Solarposition.org

Santa Cruz · Argentina · 50.34° S · 72.28° W

Solar position in El Calafate

Sun position, daylight and the best solar panel angle for El Calafate — computed for 50.34° S, 72.28° W, 205 m above sea level.

Sunrise today06:29110° ESE
Sunset today20:38250° WSW
Best panel angle43°year-round, facing north
Off-grid angle78°best for the darkest month

The sun right now

Azimuth180.0°
Elevation51.6°
At solar noon, 13:33Open on the sun map

Sun in El Calafate today

Saturday, 24 October 2026 · local time UTC−3

EventTimeDirection / height
Astronomical dawn04:20sun 18° below horizon
Nautical dawn05:1012° below
Civil dawn05:546° below
Sunrise06:29110° ESE
Golden hour ends07:13sun 6° up
Solar noon13:3351.6° high
Golden hour starts19:53sun 6° up
Sunset20:38250° WSW
Civil dusk21:136° below
Nautical dusk21:5712° below
Astronomical dusk22:4818° below
Day length14 h 09 min

Sun path diagram for El Calafate

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 solstice11121314151617EquinoxDecember solstice6789101112131415161718192021Today
  • June solstice
  • Equinox
  • December solstice
  • Today

On the June solstice the sun reaches 16.3° at solar noon in El Calafate; on the December solstice only 63.1°. Sunrise swings from 53° NE in June to 130° SE in December — a 77° 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
January06:1014:0021:4915 h 38 min59.5°
February07:0514:0220:5813 h 53 min50.0°
March07:5213:5519:5812 h 06 min39.2°
April08:4113:4718:5310 h 12 min27.7°
May09:2513:4518:058 h 41 min19.4°
June09:5013:5017:518 h 01 min16.3°
July09:3613:5518:158 h 40 min19.3°
August08:4613:5218:5810 h 13 min27.7°
September07:3913:4219:4512 h 05 min39.2°
October06:3513:3320:3313 h 58 min50.5°
November05:4413:3521:2615 h 41 min59.7°
December05:3413:4722:0016 h 26 min63.1°

A year of daylight in El Calafate

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 El Calafate

Fixed array facing north (azimuth 0°). Energy per kWp from NASA POWER monthly climate, including clouds, temperature and snow reflection.

43°collects the most energy over a year: 1323 kWh per kWp.

78°gives the most in the darkest month — the one an off-grid system is sized for.

20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%100%0°10°20°30°40°50°60°70°80°90°Best year-round 43°Best worst-month 78°70°Yearly energyWorst-month energy
  • Yearly energy
  • Worst-month energy
TiltkWh/kWp per yearShare of best yearJune kWh/kWp/dayBest ÷ worst month
0°103278%0.618.7×
15°119790%1.055.2×
30°129698%1.433.7×
43° year-round best1323100%1.702.9×
45°1322100%1.742.8×
50° = latitude131599%1.822.6×
60°127596%1.942.2×
70°120491%2.012.0×
78° off-grid best112685%2.031.8×
90°98074%1.991.6×

A fixed array in El Calafate produces the most over a year at 43°. The design month for an off-grid system is June: at 78° it makes 2.03 kWh per kWp a day, 19% more than at 43°, and costs 15% of the yearly total. Why steep panels win winter.

Off-grid solar in El Calafate at 70°

Daily energy of 1 kWp by month. Bars: panels at 70°. Line: panels at 43° (year-round best).

0123456January: 3.82 (70°)3.8JanFebruary: 3.98 (70°)4.0FebMarch: 3.61 (70°)3.6MarApril: 3.01 (70°)3.0AprMay: 2.44 (70°)2.4MayJune: 2.01 (70°)2.0JunJuly: 2.36 (70°)2.4JulAugust: 3.15 (70°)3.2AugSeptember: 3.74 (70°)3.7SepOctober: 3.86 (70°)3.9OctNovember: 3.88 (70°)3.9NovDecember: 3.76 (70°)3.8Dec43°
MonthSun hours, flatSun hours at 70°kWh/kWp/day at 70°at 43°Mean temp.
January5.954.373.824.987.2 °C
February4.994.543.984.767.3 °C
March3.464.083.613.915.5 °C
April2.073.383.012.952.8 °C
May snow1.172.702.442.17-0.5 °C
June snow0.802.212.011.70-3.2 °C
July snow0.982.582.362.02-3.9 °C
August snow1.763.463.152.87-2.6 °C
September snow2.994.153.743.790.3 °C
October4.374.333.864.462.7 °C
November5.644.393.884.944.5 °C
December6.164.303.765.026.3 °C
Year3.35 avg3.70 avg1204 kWh1323 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 590 Wp of panels at 70°, versus 690 Wp at 43°. The steep array is 15% smaller for the same winter. Size your own system.

Row spacing in El Calafate

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.

8.8 mrow pitch at 70°

7.3 mrow pitch at 43°

Row spacing calculator

How El Calafate compares in Argentina

Against the other 313 places in Argentina with climate data, for a fixed array at its best angle.

312thof 314 places in Argentina for sunshine: 3.35 peak sun hours a day on flat ground.

−19%solar energy a year compared with the average place in Argentina: 1,323 against 1,639 kWh per kWp.

+1 h 57 mindaylight on the longest day, compared with Buenos Aires: 16 h 26 min against 14 h 29 min.

43°best year-round tilt here; across Argentina it runs from 21° in Tartagal to 44° in Río Gallegos.

Of the 314 places in Argentina, Belén gets the most sun (6.11 peak sun hours a day) and Ushuaia the least (2.59); El Calafate ranks 312th. In its darkest month, June, 1 kWp of off-grid panels at 70° makes 2.01 kWh a day here, against 2.68 kWh on average in Argentina. The shortest day lasts 8 h 01 min, −1 h 49 min compared with Buenos Aires.

The sunniest places in Argentina

Solar forecast for El Calafate, 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 El Calafate

What is the best solar panel angle in El Calafate?
For a fixed array facing north, the best year-round tilt in El Calafate is 43°, worth about 1323 kWh per kWp a year. An off-grid system that has to get through June does better at about 78°.
What time is sunrise and sunset in El Calafate today?
On 24 October 2026 the sun rises at 06:29 and sets at 20:38 local time (UTC−3), giving 14 h 09 min of daylight. Solar noon is at 13:33.
How many peak sun hours does El Calafate get?
On a flat surface 3.4 hours a day averaged over the year, from 0.8 in June to 6.2 in December. Panels tilted at 70° receive 2.2 sun hours a day in June.
How high does the sun get in El Calafate?
At solar noon the sun stands 16.3° above the horizon on the June solstice and 63.1° on the December solstice.
Is El Calafate a good place for solar panels?
With 3.4 peak sun hours a day on flat ground, El Calafate ranks 312th of 314 places in Argentina for sunshine. A 1 kWp array at the best angle (43°) makes about 1,323 kWh a year here, 19% less than the average place in Argentina.

Places near El Calafate

All places in Argentina

Put this on your site

A free, live card for El Calafate: 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.

Theme

Paste it into any page, blog or CMS that accepts HTML. Auto follows the visitor's light or dark system setting. Free to use with its link.

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.