Solarposition.org

New York · United States · 43.03° N · 78.96° W

Solar position in Grand Island

Sun position, daylight and the best solar panel angle for Grand Island — computed for 43.03° N, 78.96° W, 178 m above sea level.

Sunrise today07:40106° ESE
Sunset today18:18254° WSW
Best panel angle34°year-round, facing south
Off-grid angle66°best for the darkest month

The sun right now

Azimuth180.0°
Elevation35.1°
At solar noon, 12:59Open on the sun map

Sun in Grand Island today

Saturday, 24 October 2026 · local time UTC−4

EventTimeDirection / height
Astronomical dawn06:05sun 18° below horizon
Nautical dawn06:3812° below
Civil dawn07:116° below
Sunrise07:40106° ESE
Golden hour ends08:20sun 6° up
Solar noon12:5935.1° high
Golden hour starts17:39sun 6° up
Sunset18:18254° WSW
Civil dusk18:476° below
Nautical dusk19:2112° below
Astronomical dusk19:5318° below
Day length10 h 38 min

Sun path diagram for Grand Island

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 solstice67891011121314151617181920EquinoxDecember solstice8910111213141516Today
  • June solstice
  • Equinox
  • December solstice
  • Today

On the June solstice the sun reaches 70.4° at solar noon in Grand Island; on the December solstice only 23.6°. Sunrise swings from 56° NE in June to 122° ESE in December — a 66° 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
January07:4012:2717:149 h 33 min27.2°
February07:0412:2917:5510 h 51 min36.6°
March07:1713:2319:2912 h 12 min47.4°
April06:2413:1420:0513 h 41 min59.0°
May05:4613:1220:3814 h 52 min67.3°
June05:3613:1720:5815 h 22 min70.4°
July05:5513:2220:4814 h 53 min67.3°
August06:2813:1820:0813 h 40 min58.9°
September07:0213:0819:1412 h 13 min47.5°
October07:3613:0018:2310 h 47 min36.1°
November07:1512:0116:479 h 31 min27.0°
December07:4412:1416:449 h 00 min23.6°

A year of daylight in Grand Island

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 Grand Island

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

34°collects the most energy over a year: 1261 kWh per kWp.

66°gives the most in the darkest month — the one an off-grid system is sized for.

50%60%70%80%90%100%0°10°20°30°40°50°60°70°80°90°Best year-round 34°Best worst-month 66°70°Yearly energyWorst-month energy
  • Yearly energy
  • Worst-month energy
TiltkWh/kWp per yearShare of best yearDecember kWh/kWp/dayBest ÷ worst month
0°108986%0.895.5×
15°120796%1.214.1×
30°1259100%1.483.2×
34° year-round best1261100%1.533.0×
43° = latitude124999%1.642.7×
45°124399%1.662.6×
60°115992%1.752.2×
66° off-grid best110888%1.762.1×
70°106985%1.762.0×
90°82365%1.641.8×

A fixed array in Grand Island produces the most over a year at 34°. The design month for an off-grid system is December: at 66° it makes 1.76 kWh per kWp a day, 15% more than at 34°, and costs 12% of the yearly total. Why steep panels win winter.

Off-grid solar in Grand Island at 70°

Daily energy of 1 kWp by month. Bars: panels at 70°. Line: panels at 34° (year-round best).

012345January: 2.19 (70°)2.2JanFebruary: 2.87 (70°)2.9FebMarch: 3.45 (70°)3.5MarApril: 3.32 (70°)3.3AprMay: 3.20 (70°)3.2MayJune: 3.07 (70°)3.1JunJuly: 3.15 (70°)3.1JulAugust: 3.37 (70°)3.4AugSeptember: 3.58 (70°)3.6SepOctober: 2.84 (70°)2.8OctNovember: 2.36 (70°)2.4NovDecember: 1.76 (70°)1.8Dec34°
MonthSun hours, flatSun hours at 70°kWh/kWp/day at 70°at 34°Mean temp.
January snow1.382.412.191.90-3.7 °C
February snow2.133.152.872.66-3.6 °C
March snow3.313.833.453.640.3 °C
April4.463.783.324.195.8 °C
May5.453.733.204.5511.9 °C
June5.983.673.074.6517.7 °C
July5.953.813.154.6621.5 °C
August5.274.073.374.4921.3 °C
September4.154.253.584.1117.8 °C
October2.523.292.842.8910.9 °C
November1.612.672.362.174.8 °C
December snow1.111.971.761.53-0.4 °C
Year3.62 avg3.39 avg1069 kWh1261 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 670 Wp of panels at 70°, versus 770 Wp at 34°. The steep array is 13% smaller for the same winter. Size your own system.

Row spacing in Grand Island

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.

5.7 mrow pitch at 70°

4.7 mrow pitch at 34°

Row spacing calculator

How Grand Island compares in the United States

Against the other 3,120 places in the United States with climate data, for a fixed array at its best angle.

3009thof 3,121 places in the United States for sunshine, shared: 3.62 peak sun hours a day on flat ground.

−17%solar energy a year compared with the average place in the United States: 1,262 against 1,515 kWh per kWp.

+16 mindaylight on the longest day, compared with New York City: 15 h 22 min against 15 h 06 min.

34°best year-round tilt here; across the United States it runs from 18° in Honolulu to 53° in Fairbanks.

Of the 3,121 places in the United States, Fortuna Foothills and 2 other places get the most sun (5.96 peak sun hours a day) and Juneau the least (2.38); Grand Island ranks joint 3009th. In its darkest month, December, 1 kWp of off-grid panels at 70° makes 1.76 kWh a day here, against 2.55 kWh on average in the United States. The shortest day lasts 9 h 00 min, −15 min compared with New York City.

The sunniest places in the United States

Solar forecast for Grand Island, 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 Grand Island

What is the best solar panel angle in Grand Island?
For a fixed array facing south, the best year-round tilt in Grand Island is 34°, worth about 1261 kWh per kWp a year. An off-grid system that has to get through December does better at about 66°.
What time is sunrise and sunset in Grand Island today?
On 24 October 2026 the sun rises at 07:40 and sets at 18:18 local time (UTC−4), giving 10 h 38 min of daylight. Solar noon is at 12:59.
How many peak sun hours does Grand Island get?
On a flat surface 3.6 hours a day averaged over the year, from 1.1 in December to 6.0 in June. Panels tilted at 70° receive 2.0 sun hours a day in December.
How high does the sun get in Grand Island?
At solar noon the sun stands 70.4° above the horizon on the June solstice and 23.6° on the December solstice.
Is Grand Island a good place for solar panels?
With 3.6 peak sun hours a day on flat ground, Grand Island ranks joint 3009th of 3,121 places in the United States for sunshine. A 1 kWp array at the best angle (34°) makes about 1,262 kWh a year here, 17% less than the average place in the United States.

Places near Grand Island

All places in United States

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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.