Grand Est · France · 48.18° N · 6.45° E
Solar position in Épinal
Sun position, daylight and the best solar panel angle for Épinal — computed for 48.18° N, 6.45° E, 388 m above sea level.
The sun right now
Sun in Épinal today
Saturday, 24 October 2026 · local time UTC+2
| Event | Time | Direction / height |
|---|---|---|
| Astronomical dawn | 06:22 | sun 18° below horizon |
| Nautical dawn | 06:58 | 12° below |
| Civil dawn | 07:35 | 6° below |
| Sunrise | 08:07 | 107° ESE |
| Golden hour ends | 08:51 | sun 6° up |
| Solar noon | 13:18 | 30.0° high |
| Golden hour starts | 17:45 | sun 6° up |
| Sunset | 18:29 | 253° WSW |
| Civil dusk | 19:00 | 6° below |
| Nautical dusk | 19:37 | 12° below |
| Astronomical dusk | 20:13 | 18° below |
| Day length | 10 h 22 min | |
Sun path diagram for Épinal
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 65.3° at solar noon in Épinal; on the December solstice only 18.4°. Sunrise swings from 52° NE in June to 125° SE in December — a 73° 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 | 08:15 | 12:45 | 17:16 | 9 h 01 min | 22.0° |
| February | 07:30 | 12:48 | 18:05 | 10 h 35 min | 31.4° |
| March | 06:35 | 12:41 | 18:48 | 12 h 13 min | 42.2° |
| April | 06:33 | 13:33 | 20:33 | 14 h 00 min | 53.8° |
| May | 05:47 | 13:30 | 21:14 | 15 h 27 min | 62.1° |
| June | 05:33 | 13:36 | 21:38 | 16 h 05 min | 65.3° |
| July | 05:56 | 13:40 | 21:24 | 15 h 28 min | 62.2° |
| August | 06:36 | 13:37 | 20:37 | 14 h 00 min | 53.8° |
| September | 07:19 | 13:27 | 19:34 | 12 h 15 min | 42.4° |
| October | 08:02 | 13:18 | 18:34 | 10 h 32 min | 31.0° |
| November | 07:49 | 12:19 | 16:49 | 9 h 00 min | 21.9° |
| December | 08:21 | 12:32 | 16:42 | 8 h 21 min | 18.4° |
A year of daylight in Épinal
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 Épinal
Fixed array facing south (azimuth 180°). Energy per kWp from NASA POWER monthly climate, including clouds, temperature and snow reflection.
37°collects the most energy over a year: 1202 kWh per kWp.
70°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 | December kWh/kWp/day | Best ÷ worst month |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0° | 995 | 83% | 0.63 | 7.7× |
| 15° | 1126 | 94% | 0.96 | 5.2× |
| 30° | 1193 | 99% | 1.24 | 3.9× |
| 37° year-round best | 1202 | 100% | 1.35 | 3.5× |
| 45° | 1193 | 99% | 1.45 | 3.1× |
| 48° = latitude | 1185 | 99% | 1.48 | 2.9× |
| 60° | 1127 | 94% | 1.56 | 2.5× |
| 70° off-grid best | 1047 | 87% | 1.58 | 2.3× |
| 90° | 819 | 68% | 1.49 | 1.9× |
A fixed array in Épinal produces the most over a year at 37°. The design month for an off-grid system is December: at 70° it makes 1.58 kWh per kWp a day, 17% more than at 37°, and costs 13% of the yearly total. Why steep panels win winter.
Off-grid solar in Épinal at 70°
Daily energy of 1 kWp by month. Bars: panels at 70°. Line: panels at 37° (year-round best).
| Month | Sun hours, flat | Sun hours at 70° | kWh/kWp/day at 70° | at 37° | Mean temp. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January snow | 1.02 | 2.08 | 1.86 | 1.60 | 0.5 °C |
| February | 1.80 | 2.83 | 2.53 | 2.42 | 1.2 °C |
| March | 3.06 | 3.77 | 3.33 | 3.51 | 4.8 °C |
| April | 4.44 | 4.12 | 3.58 | 4.29 | 9.1 °C |
| May | 5.17 | 3.86 | 3.29 | 4.38 | 13.1 °C |
| June | 5.89 | 3.96 | 3.32 | 4.68 | 17.2 °C |
| July | 5.71 | 3.99 | 3.33 | 4.60 | 19.1 °C |
| August | 4.86 | 4.09 | 3.42 | 4.31 | 18.7 °C |
| September | 3.71 | 4.12 | 3.52 | 3.89 | 14.6 °C |
| October | 2.23 | 3.20 | 2.77 | 2.74 | 10.2 °C |
| November | 1.18 | 2.14 | 1.88 | 1.70 | 5.0 °C |
| December | 0.82 | 1.78 | 1.58 | 1.35 | 1.4 °C |
| Year | 3.33 avg | 3.33 avg | 1047 kWh | 1202 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 750 Wp of panels at 70°, versus 870 Wp at 37°. The steep array is 15% smaller for the same winter. Size your own system.
Row spacing in Épinal
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.
7.6 mrow pitch at 70°
6.0 mrow pitch at 37°
How Épinal compares in France
Against the other 656 places in France with climate data, for a fixed array at its best angle.
293rdof 657 places in France for sunshine, shared: 3.33 peak sun hours a day on flat ground.
−5%solar energy a year compared with the average place in France: 1,202 against 1,261 kWh per kWp.
−6 mindaylight on the longest day, compared with Paris: 16 h 05 min against 16 h 11 min.
37°best year-round tilt here; across France it runs from 33° in Ajaccio to 39° in Lille.
Of the 657 places in France, Marseille 12 and 5 other places get the most sun (4.46 peak sun hours a day) and Maubeuge and one other place the least (3.10); Épinal ranks joint 293rd. In its darkest month, December, 1 kWp of off-grid panels at 70° makes 1.58 kWh a day here, against 1.86 kWh on average in France. The shortest day lasts 8 h 21 min, +6 min compared with Paris.
Solar forecast for Épinal, 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 Épinal
What is the best solar panel angle in Épinal?
What time is sunrise and sunset in Épinal today?
How many peak sun hours does Épinal get?
How high does the sun get in Épinal?
Is Épinal a good place for solar panels?
Places near Épinal
Put this on your site
A free, live card for Épinal: 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.