Solarposition.org

Jiangsu · China · 32.06° N · 118.78° E

Solar position in Nanjing

Sun position, daylight and the best solar panel angle for Nanjing — computed for 32.06° N, 118.78° E, 22 m above sea level.

Sunrise today06:15104° ESE
Sunset today17:21256° WSW
Best panel angle28°year-round, facing south
Off-grid angle47°best for the darkest month

The sun right now

Azimuth180.0°
Elevation45.9°
At solar noon, 11:48Open on the sun map

Sun in Nanjing today

Sunday, 25 October 2026 · local time UTC+8

EventTimeDirection / height
Astronomical dawn04:53sun 18° below horizon
Nautical dawn05:2112° below
Civil dawn05:506° below
Sunrise06:15104° ESE
Golden hour ends06:49sun 6° up
Solar noon11:4845.9° high
Golden hour starts16:48sun 6° up
Sunset17:21256° WSW
Civil dusk17:466° below
Nautical dusk18:1512° below
Astronomical dusk18:4318° below
Day length11 h 06 min

Sun path diagram for Nanjing

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 solstice678910111213141516171819EquinoxDecember solstice8910111213141516Today
  • June solstice
  • Equinox
  • December solstice
  • Today

On the June solstice the sun reaches 81.4° at solar noon in Nanjing; on the December solstice only 34.5°. Sunrise swings from 61° ENE in June to 117° ESE in December — a 56° 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
January07:0412:1617:2810 h 24 min38.1°
February06:4112:1817:5511 h 14 min47.4°
March06:0712:1218:1612 h 09 min58.2°
April05:2912:0318:3813 h 08 min69.8°
May05:0412:0118:5913 h 55 min78.1°
June04:5912:0619:1414 h 15 min81.4°
July05:1212:1119:0913 h 57 min78.4°
August05:3212:0818:4213 h 10 min70.1°
September05:5211:5718:0312 h 11 min58.7°
October06:1211:4917:2611 h 14 min47.3°
November06:3811:5017:0210 h 24 min38.1°
December07:0112:0217:0410 h 03 min34.5°

A year of daylight in Nanjing

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 Nanjing

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

28°collects the most energy over a year: 1174 kWh per kWp.

47°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 28°Best worst-month 47°70°Yearly energyWorst-month energy
  • Yearly energy
  • Worst-month energy
TiltkWh/kWp per yearShare of best yearJanuary kWh/kWp/dayBest ÷ worst month
0°106991%1.872.1×
15°115298%2.311.7×
28° year-round best1174100%2.591.5×
30°1173100%2.621.4×
32° = latitude1171100%2.651.4×
45°113296%2.781.3×
47° off-grid best112196%2.791.2×
60°103088%2.771.3×
70°93379%2.681.5×
90°68658%2.292.1×

A fixed array in Nanjing produces the most over a year at 28°. The design month for an off-grid system is January: at 47° it makes 2.79 kWh per kWp a day, 8% more than at 28°, and costs 4% of the yearly total. Why steep panels win winter.

Off-grid solar in Nanjing at 70°

Daily energy of 1 kWp by month. Bars: panels at 70°. Line: panels at 28° (year-round best).

012345January: 2.68 (70°)2.7JanFebruary: 2.53 (70°)2.5FebMarch: 2.89 (70°)2.9MarApril: 2.67 (70°)2.7AprMay: 2.29 (70°)2.3MayJune: 1.97 (70°)2.0JunJuly: 2.10 (70°)2.1JulAugust: 2.40 (70°)2.4AugSeptember: 2.57 (70°)2.6SepOctober: 2.86 (70°)2.9OctNovember: 2.83 (70°)2.8NovDecember: 2.88 (70°)2.9Dec28°
MonthSun hours, flatSun hours at 70°kWh/kWp/day at 70°at 28°Mean temp.
January2.233.002.682.592.1 °C
February2.632.872.532.734.8 °C
March3.723.332.893.519.7 °C
April4.463.172.673.7715.9 °C
May4.742.792.293.6621.5 °C
June4.392.461.973.2525.4 °C
July4.712.642.103.4828.2 °C
August4.602.992.403.5927.6 °C
September3.883.142.573.3323.3 °C
October3.283.392.863.2017.5 °C
November2.523.272.832.7910.9 °C
December2.203.242.882.673.9 °C
Year3.62 avg3.03 avg933 kWh1174 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 600 Wp of panels at 70°, versus 460 Wp at 28°. Here the lower tilt is the better winter choice — the sun stays high enough. Size your own system.

Row spacing in Nanjing

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.

3.8 mrow pitch at 70°

3.3 mrow pitch at 28°

Row spacing calculator

How Nanjing compares in China

Against the other 2,094 places in China with climate data, for a fixed array at its best angle.

1295thof 2,095 places in China for sunshine, shared: 3.62 peak sun hours a day on flat ground.

−7%solar energy a year compared with the average place in China: 1,174 against 1,262 kWh per kWp.

+4 mindaylight on the longest day, compared with Shanghai: 14 h 15 min against 14 h 11 min.

28°best year-round tilt here; across China it runs from 14° in Haikou to 52° in Xilinji.

Of the 2,095 places in China, Nyêmo gets the most sun (5.75 peak sun hours a day) and Baima and 11 other places the least (2.91); Nanjing ranks joint 1295th. In its darkest month, June, 1 kWp of off-grid panels at 70° makes 1.97 kWh a day here, against 2.06 kWh on average in China. The shortest day lasts 10 h 03 min, −4 min compared with Shanghai.

The sunniest places in China

Solar forecast for Nanjing, 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 Nanjing

What is the best solar panel angle in Nanjing?
For a fixed array facing south, the best year-round tilt in Nanjing is 28°, worth about 1174 kWh per kWp a year. An off-grid system that has to get through January does better at about 47°.
What time is sunrise and sunset in Nanjing today?
On 25 October 2026 the sun rises at 06:15 and sets at 17:21 local time (UTC+8), giving 11 h 06 min of daylight. Solar noon is at 11:48.
How many peak sun hours does Nanjing get?
On a flat surface 3.6 hours a day averaged over the year, from 2.2 in December to 4.7 in May. Panels tilted at 70° receive 2.5 sun hours a day in June.
How high does the sun get in Nanjing?
At solar noon the sun stands 81.4° above the horizon on the June solstice and 34.5° on the December solstice.
Is Nanjing a good place for solar panels?
With 3.6 peak sun hours a day on flat ground, Nanjing ranks joint 1295th of 2,095 places in China for sunshine. A 1 kWp array at the best angle (28°) makes about 1,174 kWh a year here, 7% less than the average place in China.

Places near Nanjing

All places in China

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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.