Solarposition.org

Saint James Parish · Jamaica · 18.47° N · 77.92° W

Solar position in Montego Bay

Sun position, daylight and the best solar panel angle for Montego Bay — computed for 18.47° N, 77.92° W, 12 m above sea level.

Sunrise today06:08102° ESE
Sunset today17:43258° WSW
Best panel angle18°year-round, facing south
Off-grid angle22°best for the darkest month

The sun right now

Azimuth180.0°
Elevation59.6°
At solar noon, 11:55Open on the sun map

Sun in Montego Bay today

Saturday, 24 October 2026 · local time UTC−5

EventTimeDirection / height
Astronomical dawn04:54sun 18° below horizon
Nautical dawn05:2012° below
Civil dawn05:466° below
Sunrise06:08102° ESE
Golden hour ends06:37sun 6° up
Solar noon11:5559.6° high
Golden hour starts17:13sun 6° up
Sunset17:43258° WSW
Civil dusk18:056° below
Nautical dusk18:3112° below
Astronomical dusk18:5618° below
Day length11 h 35 min

Sun path diagram for Montego Bay

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 solstice6789101112131415161718EquinoxDecember solstice7891011121314151617Today
  • June solstice
  • Equinox
  • December solstice
  • Today

On the June solstice the sun reaches 85.0° at solar noon in Montego Bay; on the December solstice only 48.1°. Sunrise swings from 65° ENE in June to 114° ESE in December — a 50° 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
January06:4612:2317:5911 h 12 min51.8°
February06:3512:2518:1411 h 39 min61.2°
March06:1412:1818:2212 h 08 min72.0°
April05:5012:1018:3012 h 40 min83.6°
May05:3612:0818:4013 h 04 min88.2°
June05:3612:1318:5013 h 14 min85.0°
July05:4512:1818:5013 h 05 min88.1°
August05:5412:1418:3412 h 39 min83.5°
September06:0012:0418:0812 h 08 min72.0°
October06:0711:5617:4411 h 38 min60.7°
November06:2111:5717:3311 h 12 min51.5°
December06:3912:0917:4011 h 01 min48.1°

A year of daylight in Montego Bay

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 Montego Bay

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

18°collects the most energy over a year: 1610 kWh per kWp.

22°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 18°Best worst-month 22°70°Yearly energyWorst-month energy
  • Yearly energy
  • Worst-month energy
TiltkWh/kWp per yearShare of best yearDecember kWh/kWp/dayBest ÷ worst month
0°154896%3.291.5×
15°1609100%3.951.2×
18° year-round best = latitude1610100%4.051.2×
22° off-grid best1606100%4.171.2×
30°157898%4.361.3×
45°145991%4.511.5×
60°125978%4.391.9×
70°109068%4.162.4×
90°74046%3.373.2×

A fixed array in Montego Bay produces the most over a year at 18°. The design month for an off-grid system is December: at 22° it makes 4.17 kWh per kWp a day, 3% more than at 18°, and costs 0% of the yearly total. Why steep panels win winter.

Off-grid solar in Montego Bay at 70°

Daily energy of 1 kWp by month. Bars: panels at 70°. Line: panels at 18° (year-round best).

0123456January: 4.12 (70°)4.1JanFebruary: 3.99 (70°)4.0FebMarch: 3.46 (70°)3.5MarApril: 2.59 (70°)2.6AprMay: 1.87 (70°)1.9MayJune: 1.70 (70°)1.7JunJuly: 1.82 (70°)1.8JulAugust: 2.23 (70°)2.2AugSeptember: 2.86 (70°)2.9SepOctober: 3.28 (70°)3.3OctNovember: 3.83 (70°)3.8NovDecember: 4.16 (70°)4.2Dec18°
MonthSun hours, flatSun hours at 70°kWh/kWp/day at 70°at 18°Mean temp.
January4.395.034.124.1725.8 °C
February5.164.883.994.6425.9 °C
March5.854.243.464.9226.2 °C
April6.263.212.594.8927.0 °C
May5.952.361.874.4127.6 °C
June5.912.151.704.2928.0 °C
July6.102.291.824.4628.4 °C
August5.922.802.234.5028.7 °C
September5.543.562.864.4728.6 °C
October4.794.053.284.1228.1 °C
November4.404.713.834.0627.2 °C
December4.205.104.164.0526.5 °C
Year5.37 avg3.69 avg1090 kWh1610 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 690 Wp of panels at 70°, versus 290 Wp at 18°. Here the lower tilt is the better winter choice — the sun stays high enough. Size your own system.

Row spacing in Montego Bay

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.

2.6 mrow pitch at 70°

2.5 mrow pitch at 18°

Row spacing calculator

How Montego Bay compares in Jamaica

Against the other 11 places in Jamaica with climate data, for a fixed array at its best angle.

9thof 12 places in Jamaica for sunshine, shared: 5.37 peak sun hours a day on flat ground.

−1%solar energy a year compared with the average place in Jamaica: 1,610 against 1,618 kWh per kWp.

+2 mindaylight on the longest day, compared with Kingston: 13 h 14 min against 13 h 13 min.

18°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); Montego Bay ranks joint 9th. In its darkest month, June, 1 kWp of off-grid panels at 70° makes 1.70 kWh a day here, against 1.69 kWh on average in Jamaica. The shortest day lasts 11 h 01 min, −2 min compared with Kingston.

The sunniest places in Jamaica

Solar forecast for Montego Bay, 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 Montego Bay

What is the best solar panel angle in Montego Bay?
For a fixed array facing south, the best year-round tilt in Montego Bay is 18°, worth about 1610 kWh per kWp a year. An off-grid system that has to get through December does better at about 22°.
What time is sunrise and sunset in Montego Bay today?
On 24 October 2026 the sun rises at 06:08 and sets at 17:43 local time (UTC−5), giving 11 h 35 min of daylight. Solar noon is at 11:55.
How many peak sun hours does Montego Bay get?
On a flat surface 5.4 hours a day averaged over the year, from 4.2 in December to 6.3 in April. Panels tilted at 70° receive 2.2 sun hours a day in June.
How high does the sun get in Montego Bay?
At solar noon the sun stands 85.0° above the horizon on the June solstice and 48.1° on the December solstice.
Is Montego Bay a good place for solar panels?
With 5.4 peak sun hours a day on flat ground, Montego Bay ranks joint 9th of 12 places in Jamaica for sunshine. A 1 kWp array at the best angle (18°) makes about 1,610 kWh a year here, 1% less than the average place in Jamaica.

Places near Montego Bay

All places in Jamaica

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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.