Solarposition.org

England · United Kingdom · 54.84° N · 1.46° W

Solar position in Houghton-Le-Spring

Sun position, daylight and the best solar panel angle for Houghton-Le-Spring — computed for 54.84° N, 1.46° W, 79 m above sea level.

Sunrise today07:52110° ESE
Sunset today17:46250° WSW
Best panel angle42°year-round, facing south
Off-grid angle76°best for the darkest month

The sun right now

Azimuth180.0°
Elevation23.3°
At solar noon, 12:49Open on the sun map

Sun in Houghton-Le-Spring today

Saturday, 24 October 2026 · local time UTC+1

EventTimeDirection / height
Astronomical dawn05:51sun 18° below horizon
Nautical dawn06:3312° below
Civil dawn07:156° below
Sunrise07:52110° ESE
Golden hour ends08:45sun 6° up
Solar noon12:4923.3° high
Golden hour starts16:53sun 6° up
Sunset17:46250° WSW
Civil dusk18:236° below
Nautical dusk19:0512° below
Astronomical dusk19:4718° below
Day length9 h 54 min

Sun path diagram for Houghton-Le-Spring

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 solstice56789101112131415161718192021EquinoxDecember solstice9101112131415Today
  • June solstice
  • Equinox
  • December solstice
  • Today

On the June solstice the sun reaches 58.6° at solar noon in Houghton-Le-Spring; on the December solstice only 11.8°. Sunrise swings from 45° NE in June to 132° SE in December — a 87° 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
January08:1312:1716:218 h 08 min15.4°
February07:1412:1917:2510 h 11 min24.7°
March06:0512:1318:2112 h 15 min35.5°
April05:4913:0420:2114 h 32 min47.1°
May04:4913:0221:1616 h 27 min55.4°
June04:2713:0721:4717 h 20 min58.6°
July04:5613:1221:2616 h 30 min55.6°
August05:5113:0820:2414 h 33 min47.2°
September06:4912:5819:0712 h 18 min35.8°
October07:4612:5017:5310 h 06 min24.4°
November07:4811:5115:548 h 06 min15.2°
December08:2712:0315:397 h 12 min11.8°

A year of daylight in Houghton-Le-Spring

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 Houghton-Le-Spring

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

42°collects the most energy over a year: 1010 kWh per kWp.

76°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 42°Best worst-month 76°70°Yearly energyWorst-month energy
  • Yearly energy
  • Worst-month energy
TiltkWh/kWp per yearShare of best yearDecember kWh/kWp/dayBest ÷ worst month
0°79679%0.3113.4×
15°91991%0.577.7×
30°99298%0.805.6×
42° year-round best1010100%0.954.6×
45°1009100%0.984.4×
55° = latitude98998%1.063.8×
60°97096%1.103.5×
70°91591%1.133.1×
76° off-grid best87186%1.142.8×
90°74173%1.112.4×

A fixed array in Houghton-Le-Spring produces the most over a year at 42°. The design month for an off-grid system is December: at 76° it makes 1.14 kWh per kWp a day, 20% more than at 42°, and costs 14% of the yearly total. Why steep panels win winter.

Off-grid solar in Houghton-Le-Spring at 70°

Daily energy of 1 kWp by month. Bars: panels at 70°. Line: panels at 42° (year-round best).

012345January: 1.35 (70°)1.4JanFebruary: 2.01 (70°)2.0FebMarch: 2.86 (70°)2.9MarApril: 3.42 (70°)3.4AprMay: 3.50 (70°)3.5MayJune: 3.11 (70°)3.1JunJuly: 3.12 (70°)3.1JulAugust: 3.01 (70°)3.0AugSeptember: 2.91 (70°)2.9SepOctober: 2.13 (70°)2.1OctNovember: 1.49 (70°)1.5NovDecember: 1.13 (70°)1.1Dec42°
MonthSun hours, flatSun hours at 70°kWh/kWp/day at 70°at 42°Mean temp.
January0.591.541.351.164.0 °C
February1.242.282.011.884.0 °C
March2.383.242.862.935.1 °C
April3.833.923.423.897.3 °C
May4.904.053.504.3410.1 °C
June4.893.673.114.0213.0 °C
July4.743.703.123.9615.0 °C
August3.883.553.013.5514.8 °C
September2.843.402.913.1112.8 °C
October1.532.472.132.0610.0 °C
November0.741.711.491.316.9 °C
December0.441.301.130.954.7 °C
Year2.67 avg2.90 avg915 kWh1010 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 1,040 Wp of panels at 70°, versus 1,240 Wp at 42°. The steep array is 16% smaller for the same winter. Size your own system.

Row spacing in Houghton-Le-Spring

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.

13.2 mrow pitch at 70°

10.4 mrow pitch at 42°

Row spacing calculator

How Houghton-Le-Spring compares in the United Kingdom

Against the other 801 places in the United Kingdom with climate data, for a fixed array at its best angle.

700thof 802 places in the United Kingdom for sunshine, shared: 2.67 peak sun hours a day on flat ground.

−5%solar energy a year compared with the average place in the United Kingdom: 1,010 against 1,058 kWh per kWp.

+42 mindaylight on the longest day, compared with London: 17 h 20 min against 16 h 38 min.

42°best year-round tilt here; across the United Kingdom it runs from 38° in Plymouth to 45° in Elgin.

Of the 802 places in the United Kingdom, Sandown and 2 other places get the most sun (3.23 peak sun hours a day) and Fort William the least (2.32); Houghton-Le-Spring ranks joint 700th. In its darkest month, December, 1 kWp of off-grid panels at 70° makes 1.13 kWh a day here, against 1.32 kWh on average in the United Kingdom. The shortest day lasts 7 h 12 min, −38 min compared with London.

The sunniest places in the United Kingdom

Solar forecast for Houghton-Le-Spring, 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 Houghton-Le-Spring

What is the best solar panel angle in Houghton-Le-Spring?
For a fixed array facing south, the best year-round tilt in Houghton-Le-Spring is 42°, worth about 1010 kWh per kWp a year. An off-grid system that has to get through December does better at about 76°.
What time is sunrise and sunset in Houghton-Le-Spring today?
On 24 October 2026 the sun rises at 07:52 and sets at 17:46 local time (UTC+1), giving 9 h 54 min of daylight. Solar noon is at 12:49.
How many peak sun hours does Houghton-Le-Spring get?
On a flat surface 2.7 hours a day averaged over the year, from 0.4 in December to 4.9 in May. Panels tilted at 70° receive 1.3 sun hours a day in December.
How high does the sun get in Houghton-Le-Spring?
At solar noon the sun stands 58.6° above the horizon on the June solstice and 11.8° on the December solstice.
Is Houghton-Le-Spring a good place for solar panels?
With 2.7 peak sun hours a day on flat ground, Houghton-Le-Spring ranks joint 700th of 802 places in the United Kingdom for sunshine. A 1 kWp array at the best angle (42°) makes about 1,010 kWh a year here, 5% less than the average place in the United Kingdom.

Places near Houghton-Le-Spring

All places in United Kingdom

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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.