Solarposition.org

Ticino · Switzerland · 46.17° N · 8.80° E

Solar position in Locarno

Sun position, daylight and the best solar panel angle for Locarno — computed for 46.17° N, 8.80° E, 206 m above sea level.

Sunrise today07:54106° ESE
Sunset today18:23254° WSW
Best panel angle40°year-round, facing south
Off-grid angle64°best for the darkest month

The sun right now

Azimuth180.0°
Elevation32.0°
At solar noon, 13:08Open on the sun map

Sun in Locarno today

Saturday, 24 October 2026 · local time UTC+2

EventTimeDirection / height
Astronomical dawn06:13sun 18° below horizon
Nautical dawn06:4812° below
Civil dawn07:236° below
Sunrise07:54106° ESE
Golden hour ends08:36sun 6° up
Solar noon13:0832.0° high
Golden hour starts17:41sun 6° up
Sunset18:23254° WSW
Civil dusk18:536° below
Nautical dusk19:2812° below
Astronomical dusk20:0318° below
Day length10 h 29 min

Sun path diagram for Locarno

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 solstice6789101112131415161718192021EquinoxDecember solstice910111213141516Today
  • June solstice
  • Equinox
  • December solstice
  • Today

On the June solstice the sun reaches 67.3° at solar noon in Locarno; on the December solstice only 20.4°. Sunrise swings from 54° NE in June to 124° SE in December — a 70° 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
January07:5912:3617:139 h 14 min24.0°
February07:1812:3817:5910 h 41 min33.4°
March06:2612:3218:3812 h 12 min44.2°
April06:2713:2320:1913 h 52 min55.8°
May05:4513:2120:5715 h 12 min64.1°
June05:3313:2621:1915 h 47 min67.3°
July05:5413:3121:0715 h 14 min64.2°
August06:3113:2720:2313 h 52 min55.9°
September07:1013:1719:2412 h 14 min44.4°
October07:4913:0918:2810 h 38 min33.1°
November07:3312:1016:479 h 13 min23.9°
December08:0412:2216:418 h 37 min20.4°

A year of daylight in Locarno

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 Locarno

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

40°collects the most energy over a year: 1346 kWh per kWp.

64°gives the most in the darkest month — the one an off-grid system is sized for.

30%40%50%60%70%80%90%100%0°10°20°30°40°50°60°70°80°90°Best year-round 40°Best worst-month 64°70°Yearly energyWorst-month energy
  • Yearly energy
  • Worst-month energy
TiltkWh/kWp per yearShare of best yearDecember kWh/kWp/dayBest ÷ worst month
0°108781%0.975.1×
15°124492%1.543.3×
30°133199%2.032.4×
40° year-round best1346100%2.292.1×
45°1342100%2.391.9×
46° = latitude134099%2.411.9×
60°127795%2.611.6×
64° off-grid best124893%2.641.6×
70°119489%2.661.5×
90°94870%2.541.6×

A fixed array in Locarno produces the most over a year at 40°. The design month for an off-grid system is December: at 64° it makes 2.64 kWh per kWp a day, 15% more than at 40°, and costs 7% of the yearly total. Why steep panels win winter.

Off-grid solar in Locarno at 70°

Daily energy of 1 kWp by month. Bars: panels at 70°. Line: panels at 40° (year-round best).

012345January: 3.13 (70°)3.1JanFebruary: 3.59 (70°)3.6FebMarch: 3.89 (70°)3.9MarApril: 3.45 (70°)3.4AprMay: 3.14 (70°)3.1MayJune: 3.24 (70°)3.2JunJuly: 3.37 (70°)3.4JulAugust: 3.51 (70°)3.5AugSeptember: 3.62 (70°)3.6SepOctober: 3.14 (70°)3.1OctNovember: 2.56 (70°)2.6NovDecember: 2.66 (70°)2.7Dec40°
MonthSun hours, flatSun hours at 70°kWh/kWp/day at 70°at 40°Mean temp.
January snow1.513.423.132.69-3.0 °C
February snow2.393.953.593.41-1.9 °C
March3.604.343.894.172.2 °C
April4.403.933.454.186.8 °C
May5.053.663.144.2011.2 °C
June5.903.843.244.5715.8 °C
July5.984.023.374.6917.7 °C
August5.114.163.514.4617.2 °C
September3.924.213.624.0713.1 °C
October2.523.593.143.178.5 °C
November1.522.872.562.362.9 °C
December snow1.222.932.662.29-1.8 °C
Year3.60 avg3.74 avg1194 kWh1346 kWh

Sizing example. To run a 1 kWh-per-day load through November on LiFePO4 batteries (charge controller, battery and inverter losses included) you need about 460 Wp of panels at 70°, versus 520 Wp at 40°. The steep array is 11% smaller for the same winter. Size your own system.

Row spacing in Locarno

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.

6.7 mrow pitch at 70°

5.7 mrow pitch at 40°

Row spacing calculator

How Locarno compares in Switzerland

Against the other 72 places in Switzerland with climate data, for a fixed array at its best angle.

11thof 73 places in Switzerland for sunshine, shared: 3.60 peak sun hours a day on flat ground.

+5%solar energy a year compared with the average place in Switzerland: 1,346 against 1,282 kWh per kWp.

−10 mindaylight on the longest day, compared with Zürich: 15 h 47 min against 15 h 57 min.

40°best year-round tilt here; across Switzerland it runs from 38° in Zürich to 40° in Bellinzona.

Of the 73 places in Switzerland, Martigny-Ville and one other place get the most sun (3.64 peak sun hours a day) and Schaffhausen the least (3.37); Locarno ranks joint 11th. In its darkest month, November, 1 kWp of off-grid panels at 70° makes 2.56 kWh a day here, against 2.10 kWh on average in Switzerland. The shortest day lasts 8 h 37 min, +10 min compared with Zürich.

The sunniest places in Switzerland

Solar forecast for Locarno, 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 Locarno

What is the best solar panel angle in Locarno?
For a fixed array facing south, the best year-round tilt in Locarno is 40°, worth about 1346 kWh per kWp a year. An off-grid system that has to get through December does better at about 64°.
What time is sunrise and sunset in Locarno today?
On 24 October 2026 the sun rises at 07:54 and sets at 18:23 local time (UTC+2), giving 10 h 29 min of daylight. Solar noon is at 13:08.
How many peak sun hours does Locarno get?
On a flat surface 3.6 hours a day averaged over the year, from 1.2 in December to 6.0 in July. Panels tilted at 70° receive 2.9 sun hours a day in November.
How high does the sun get in Locarno?
At solar noon the sun stands 67.3° above the horizon on the June solstice and 20.4° on the December solstice.
Is Locarno a good place for solar panels?
With 3.6 peak sun hours a day on flat ground, Locarno ranks joint 11th of 73 places in Switzerland for sunshine. A 1 kWp array at the best angle (40°) makes about 1,346 kWh a year here, 5% more than the average place in Switzerland.

Places near Locarno

All places in Switzerland

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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.