Solarposition.org

Alberta · Canada · 56.73° N · 111.38° W

Solar position in Fort McMurray

Sun position, daylight and the best solar panel angle for Fort McMurray — computed for 56.73° N, 111.38° W, 258 m above sea level.

Sunrise today08:18111° ESE
Sunset today18:00249° WSW
Best panel angle49°year-round, facing south
Off-grid angle83°best for the darkest month

The sun right now

Azimuth180.0°
Elevation21.4°
At solar noon, 13:09Open on the sun map

Sun in Fort McMurray today

Saturday, 24 October 2026 · local time UTC−6

EventTimeDirection / height
Astronomical dawn06:10sun 18° below horizon
Nautical dawn06:5412° below
Civil dawn07:386° below
Sunrise08:18111° ESE
Golden hour ends09:13sun 6° up
Solar noon13:0921.4° high
Golden hour starts17:04sun 6° up
Sunset18:00249° WSW
Civil dusk18:396° below
Nautical dusk19:2312° below
Astronomical dusk20:0718° below
Day length9 h 42 min

Sun path diagram for Fort McMurray

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 solstice5678910111213141516171819202122EquinoxDecember solstice101112131415Today
  • June solstice
  • Equinox
  • December solstice
  • Today

On the June solstice the sun reaches 56.7° at solar noon in Fort McMurray; on the December solstice only 9.9°. Sunrise swings from 42° NE in June to 135° SE in December — a 93° 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
January08:4212:3716:327 h 50 min13.6°
February07:3712:3917:4110 h 04 min23.0°
March07:2413:3219:4212 h 18 min33.8°
April06:0213:2420:4714 h 45 min45.4°
May04:5713:2221:4716 h 51 min53.6°
June04:3213:2722:2117 h 49 min56.7°
July05:0513:3121:5616 h 51 min53.6°
August06:0613:2820:4914 h 43 min45.2°
September07:0913:1819:2612 h 18 min33.8°
October08:1113:0918:079 h 56 min22.4°
November08:1812:1116:037 h 45 min13.3°
December09:0012:2315:476 h 47 min9.9°

A year of daylight in Fort McMurray

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 Fort McMurray

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

49°collects the most energy over a year: 1294 kWh per kWp.

83°gives the most in the darkest month — the one an off-grid system is sized for.

10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%100%0°10°20°30°40°50°60°70°80°90°Best year-round 49°Best worst-month 83°70°Yearly energyWorst-month energy
  • Yearly energy
  • Worst-month energy
TiltkWh/kWp per yearShare of best yearDecember kWh/kWp/dayBest ÷ worst month
0°93172%0.3115.2×
15°111586%0.687.5×
30°123896%1.035.1×
45°1292100%1.313.9×
49° year-round best1294100%1.373.7×
57° = latitude128399%1.483.4×
60°127498%1.513.3×
70°122395%1.593.2×
83° off-grid best111486%1.633.0×
90°103680%1.612.9×

A fixed array in Fort McMurray produces the most over a year at 49°. The design month for an off-grid system is December: at 83° it makes 1.63 kWh per kWp a day, 19% more than at 49°, and costs 14% of the yearly total. Why steep panels win winter.

Off-grid solar in Fort McMurray at 70°

Daily energy of 1 kWp by month. Bars: panels at 70°. Line: panels at 49° (year-round best).

0123456January: 2.21 (70°)2.2JanFebruary: 3.68 (70°)3.7FebMarch: 5.02 (70°)5.0MarApril: 4.70 (70°)4.7AprMay: 4.15 (70°)4.1MayJune: 3.65 (70°)3.6JunJuly: 3.64 (70°)3.6JulAugust: 3.62 (70°)3.6AugSeptember: 3.54 (70°)3.5SepOctober: 2.66 (70°)2.7OctNovember: 1.81 (70°)1.8NovDecember: 1.59 (70°)1.6Dec49°
MonthSun hours, flatSun hours at 70°kWh/kWp/day at 70°at 49°Mean temp.
January snow0.682.302.211.94-17.8 °C
February snow1.633.843.683.38-16.2 °C
March snow3.185.365.024.88-9.6 °C
April snow4.555.224.705.050.4 °C
May5.594.774.154.948.9 °C
June5.634.303.654.4914.3 °C
July5.424.333.644.4216.8 °C
August4.404.263.624.1515.0 °C
September3.064.063.543.729.0 °C
October1.602.962.662.590.8 °C
November snow0.701.961.811.61-8.7 °C
December snow0.431.681.591.37-16.3 °C
Year3.08 avg3.75 avg1223 kWh1294 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 740 Wp of panels at 70°, versus 860 Wp at 49°. The steep array is 14% smaller for the same winter. Size your own system.

Row spacing in Fort McMurray

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.

16.7 mrow pitch at 70°

14.2 mrow pitch at 49°

Row spacing calculator

How Fort McMurray compares in Canada

Against the other 295 places in Canada with climate data, for a fixed array at its best angle.

288thof 296 places in Canada for sunshine: 3.08 peak sun hours a day on flat ground.

±0%solar energy a year compared with the average place in Canada: 1,294 against 1,292 kWh per kWp.

+2 h 22 mindaylight on the longest day, compared with Toronto: 17 h 49 min against 15 h 27 min.

49°best year-round tilt here; across Canada it runs from 34° in Hamilton to 52° in Yellowknife.

Of the 296 places in Canada, Medicine Hat and one other place get the most sun (3.84 peak sun hours a day) and Terrace the least (2.57); Fort McMurray ranks 288th. In its darkest month, December, 1 kWp of off-grid panels at 70° makes 1.59 kWh a day here, against 1.88 kWh on average in Canada. The shortest day lasts 6 h 47 min, −2 h 09 min compared with Toronto.

The sunniest places in Canada

Solar forecast for Fort McMurray, 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 Fort McMurray

What is the best solar panel angle in Fort McMurray?
For a fixed array facing south, the best year-round tilt in Fort McMurray is 49°, worth about 1294 kWh per kWp a year. An off-grid system that has to get through December does better at about 83°.
What time is sunrise and sunset in Fort McMurray today?
On 24 October 2026 the sun rises at 08:18 and sets at 18:00 local time (UTC−6), giving 9 h 42 min of daylight. Solar noon is at 13:09.
How many peak sun hours does Fort McMurray get?
On a flat surface 3.1 hours a day averaged over the year, from 0.4 in December to 5.6 in June. Panels tilted at 70° receive 1.7 sun hours a day in December.
How high does the sun get in Fort McMurray?
At solar noon the sun stands 56.7° above the horizon on the June solstice and 9.9° on the December solstice.
Is Fort McMurray a good place for solar panels?
With 3.1 peak sun hours a day on flat ground, Fort McMurray ranks 288th of 296 places in Canada for sunshine. A 1 kWp array at the best angle (49°) makes about 1,294 kWh a year here, as much as the average place in Canada.

Places near Fort McMurray

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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.