Solarposition.org

Chinandega Department · Nicaragua · 12.66° N · 87.17° W

Solar position in El Viejo

Sun position, daylight and the best solar panel angle for El Viejo — computed for 12.66° N, 87.17° W, 49 m above sea level.

Sunrise today05:40102° ESE
Sunset today17:25258° WSW
Best panel angle15°year-round, facing south
Off-grid angle6°best for the darkest month

The sun right now

Azimuth180.0°
Elevation65.4°
At solar noon, 11:32Open on the sun map

Sun in El Viejo today

Saturday, 24 October 2026 · local time UTC−6

EventTimeDirection / height
Astronomical dawn04:28sun 18° below horizon
Nautical dawn04:5312° below
Civil dawn05:186° below
Sunrise05:40102° ESE
Golden hour ends06:08sun 6° up
Solar noon11:3265.4° high
Golden hour starts16:56sun 6° up
Sunset17:25258° WSW
Civil dusk17:466° below
Nautical dusk18:1112° below
Astronomical dusk18:3618° below
Day length11 h 45 min

Sun path diagram for El Viejo

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 solstice6789101112131415161718EquinoxDecember solstice7891011121314151617Today
  • June solstice
  • Equinox
  • December solstice
  • Today

On the June solstice the sun reaches 79.2° at solar noon in El Viejo; on the December solstice only 53.9°. 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
January06:1412:0017:4511 h 30 min57.6°
February06:0812:0217:5611 h 48 min67.0°
March05:5211:5517:5912 h 07 min77.8°
April05:3211:4718:0112 h 29 min89.4°
May05:2211:4518:0812 h 45 min82.4°
June05:2411:5018:1612 h 52 min79.2°
July05:3211:5518:1712 h 46 min82.3°
August05:3711:5118:0512 h 29 min89.3°
September05:3711:4117:4512 h 08 min77.8°
October05:3911:3317:2611 h 47 min66.5°
November05:4911:3417:1911 h 30 min57.3°
December06:0511:4617:2811 h 23 min53.9°

A year of daylight in El Viejo

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 Viejo

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

15°collects the most energy over a year: 1721 kWh per kWp.

6°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 15°Best worst-month 6°70°Yearly energyWorst-month energy
  • Yearly energy
  • Worst-month energy
TiltkWh/kWp per yearShare of best yearJune kWh/kWp/dayBest ÷ worst month
0°167097%4.411.3×
6° off-grid best170299%4.291.3×
13° = latitude1720100%4.111.3×
15° year-round best1721100%4.051.4×
30°167297%3.461.6×
45°152689%2.702.1×
60°129575%1.862.9×
70°110664%1.343.8×
90°74443%1.054.0×

A fixed array in El Viejo produces the most over a year at 15°. The design month for an off-grid system is June: at 6° it makes 4.29 kWh per kWp a day, 6% more than at 15°, and costs 1% of the yearly total. Why steep panels win winter.

Off-grid solar in El Viejo at 70°

Daily energy of 1 kWp by month. Bars: panels at 70°. Line: panels at 15° (year-round best).

0123456January: 4.96 (70°)5.0JanFebruary: 4.40 (70°)4.4FebMarch: 3.45 (70°)3.4MarApril: 2.21 (70°)2.2AprMay: 1.55 (70°)1.5MayJune: 1.34 (70°)1.3JunJuly: 1.43 (70°)1.4JulAugust: 1.86 (70°)1.9AugSeptember: 2.60 (70°)2.6SepOctober: 3.25 (70°)3.2OctNovember: 4.39 (70°)4.4NovDecember: 5.02 (70°)5.0Dec15°
MonthSun hours, flatSun hours at 70°kWh/kWp/day at 70°at 15°Mean temp.
January5.606.114.965.1327.2 °C
February6.245.434.405.4127.8 °C
March6.764.273.455.5028.6 °C
April6.432.772.214.9129.3 °C
May5.621.971.554.1528.5 °C
June5.581.701.344.0527.6 °C
July5.871.831.434.2827.9 °C
August5.932.341.864.4728.1 °C
September5.693.222.604.5327.3 °C
October5.233.993.254.4126.7 °C
November5.375.384.394.8326.6 °C
December5.336.175.024.9726.8 °C
Year5.80 avg3.76 avg1106 kWh1721 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 880 Wp of panels at 70°, versus 290 Wp at 15°. Here the lower tilt is the better winter choice — the sun stays high enough. Size your own system.

Row spacing in El Viejo

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.

2.2 mrow pitch at 70°

2.4 mrow pitch at 15°

Row spacing calculator

How El Viejo compares in Nicaragua

Against the other 36 places in Nicaragua with climate data, for a fixed array at its best angle.

2ndof 37 places in Nicaragua for sunshine: 5.80 peak sun hours a day on flat ground.

+9%solar energy a year compared with the average place in Nicaragua: 1,721 against 1,576 kWh per kWp.

+2 mindaylight on the longest day, compared with Managua: 12 h 52 min against 12 h 50 min.

15°best year-round tilt here; across Nicaragua it runs from 13° in Nueva Guinea to 15° in León.

Of the 37 places in Nicaragua, Corinto gets the most sun (5.84 peak sun hours a day) and Nueva Guinea the least (4.44); El Viejo ranks 2nd. In its darkest month, June, 1 kWp of off-grid panels at 70° makes 1.34 kWh a day here, against 1.32 kWh on average in Nicaragua. The shortest day lasts 11 h 23 min, −2 min compared with Managua.

The sunniest places in Nicaragua

Solar forecast for El Viejo, 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 Viejo

What is the best solar panel angle in El Viejo?
For a fixed array facing south, the best year-round tilt in El Viejo is 15°, worth about 1721 kWh per kWp a year. An off-grid system that has to get through June does better at about 6°.
What time is sunrise and sunset in El Viejo today?
On 24 October 2026 the sun rises at 05:40 and sets at 17:25 local time (UTC−6), giving 11 h 45 min of daylight. Solar noon is at 11:32.
How many peak sun hours does El Viejo get?
On a flat surface 5.8 hours a day averaged over the year, from 5.2 in October to 6.8 in March. Panels tilted at 70° receive 1.7 sun hours a day in June.
How high does the sun get in El Viejo?
At solar noon the sun stands 79.2° above the horizon on the June solstice and 53.9° on the December solstice.
Is El Viejo a good place for solar panels?
With 5.8 peak sun hours a day on flat ground, El Viejo ranks 2nd of 37 places in Nicaragua for sunshine. A 1 kWp array at the best angle (15°) makes about 1,721 kWh a year here, 9% more than the average place in Nicaragua.

Places near El Viejo

All places in Nicaragua

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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.