Clarendon · Jamaica · 17.96° N · 77.25° W
Solar position in May Pen
Sun position, daylight and the best solar panel angle for May Pen — computed for 17.96° N, 77.25° W, 81 m above sea level.
The sun right now
Sun in May Pen today
Saturday, 24 October 2026 · local time UTC−5
| Event | Time | Direction / height |
|---|---|---|
| Astronomical dawn | 04:51 | sun 18° below horizon |
| Nautical dawn | 05:17 | 12° below |
| Civil dawn | 05:43 | 6° below |
| Sunrise | 06:05 | 102° ESE |
| Golden hour ends | 06:34 | sun 6° up |
| Solar noon | 11:53 | 60.1° high |
| Golden hour starts | 17:11 | sun 6° up |
| Sunset | 17:40 | 258° WSW |
| Civil dusk | 18:03 | 6° below |
| Nautical dusk | 18:28 | 12° below |
| Astronomical dusk | 18:54 | 18° below |
| Day length | 11 h 36 min | |
Sun path diagram for May Pen
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 84.5° at solar noon in May Pen; on the December solstice only 48.6°. 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 | 06:43 | 12:20 | 17:57 | 11 h 14 min | 52.3° |
| February | 06:32 | 12:22 | 18:12 | 11 h 40 min | 61.7° |
| March | 06:12 | 12:16 | 18:20 | 12 h 08 min | 72.5° |
| April | 05:48 | 12:07 | 18:27 | 12 h 39 min | 84.1° |
| May | 05:34 | 12:05 | 18:36 | 13 h 03 min | 87.7° |
| June | 05:34 | 12:10 | 18:47 | 13 h 12 min | 84.5° |
| July | 05:43 | 12:15 | 18:46 | 13 h 03 min | 87.6° |
| August | 05:52 | 12:12 | 18:31 | 12 h 38 min | 84.0° |
| September | 05:57 | 12:01 | 18:05 | 12 h 08 min | 72.5° |
| October | 06:04 | 11:53 | 17:42 | 11 h 38 min | 61.2° |
| November | 06:18 | 11:54 | 17:31 | 11 h 13 min | 52.0° |
| December | 06:35 | 12:07 | 17:38 | 11 h 03 min | 48.6° |
A year of daylight in May Pen
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 May Pen
Fixed array facing south (azimuth 180°). Energy per kWp from NASA POWER monthly climate, including clouds, temperature and snow reflection.
17°collects the most energy over a year: 1632 kWh per kWp.
23°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 | December kWh/kWp/day | Best ÷ worst month |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0° | 1571 | 96% | 3.33 | 1.5× |
| 15° | 1631 | 100% | 3.99 | 1.3× |
| 17° year-round best | 1632 | 100% | 4.06 | 1.2× |
| 18° = latitude | 1632 | 100% | 4.10 | 1.2× |
| 23° off-grid best | 1625 | 100% | 4.25 | 1.2× |
| 30° | 1597 | 98% | 4.41 | 1.3× |
| 45° | 1473 | 90% | 4.56 | 1.5× |
| 60° | 1268 | 78% | 4.43 | 2.0× |
| 70° | 1095 | 67% | 4.19 | 2.5× |
| 90° | 741 | 45% | 3.39 | 3.2× |
A fixed array in May Pen produces the most over a year at 17°. The design month for an off-grid system is December: at 23° it makes 4.25 kWh per kWp a day, 5% more than at 17°, and costs 0% of the yearly total. Why steep panels win winter.
Off-grid solar in May Pen at 70°
Daily energy of 1 kWp by month. Bars: panels at 70°. Line: panels at 17° (year-round best).
| Month | Sun hours, flat | Sun hours at 70° | kWh/kWp/day at 70° | at 17° | Mean temp. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 4.51 | 5.18 | 4.23 | 4.25 | 26.1 °C |
| February | 5.27 | 4.97 | 4.06 | 4.71 | 26.0 °C |
| March | 5.94 | 4.26 | 3.47 | 4.98 | 26.2 °C |
| April | 6.36 | 3.19 | 2.58 | 4.97 | 26.9 °C |
| May | 6.01 | 2.33 | 1.85 | 4.47 | 27.5 °C |
| June | 6.00 | 2.13 | 1.68 | 4.37 | 27.9 °C |
| July | 6.22 | 2.27 | 1.80 | 4.56 | 28.2 °C |
| August | 5.99 | 2.77 | 2.22 | 4.56 | 28.5 °C |
| September | 5.61 | 3.56 | 2.87 | 4.52 | 28.5 °C |
| October | 4.82 | 4.04 | 3.27 | 4.12 | 28.2 °C |
| November | 4.46 | 4.76 | 3.86 | 4.08 | 27.5 °C |
| December | 4.26 | 5.15 | 4.19 | 4.06 | 26.8 °C |
| Year | 5.45 avg | 3.71 avg | 1095 kWh | 1632 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 700 Wp of panels at 70°, versus 290 Wp at 17°. Here the lower tilt is the better winter choice — the sun stays high enough. Size your own system.
Row spacing in May Pen
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 17°
How May Pen compares in Jamaica
Against the other 11 places in Jamaica with climate data, for a fixed array at its best angle.
3rdof 12 places in Jamaica for sunshine: 5.45 peak sun hours a day on flat ground.
+1%solar energy a year compared with the average place in Jamaica: 1,632 against 1,618 kWh per kWp.
±0 mindaylight on the longest day, compared with Kingston: 13 h 12 min against 13 h 13 min.
17°best year-round tilt here; across Jamaica it runs from 17° in Kingston to 18° in Montego Bay.
Of the 12 places in Jamaica, Savanna-la-Mar gets the most sun (5.54 peak sun hours a day) and Ocho Rios the least (5.25); May Pen ranks 3rd. In its darkest month, June, 1 kWp of off-grid panels at 70° makes 1.69 kWh a day here, against 1.69 kWh on average in Jamaica. The shortest day lasts 11 h 03 min, ±0 min compared with Kingston.
Solar forecast for May Pen, 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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Questions about the sun in May Pen
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Places near May Pen
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A free, live card for May Pen: 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.