Guerrero · Mexico · 17.64° N · 101.55° W
Solar position in Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo
Sun position, daylight and the best solar panel angle for Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo — computed for 17.64° N, 101.55° W, 13 m above sea level.
The sun right now
Sun in Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo today
Saturday, 24 October 2026 · local time UTC−6
| Event | Time | Direction / height |
|---|---|---|
| Astronomical dawn | 05:29 | sun 18° below horizon |
| Nautical dawn | 05:54 | 12° below |
| Civil dawn | 06:20 | 6° below |
| Sunrise | 06:42 | 102° ESE |
| Golden hour ends | 07:11 | sun 6° up |
| Solar noon | 12:30 | 60.4° high |
| Golden hour starts | 17:48 | sun 6° up |
| Sunset | 18:18 | 258° WSW |
| Civil dusk | 18:40 | 6° below |
| Nautical dusk | 19:06 | 12° below |
| Astronomical dusk | 19:31 | 18° below |
| Day length | 11 h 36 min | |
Sun path diagram for Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo
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 84.2° at solar noon in Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo; on the December solstice only 48.9°. Sunrise swings from 65° ENE in June to 114° ESE in December — a 49° 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 | 07:20 | 12:57 | 18:35 | 11 h 15 min | 52.6° |
| February | 07:09 | 12:59 | 18:50 | 11 h 40 min | 62.0° |
| March | 06:49 | 12:53 | 18:57 | 12 h 08 min | 72.8° |
| April | 06:25 | 12:44 | 19:04 | 12 h 38 min | 84.4° |
| May | 06:12 | 12:42 | 19:13 | 13 h 02 min | 87.3° |
| June | 06:12 | 12:48 | 19:23 | 13 h 11 min | 84.2° |
| July | 06:21 | 12:52 | 19:23 | 13 h 02 min | 87.3° |
| August | 06:30 | 12:49 | 19:08 | 12 h 38 min | 84.3° |
| September | 06:35 | 12:39 | 18:43 | 12 h 08 min | 72.8° |
| October | 06:41 | 12:30 | 18:20 | 11 h 39 min | 61.5° |
| November | 06:54 | 12:32 | 18:09 | 11 h 14 min | 52.3° |
| December | 07:12 | 12:44 | 18:16 | 11 h 04 min | 48.9° |
A year of daylight in Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo
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 Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo
Fixed array facing south (azimuth 180°). Energy per kWp from NASA POWER monthly climate, including clouds, temperature and snow reflection.
19°collects the most energy over a year: 1765 kWh per kWp.
13°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 | September kWh/kWp/day | Best ÷ worst month |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0° | 1684 | 95% | 4.16 | 1.5× |
| 13° off-grid best | 1757 | 100% | 4.25 | 1.4× |
| 15° | 1762 | 100% | 4.25 | 1.4× |
| 18° = latitude | 1765 | 100% | 4.24 | 1.4× |
| 19° year-round best | 1765 | 100% | 4.24 | 1.4× |
| 30° | 1735 | 98% | 4.11 | 1.5× |
| 45° | 1607 | 91% | 3.74 | 1.8× |
| 60° | 1388 | 79% | 3.17 | 2.5× |
| 70° | 1201 | 68% | 2.69 | 3.2× |
| 90° | 811 | 46% | 1.57 | 3.9× |
A fixed array in Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo produces the most over a year at 19°. The design month for an off-grid system is September: at 13° it makes 4.25 kWh per kWp a day, and costs 0% of the yearly total. Why steep panels win winter.
Off-grid solar in Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo at 70°
Daily energy of 1 kWp by month. Bars: panels at 70°. Line: panels at 19° (year-round best).
| Month | Sun hours, flat | Sun hours at 70° | kWh/kWp/day at 70° | at 19° | Mean temp. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 5.01 | 5.96 | 4.88 | 4.88 | 25.5 °C |
| February | 5.93 | 5.76 | 4.71 | 5.44 | 25.5 °C |
| March | 6.87 | 4.89 | 4.00 | 5.81 | 25.7 °C |
| April | 7.29 | 3.37 | 2.73 | 5.63 | 26.5 °C |
| May | 6.64 | 2.40 | 1.92 | 4.85 | 27.3 °C |
| June | 5.92 | 1.97 | 1.55 | 4.24 | 27.1 °C |
| July | 6.05 | 2.14 | 1.69 | 4.38 | 27.1 °C |
| August | 5.78 | 2.65 | 2.13 | 4.38 | 27.1 °C |
| September | 5.24 | 3.32 | 2.69 | 4.24 | 26.6 °C |
| October | 5.20 | 4.39 | 3.58 | 4.53 | 26.7 °C |
| November | 5.11 | 5.71 | 4.66 | 4.86 | 26.3 °C |
| December | 4.87 | 6.17 | 5.04 | 4.84 | 25.7 °C |
| Year | 5.83 avg | 4.05 avg | 1201 kWh | 1765 kWh |
Sizing example. To run a 1 kWh-per-day load through June on LiFePO4 batteries (charge controller, battery and inverter losses included) you need about 760 Wp of panels at 70°, versus 280 Wp at 19°. Here the lower tilt is the better winter choice — the sun stays high enough. Size your own system.
Row spacing in Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo
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.
2.5 mrow pitch at 70°
2.5 mrow pitch at 19°
How Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo compares in Mexico
Against the other 624 places in Mexico with climate data, for a fixed array at its best angle.
199thof 625 places in Mexico for sunshine, shared: 5.83 peak sun hours a day on flat ground.
+1%solar energy a year compared with the average place in Mexico: 1,765 against 1,754 kWh per kWp.
−7 mindaylight on the longest day, compared with Mexico City: 13 h 11 min against 13 h 18 min.
19°best year-round tilt here; across Mexico it runs from 15° in Coatzacoalcos to 30° in Tijuana.
Of the 625 places in Mexico, Ciudad Constitución gets the most sun (6.12 peak sun hours a day) and Poza Rica de Hidalgo and one other place the least (4.59); Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo ranks joint 199th. In its darkest month, June, 1 kWp of off-grid panels at 70° makes 1.56 kWh a day here, against 1.82 kWh on average in Mexico. The shortest day lasts 11 h 04 min, +7 min compared with Mexico City.
Solar forecast for Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo, next 48 hours
Expected output of 1 kWp at 70°, computed from the ICON-EU weather model of the Deutscher Wetterdienst (DWD), Europe.
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A free, live card for Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo: 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.