Solarposition.org

Taranaki Region · New Zealand · 39.07° S · 174.08° E

Solar position in New Plymouth

Sun position, daylight and the best solar panel angle for New Plymouth — computed for 39.07° S, 174.08° E, 64 m above sea level.

Sunrise today06:23106° ESE
Sunset today19:52254° WSW
Best panel angle33°year-round, facing north
Off-grid angle63°best for the darkest month

The sun right now

Azimuth180.0°
Elevation63.0°
At solar noon, 13:07Open on the sun map

Sun in New Plymouth today

Sunday, 25 October 2026 · local time UTC+13

EventTimeDirection / height
Astronomical dawn04:46sun 18° below horizon
Nautical dawn05:2212° below
Civil dawn05:556° below
Sunrise06:23106° ESE
Golden hour ends07:00sun 6° up
Solar noon13:0763.0° high
Golden hour starts19:16sun 6° up
Sunset19:52254° WSW
Civil dusk20:206° below
Nautical dusk20:5412° below
Astronomical dusk21:3018° below
Day length13 h 29 min

Sun path diagram for New Plymouth

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 solstice8910111213141516EquinoxDecember solstice7891011121314151617181920Today
  • June solstice
  • Equinox
  • December solstice
  • Today

On the June solstice the sun reaches 27.5° at solar noon in New Plymouth; on the December solstice only 74.4°. Sunrise swings from 60° ENE in June to 122° ESE in December — a 62° 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
January06:2113:3420:4714 h 27 min70.9°
February06:5713:3720:1613 h 19 min61.6°
March07:2613:3019:3412 h 07 min50.8°
April06:5612:2217:4710 h 51 min39.2°
May07:2412:2017:159 h 51 min30.8°
June07:4212:2517:079 h 25 min27.5°
July07:3612:3017:249 h 48 min30.5°
August07:0312:2717:5110 h 48 min38.8°
September06:1512:1718:1812 h 03 min50.2°
October06:2913:0819:4813 h 19 min61.6°
November05:5613:0920:2214 h 26 min70.8°
December05:5313:2120:4914 h 55 min74.4°

A year of daylight in New Plymouth

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 New Plymouth

Fixed array facing north (azimuth 0°). Energy per kWp from NASA POWER monthly climate, including clouds, temperature and snow reflection.

33°collects the most energy over a year: 1482 kWh per kWp.

63°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 33°Best worst-month 63°70°Yearly energyWorst-month energy
  • Yearly energy
  • Worst-month energy
TiltkWh/kWp per yearShare of best yearJune kWh/kWp/dayBest ÷ worst month
0°127886%1.334.3×
15°142096%1.903.0×
30°1480100%2.342.3×
33° year-round best1482100%2.412.2×
39° = latitude1476100%2.542.0×
45°145598%2.641.9×
60°134791%2.761.6×
63° off-grid best131689%2.771.5×
70°123383%2.751.4×
90°92462%2.501.6×

A fixed array in New Plymouth produces the most over a year at 33°. The design month for an off-grid system is June: at 63° it makes 2.77 kWh per kWp a day, 15% more than at 33°, and costs 11% of the yearly total. Why steep panels win winter.

Off-grid solar in New Plymouth at 70°

Daily energy of 1 kWp by month. Bars: panels at 70°. Line: panels at 33° (year-round best).

0123456January: 3.42 (70°)3.4JanFebruary: 3.76 (70°)3.8FebMarch: 3.95 (70°)3.9MarApril: 3.63 (70°)3.6AprMay: 3.04 (70°)3.0MayJune: 2.75 (70°)2.8JunJuly: 2.99 (70°)3.0JulAugust: 3.36 (70°)3.4AugSeptember: 3.56 (70°)3.6SepOctober: 3.55 (70°)3.5OctNovember: 3.40 (70°)3.4NovDecember: 3.16 (70°)3.2Dec33°
MonthSun hours, flatSun hours at 70°kWh/kWp/day at 70°at 33°Mean temp.
January6.904.073.425.3817.6 °C
February6.034.483.765.1618.3 °C
March4.794.683.954.6517.4 °C
April3.304.273.633.7215.7 °C
May2.203.553.042.8214.0 °C
June1.713.192.752.4112.2 °C
July1.953.442.992.6811.0 °C
August2.753.883.363.3011.2 °C
September3.854.133.563.9712.0 °C
October5.054.143.554.5712.8 °C
November6.223.993.405.0714.2 °C
December6.603.763.165.0716.2 °C
Year4.27 avg3.96 avg1233 kWh1482 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 430 Wp of panels at 70°, versus 490 Wp at 33°. The steep array is 12% smaller for the same winter. Size your own system.

Row spacing in New Plymouth

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.

4.8 mrow pitch at 70°

4.1 mrow pitch at 33°

Row spacing calculator

How New Plymouth compares in New Zealand

Against the other 46 places in New Zealand with climate data, for a fixed array at its best angle.

16thof 47 places in New Zealand for sunshine, shared: 4.27 peak sun hours a day on flat ground.

+2%solar energy a year compared with the average place in New Zealand: 1,482 against 1,455 kWh per kWp.

+14 mindaylight on the longest day, compared with Auckland: 14 h 55 min against 14 h 42 min.

33°best year-round tilt here; across New Zealand it runs from 30° in Whangarei to 39° in Dunedin.

Of the 47 places in New Zealand, Whangarei gets the most sun (4.36 peak sun hours a day) and Invercargill the least (3.46); New Plymouth ranks joint 16th. In its darkest month, June, 1 kWp of off-grid panels at 70° makes 2.75 kWh a day here, against 2.77 kWh on average in New Zealand. The shortest day lasts 9 h 25 min, −13 min compared with Auckland.

The sunniest places in New Zealand

Solar forecast for New Plymouth, 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 New Plymouth

What is the best solar panel angle in New Plymouth?
For a fixed array facing north, the best year-round tilt in New Plymouth is 33°, worth about 1482 kWh per kWp a year. An off-grid system that has to get through June does better at about 63°.
What time is sunrise and sunset in New Plymouth today?
On 25 October 2026 the sun rises at 06:23 and sets at 19:52 local time (UTC+13), giving 13 h 29 min of daylight. Solar noon is at 13:07.
How many peak sun hours does New Plymouth get?
On a flat surface 4.3 hours a day averaged over the year, from 1.7 in June to 6.9 in January. Panels tilted at 70° receive 3.2 sun hours a day in June.
How high does the sun get in New Plymouth?
At solar noon the sun stands 27.5° above the horizon on the June solstice and 74.4° on the December solstice.
Is New Plymouth a good place for solar panels?
With 4.3 peak sun hours a day on flat ground, New Plymouth ranks joint 16th of 47 places in New Zealand for sunshine. A 1 kWp array at the best angle (33°) makes about 1,482 kWh a year here, 2% more than the average place in New Zealand.

Places near New Plymouth

All places in New Zealand

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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.