Solarposition.org

Minnesota · United States · 44.46° N · 93.16° W

Solar position in Northfield

Sun position, daylight and the best solar panel angle for Northfield — computed for 44.46° N, 93.16° W, 278 m above sea level.

Sunrise today07:39106° ESE
Sunset today18:13254° WSW
Best panel angle39°year-round, facing south
Off-grid angle73°best for the darkest month

The sun right now

Azimuth180.0°
Elevation33.6°
At solar noon, 12:56Open on the sun map

Sun in Northfield today

Saturday, 24 October 2026 · local time UTC−5

EventTimeDirection / height
Astronomical dawn06:02sun 18° below horizon
Nautical dawn06:3512° below
Civil dawn07:096° below
Sunrise07:39106° ESE
Golden hour ends08:20sun 6° up
Solar noon12:5633.6° high
Golden hour starts17:32sun 6° up
Sunset18:13254° WSW
Civil dusk18:436° below
Nautical dusk19:1712° below
Astronomical dusk19:5018° below
Day length10 h 34 min

Sun path diagram for Northfield

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 solstice67891011121314151617181920EquinoxDecember solstice8910111213141516Today
  • June solstice
  • Equinox
  • December solstice
  • Today

On the June solstice the sun reaches 69.0° at solar noon in Northfield; on the December solstice only 22.1°. Sunrise swings from 55° NE in June to 123° ESE in December — a 68° 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
January07:4112:2417:069 h 25 min25.8°
February07:0312:2617:4910 h 47 min35.2°
March07:1313:1919:2612 h 13 min46.0°
April06:1813:1120:0413 h 46 min57.6°
May05:3913:0920:4015 h 01 min65.8°
June05:2813:1421:0015 h 33 min69.0°
July05:4813:1920:4915 h 02 min65.9°
August06:2213:1520:0713 h 45 min57.5°
September06:5813:0519:1112 h 13 min46.0°
October07:3512:5618:1810 h 43 min34.7°
November07:1611:5816:399 h 23 min25.5°
December07:4512:1016:358 h 50 min22.1°

A year of daylight in Northfield

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 Northfield

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

39°collects the most energy over a year: 1433 kWh per kWp.

73°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 39°Best worst-month 73°70°Yearly energyWorst-month energy
  • Yearly energy
  • Worst-month energy
TiltkWh/kWp per yearShare of best yearDecember kWh/kWp/dayBest ÷ worst month
0°116581%1.074.8×
15°132893%1.603.3×
30°141899%2.052.5×
39° year-round best1433100%2.272.1×
44° = latitude1429100%2.372.0×
45°1427100%2.391.9×
60°135895%2.601.8×
70°127089%2.661.8×
73° off-grid best123786%2.661.7×
90°101070%2.572.3×

A fixed array in Northfield produces the most over a year at 39°. The design month for an off-grid system is December: at 73° it makes 2.66 kWh per kWp a day, 17% more than at 39°, and costs 14% of the yearly total. Why steep panels win winter.

Off-grid solar in Northfield at 70°

Daily energy of 1 kWp by month. Bars: panels at 70°. Line: panels at 39° (year-round best).

0123456January: 3.56 (70°)3.6JanFebruary: 4.66 (70°)4.7FebMarch: 4.10 (70°)4.1MarApril: 3.57 (70°)3.6AprMay: 3.22 (70°)3.2MayJune: 3.12 (70°)3.1JunJuly: 3.38 (70°)3.4JulAugust: 3.52 (70°)3.5AugSeptember: 3.74 (70°)3.7SepOctober: 3.38 (70°)3.4OctNovember: 2.93 (70°)2.9NovDecember: 2.66 (70°)2.7Dec39°
MonthSun hours, flatSun hours at 70°kWh/kWp/day at 70°at 39°Mean temp.
January snow1.813.793.563.09-9.9 °C
February snow2.965.014.664.31-8.3 °C
March snow3.734.544.104.30-0.2 °C
April4.664.073.574.417.1 °C
May5.433.793.224.4313.9 °C
June6.053.763.124.5519.8 °C
July6.374.113.384.8622.7 °C
August5.364.243.524.5721.1 °C
September4.144.423.744.2416.7 °C
October2.713.853.383.418.1 °C
November1.763.262.932.710.8 °C
December snow1.312.882.662.27-6.6 °C
Year3.86 avg3.97 avg1270 kWh1433 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 440 Wp of panels at 70°, versus 520 Wp at 39°. The steep array is 15% smaller for the same winter. Size your own system.

Row spacing in Northfield

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.

6.2 mrow pitch at 70°

5.2 mrow pitch at 39°

Row spacing calculator

How Northfield 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.

2375thof 3,121 places in the United States for sunshine, shared: 3.86 peak sun hours a day on flat ground.

−5%solar energy a year compared with the average place in the United States: 1,433 against 1,515 kWh per kWp.

+27 mindaylight on the longest day, compared with New York City: 15 h 33 min against 15 h 06 min.

39°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); Northfield ranks joint 2375th. In its darkest month, December, 1 kWp of off-grid panels at 70° makes 2.66 kWh a day here, against 2.55 kWh on average in the United States. The shortest day lasts 8 h 50 min, −25 min compared with New York City.

The sunniest places in the United States

Solar forecast for Northfield, 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 Northfield

What is the best solar panel angle in Northfield?
For a fixed array facing south, the best year-round tilt in Northfield is 39°, worth about 1433 kWh per kWp a year. An off-grid system that has to get through December does better at about 73°.
What time is sunrise and sunset in Northfield today?
On 24 October 2026 the sun rises at 07:39 and sets at 18:13 local time (UTC−5), giving 10 h 34 min of daylight. Solar noon is at 12:56.
How many peak sun hours does Northfield get?
On a flat surface 3.9 hours a day averaged over the year, from 1.3 in December to 6.4 in July. Panels tilted at 70° receive 2.9 sun hours a day in December.
How high does the sun get in Northfield?
At solar noon the sun stands 69.0° above the horizon on the June solstice and 22.1° on the December solstice.
Is Northfield a good place for solar panels?
With 3.9 peak sun hours a day on flat ground, Northfield ranks joint 2375th of 3,121 places in the United States for sunshine. A 1 kWp array at the best angle (39°) makes about 1,433 kWh a year here, 5% less than the average place in the United States.

Places near Northfield

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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.