Solarposition.org

Washington · United States · 47.79° N · 122.31° W

Solar position in Mountlake Terrace

Sun position, daylight and the best solar panel angle for Mountlake Terrace — computed for 47.79° N, 122.31° W, 140 m above sea level.

Sunrise today07:41107° ESE
Sunset today18:04253° WSW
Best panel angle37°year-round, facing south
Off-grid angle69°best for the darkest month

The sun right now

Azimuth180.0°
Elevation30.3°
At solar noon, 12:53Open on the sun map

Sun in Mountlake Terrace today

Saturday, 24 October 2026 · local time UTC−7

EventTimeDirection / height
Astronomical dawn05:58sun 18° below horizon
Nautical dawn06:3412° below
Civil dawn07:106° below
Sunrise07:41107° ESE
Golden hour ends08:25sun 6° up
Solar noon12:5330.3° high
Golden hour starts17:20sun 6° up
Sunset18:04253° WSW
Civil dusk18:356° below
Nautical dusk19:1112° below
Astronomical dusk19:4718° below
Day length10 h 22 min

Sun path diagram for Mountlake Terrace

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 65.7° at solar noon in Mountlake Terrace; on the December solstice only 18.8°. Sunrise swings from 53° NE in June to 125° SE in December — a 73° 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
January07:4812:2016:539 h 05 min22.5°
February07:0412:2317:4110 h 37 min31.9°
March07:0913:1619:2312 h 14 min42.7°
April06:0813:0820:0813 h 59 min54.3°
May05:2413:0520:4815 h 24 min62.5°
June05:1013:1121:1116 h 01 min65.7°
July05:3313:1520:5715 h 25 min62.6°
August06:1313:1220:1013 h 58 min54.1°
September06:5413:0119:0812 h 14 min42.7°
October07:3712:5318:0910 h 32 min31.3°
November07:2411:5416:259 h 02 min22.2°
December07:5512:0716:198 h 24 min18.8°

A year of daylight in Mountlake Terrace

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 Mountlake Terrace

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

37°collects the most energy over a year: 1256 kWh per kWp.

69°gives the most in the darkest month — the one an off-grid system is sized for.

40%50%60%70%80%90%100%0°10°20°30°40°50°60°70°80°90°Best year-round 37°Best worst-month 69°70°Yearly energyWorst-month energy
  • Yearly energy
  • Worst-month energy
TiltkWh/kWp per yearShare of best yearDecember kWh/kWp/dayBest ÷ worst month
0°104683%0.658.3×
15°118194%0.995.6×
30°124999%1.274.3×
37° year-round best1256100%1.383.8×
45°124499%1.473.4×
48° = latitude123598%1.503.2×
60°117093%1.592.8×
69° off-grid best109387%1.602.5×
70°108386%1.602.4×
90°83667%1.512.0×

A fixed array in Mountlake Terrace produces the most over a year at 37°. The design month for an off-grid system is December: at 69° it makes 1.60 kWh per kWp a day, 17% more than at 37°, and costs 13% of the yearly total. Why steep panels win winter.

Off-grid solar in Mountlake Terrace at 70°

Daily energy of 1 kWp by month. Bars: panels at 70°. Line: panels at 37° (year-round best).

0123456January: 1.75 (70°)1.8JanFebruary: 2.71 (70°)2.7FebMarch: 2.98 (70°)3.0MarApril: 3.38 (70°)3.4AprMay: 3.41 (70°)3.4MayJune: 3.31 (70°)3.3JunJuly: 3.70 (70°)3.7JulAugust: 3.92 (70°)3.9AugSeptember: 3.88 (70°)3.9SepOctober: 2.97 (70°)3.0OctNovember: 1.99 (70°)2.0NovDecember: 1.60 (70°)1.6Dec37°
MonthSun hours, flatSun hours at 70°kWh/kWp/day at 70°at 37°Mean temp.
January1.031.981.751.553.1 °C
February1.933.052.712.593.3 °C
March2.903.382.983.195.4 °C
April4.263.873.384.077.9 °C
May5.373.983.414.5811.9 °C
June5.883.903.314.7114.4 °C
July6.504.393.705.2417.4 °C
August5.514.653.924.9717.6 °C
September3.964.543.884.2614.6 °C
October2.303.422.972.919.8 °C
November1.222.261.991.795.5 °C
December0.841.811.601.382.6 °C
Year3.48 avg3.44 avg1083 kWh1256 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 740 Wp of panels at 70°, versus 860 Wp at 37°. The steep array is 14% smaller for the same winter. Size your own system.

Row spacing in Mountlake Terrace

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.

7.4 mrow pitch at 70°

5.9 mrow pitch at 37°

Row spacing calculator

How Mountlake Terrace compares in the United States

Against the other 3,120 places in the United States with climate data, for a fixed array at its best angle.

3091stof 3,121 places in the United States for sunshine, shared: 3.48 peak sun hours a day on flat ground.

−17%solar energy a year compared with the average place in the United States: 1,256 against 1,515 kWh per kWp.

+55 mindaylight on the longest day, compared with New York City: 16 h 01 min against 15 h 06 min.

37°best year-round tilt here; across the United States it runs from 18° in Honolulu to 53° in Fairbanks.

Of the 3,121 places in the United States, Fortuna Foothills and 2 other places get the most sun (5.96 peak sun hours a day) and Juneau the least (2.38); Mountlake Terrace ranks joint 3091st. In its darkest month, December, 1 kWp of off-grid panels at 70° makes 1.61 kWh a day here, against 2.55 kWh on average in the United States. The shortest day lasts 8 h 24 min, −51 min compared with New York City.

The sunniest places in the United States

Solar forecast for Mountlake Terrace, 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 Mountlake Terrace

What is the best solar panel angle in Mountlake Terrace?
For a fixed array facing south, the best year-round tilt in Mountlake Terrace is 37°, worth about 1256 kWh per kWp a year. An off-grid system that has to get through December does better at about 69°.
What time is sunrise and sunset in Mountlake Terrace today?
On 24 October 2026 the sun rises at 07:41 and sets at 18:04 local time (UTC−7), giving 10 h 22 min of daylight. Solar noon is at 12:53.
How many peak sun hours does Mountlake Terrace get?
On a flat surface 3.5 hours a day averaged over the year, from 0.8 in December to 6.5 in July. Panels tilted at 70° receive 1.8 sun hours a day in December.
How high does the sun get in Mountlake Terrace?
At solar noon the sun stands 65.7° above the horizon on the June solstice and 18.8° on the December solstice.
Is Mountlake Terrace a good place for solar panels?
With 3.5 peak sun hours a day on flat ground, Mountlake Terrace ranks joint 3091st of 3,121 places in the United States for sunshine. A 1 kWp array at the best angle (37°) makes about 1,256 kWh a year here, 17% less than the average place in the United States.

Places near Mountlake Terrace

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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.