curridabat at 70°

Daily energy of 1 kWp by month. Bars: panels at 70°. Line: panels at 11° (year-round best).

012345January: 3.79 (70°)3.8JanFebruary: 3.56 (70°)3.6FebMarch: 2.79 (70°)2.8MarApril: 1.85 (70°)1.8AprMay: 1.36 (70°)1.4MayJune: 1.25 (70°)1.2JunJuly: 1.27 (70°)1.3JulAugust: 1.56 (70°)1.6AugSeptember: 2.12 (70°)2.1SepOctober: 2.47 (70°)2.5OctNovember: 2.76 (70°)2.8NovDecember: 3.48 (70°)3.5Dec11°
MonthSun hours, flatSun hours at 70°kWh/kWp/day at 70°at 11°Mean temp.
January4.684.583.794.1223.3 °C
February5.374.323.564.5823.8 °C
March5.683.422.794.6424.6 °C
April5.282.301.854.1325.1 °C
May4.571.711.363.4924.7 °C
June4.401.571.253.3224.2 °C
July4.201.601.273.1924.0 °C
August4.431.941.563.4424.0 °C
September4.652.602.123.7323.8 °C
October4.213.022.473.4823.5 °C
November3.833.352.763.2723.3 °C
December4.184.223.483.6823.3 °C
Year4.62 avg2.88 avg857 kWh1369 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 950 Wp of panels at 70°, versus 370 Wp at 11°. Here the lower tilt is the better winter choice — the sun stays high enough. Size your own system.

Row spacing in Curridabat

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.

2.1 mrow pitch at 70°

2.2 mrow pitch at 11°

Row spacing calculator

How Curridabat compares in Costa Rica

Against the other 35 places in Costa Rica with climate data, for a fixed array at its best angle.

19thof 36 places in Costa Rica for sunshine, shared: 4.62 peak sun hours a day on flat ground.

−1%solar energy a year compared with the average place in Costa Rica: 1,369 against 1,386 kWh per kWp.

±0 mindaylight on the longest day, compared with San José: 12 h 42 min against 12 h 42 min.

11°best year-round tilt here; across Costa Rica it runs from 11° in Limón to 13° in Liberia.

Of the 36 places in Costa Rica, Nicoya gets the most sun (5.27 peak sun hours a day) and Siquirres the least (4.34); Curridabat ranks joint 19th. In its darkest month, June, 1 kWp of off-grid panels at 70° makes 1.25 kWh a day here, against 1.24 kWh on average in Costa Rica. The shortest day lasts 11 h 33 min, ±0 min compared with San José.

The sunniest places in Costa Rica

Solar forecast for Curridabat, 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 Curridabat

What is the best solar panel angle in Curridabat?
For a fixed array facing south, the best year-round tilt in Curridabat is 11°, worth about 1369 kWh per kWp a year. An off-grid system that has to get through July does better at about 9°.
What time is sunrise and sunset in Curridabat today?
On 24 October 2026 the sun rises at 05:25 and sets at 17:15 local time (UTC−6), giving 11 h 50 min of daylight. Solar noon is at 11:20.
How many peak sun hours does Curridabat get?
On a flat surface 4.6 hours a day averaged over the year, from 3.8 in November to 5.7 in March. Panels tilted at 70° receive 1.6 sun hours a day in June.
How high does the sun get in Curridabat?
At solar noon the sun stands 76.5° above the horizon on the June solstice and 56.7° on the December solstice.
Is Curridabat a good place for solar panels?
With 4.6 peak sun hours a day on flat ground, Curridabat ranks joint 19th of 36 places in Costa Rica for sunshine. A 1 kWp array at the best angle (11°) makes about 1,369 kWh a year here, 1% less than the average place in Costa Rica.

Places near Curridabat

All places in Costa Rica

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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.