Solarposition.org

Michigan · United States · 42.96° N · 85.67° W

Solar position in Grand Rapids

Sun position, daylight and the best solar panel angle for Grand Rapids — computed for 42.96° N, 85.67° W, 195 m above sea level.

Sunrise today08:07106° ESE
Sunset today18:45254° 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, 13:26Open on the sun map

Sun in Grand Rapids today

Saturday, 24 October 2026 · local time UTC−4

EventTimeDirection / height
Astronomical dawn06:32sun 18° below horizon
Nautical dawn07:0512° below
Civil dawn07:386° below
Sunrise08:07106° ESE
Golden hour ends08:46sun 6° up
Solar noon13:2635.1° high
Golden hour starts18:06sun 6° up
Sunset18:45254° WSW
Civil dusk19:146° below
Nautical dusk19:4712° below
Astronomical dusk20:2018° below
Day length10 h 39 min

Sun path diagram for Grand Rapids

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 solstice789101112131415161718192021EquinoxDecember solstice91011121314151617Today
  • June solstice
  • Equinox
  • December solstice
  • Today

On the June solstice the sun reaches 70.5° at solar noon in Grand Rapids; 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
January08:0712:5417:419 h 34 min27.3°
February07:3112:5618:2110 h 51 min36.7°
March07:4313:4919:5612 h 12 min47.5°
April06:5113:4120:3213 h 41 min59.1°
May06:1313:3921:0514 h 52 min67.3°
June06:0313:4421:2515 h 22 min70.5°
July06:2213:4921:1414 h 52 min67.4°
August06:5513:4520:3513 h 40 min59.0°
September07:2913:3519:4112 h 13 min47.5°
October08:0313:2718:5010 h 47 min36.2°
November07:4212:2817:149 h 32 min27.0°
December08:1012:4017:119 h 00 min23.6°

A year of daylight in Grand Rapids

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 Rapids

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: 1305 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°112686%0.895.7×
15°124996%1.224.3×
30°1303100%1.493.4×
34° year-round best1305100%1.553.2×
43° = latitude129199%1.662.8×
45°128598%1.682.7×
60°119592%1.772.2×
66° off-grid best114187%1.782.1×
70°110084%1.782.1×
90°84064%1.651.7×

A fixed array in Grand Rapids produces the most over a year at 34°. The design month for an off-grid system is December: at 66° it makes 1.78 kWh per kWp a day, 15% more than at 34°, and costs 13% of the yearly total. Why steep panels win winter.

Off-grid solar in Grand Rapids at 70°

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

0123456January: 2.16 (70°)2.2JanFebruary: 3.01 (70°)3.0FebMarch: 3.54 (70°)3.5MarApril: 3.48 (70°)3.5AprMay: 3.22 (70°)3.2MayJune: 3.15 (70°)3.1JunJuly: 3.29 (70°)3.3JulAugust: 3.43 (70°)3.4AugSeptember: 3.67 (70°)3.7SepOctober: 3.02 (70°)3.0OctNovember: 2.44 (70°)2.4NovDecember: 1.78 (70°)1.8Dec34°
MonthSun hours, flatSun hours at 70°kWh/kWp/day at 70°at 34°Mean temp.
January snow1.362.372.161.87-5.0 °C
February snow2.213.293.012.78-4.4 °C
March3.543.943.543.880.8 °C
April4.683.983.484.407.0 °C
May5.533.773.224.5913.2 °C
June6.223.773.154.8218.7 °C
July6.313.993.294.9221.7 °C
August5.364.133.434.5821.2 °C
September4.234.343.674.2117.4 °C
October2.633.483.023.0610.2 °C
November1.652.752.442.233.7 °C
December snow1.111.971.781.55-2.0 °C
Year3.74 avg3.48 avg1100 kWh1305 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 660 Wp of panels at 70°, versus 760 Wp at 34°. The steep array is 13% smaller for the same winter. Size your own system.

Row spacing in Grand Rapids

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 Rapids 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.

2840thof 3,121 places in the United States for sunshine, shared: 3.74 peak sun hours a day on flat ground.

−14%solar energy a year compared with the average place in the United States: 1,305 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 Rapids ranks joint 2840th. In its darkest month, December, 1 kWp of off-grid panels at 70° makes 1.78 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 Rapids, 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 Rapids

What is the best solar panel angle in Grand Rapids?
For a fixed array facing south, the best year-round tilt in Grand Rapids is 34°, worth about 1305 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 Rapids today?
On 24 October 2026 the sun rises at 08:07 and sets at 18:45 local time (UTC−4), giving 10 h 39 min of daylight. Solar noon is at 13:26.
How many peak sun hours does Grand Rapids get?
On a flat surface 3.7 hours a day averaged over the year, from 1.1 in December to 6.3 in July. Panels tilted at 70° receive 2.0 sun hours a day in December.
How high does the sun get in Grand Rapids?
At solar noon the sun stands 70.5° above the horizon on the June solstice and 23.6° on the December solstice.
Is Grand Rapids a good place for solar panels?
With 3.7 peak sun hours a day on flat ground, Grand Rapids ranks joint 2840th of 3,121 places in the United States for sunshine. A 1 kWp array at the best angle (34°) makes about 1,305 kWh a year here, 14% less than the average place in the United States.

Places near Grand Rapids

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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.