Solarposition.org

California · United States · 38.68° N · 121.23° W

Solar position in Orangevale

Sun position, daylight and the best solar panel angle for Orangevale — computed for 38.68° N, 121.23° W, 73 m above sea level.

Sunrise today07:23105° ESE
Sunset today18:14255° WSW
Best panel angle32°year-round, facing south
Off-grid angle64°best for the darkest month

The sun right now

Azimuth180.0°
Elevation39.4°
At solar noon, 12:48Open on the sun map

Sun in Orangevale today

Saturday, 24 October 2026 · local time UTC−7

EventTimeDirection / height
Astronomical dawn05:54sun 18° below horizon
Nautical dawn06:2512° below
Civil dawn06:566° below
Sunrise07:23105° ESE
Golden hour ends08:00sun 6° up
Solar noon12:4839.4° high
Golden hour starts17:37sun 6° up
Sunset18:14255° WSW
Civil dusk18:416° below
Nautical dusk19:1212° below
Astronomical dusk19:4318° below
Day length10 h 51 min

Sun path diagram for Orangevale

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 74.8° at solar noon in Orangevale; on the December solstice only 27.9°. Sunrise swings from 59° ENE in June to 120° ESE in December — a 61° 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
January07:1812:1617:149 h 56 min31.6°
February06:4712:1817:4911 h 02 min41.0°
March07:0613:1219:1712 h 11 min51.8°
April06:2013:0319:4713 h 28 min63.4°
May05:4813:0120:1514 h 27 min71.6°
June05:4013:0620:3314 h 53 min74.8°
July05:5713:1120:2414 h 28 min71.7°
August06:2413:0719:5013 h 26 min63.2°
September06:5112:5719:0312 h 11 min51.8°
October07:2012:4918:1810 h 58 min40.4°
November06:5311:5016:479 h 54 min31.3°
December07:1912:0316:469 h 28 min27.9°

A year of daylight in Orangevale

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 Orangevale

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

32°collects the most energy over a year: 1793 kWh per kWp.

64°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 32°Best worst-month 64°70°Yearly energyWorst-month energy
  • Yearly energy
  • Worst-month energy
TiltkWh/kWp per yearShare of best yearDecember kWh/kWp/dayBest ÷ worst month
0°154386%1.594.2×
15°172096%2.272.9×
30°1791100%2.812.2×
32° year-round best1793100%2.872.1×
39° = latitude178299%3.051.9×
45°175598%3.181.8×
60°161490%3.331.6×
64° off-grid best156087%3.341.6×
70°146682%3.321.5×
90°107060%3.012.5×

A fixed array in Orangevale produces the most over a year at 32°. The design month for an off-grid system is December: at 64° it makes 3.34 kWh per kWp a day, 16% more than at 32°, and costs 13% of the yearly total. Why steep panels win winter.

Off-grid solar in Orangevale at 70°

Daily energy of 1 kWp by month. Bars: panels at 70°. Line: panels at 32° (year-round best).

02468January: 3.47 (70°)3.5JanFebruary: 4.08 (70°)4.1FebMarch: 4.29 (70°)4.3MarApril: 4.12 (70°)4.1AprMay: 3.69 (70°)3.7MayJune: 3.39 (70°)3.4JunJuly: 3.54 (70°)3.5JulAugust: 4.18 (70°)4.2AugSeptember: 4.90 (70°)4.9SepOctober: 5.04 (70°)5.0OctNovember: 4.20 (70°)4.2NovDecember: 3.32 (70°)3.3Dec32°
MonthSun hours, flatSun hours at 70°kWh/kWp/day at 70°at 32°Mean temp.
January2.243.943.473.107.1 °C
February3.274.664.084.008.1 °C
March4.554.934.294.7910.2 °C
April6.054.784.125.4912.5 °C
May7.394.383.695.8716.8 °C
June8.314.103.396.0421.6 °C
July8.264.343.546.0625.0 °C
August7.395.094.186.0724.3 °C
September5.965.924.905.8022.1 °C
October4.285.965.045.0417.0 °C
November2.754.844.203.7711.0 °C
December1.983.773.322.877.0 °C
Year5.21 avg4.72 avg1466 kWh1793 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 360 Wp of panels at 70°, versus 410 Wp at 32°. The steep array is 13% smaller for the same winter. Size your own system.

Row spacing in Orangevale

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°

4.0 mrow pitch at 32°

Row spacing calculator

How Orangevale 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.

415thof 3,121 places in the United States for sunshine, shared: 5.21 peak sun hours a day on flat ground.

+18%solar energy a year compared with the average place in the United States: 1,793 against 1,515 kWh per kWp.

−13 mindaylight on the longest day, compared with New York City: 14 h 53 min against 15 h 06 min.

32°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); Orangevale ranks joint 415th. In its darkest month, December, 1 kWp of off-grid panels at 70° makes 3.32 kWh a day here, against 2.55 kWh on average in the United States. The shortest day lasts 9 h 28 min, +12 min compared with New York City.

The sunniest places in the United States

Solar forecast for Orangevale, 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 Orangevale

What is the best solar panel angle in Orangevale?
For a fixed array facing south, the best year-round tilt in Orangevale is 32°, worth about 1793 kWh per kWp a year. An off-grid system that has to get through December does better at about 64°.
What time is sunrise and sunset in Orangevale today?
On 24 October 2026 the sun rises at 07:23 and sets at 18:14 local time (UTC−7), giving 10 h 51 min of daylight. Solar noon is at 12:48.
How many peak sun hours does Orangevale get?
On a flat surface 5.2 hours a day averaged over the year, from 2.0 in December to 8.3 in June. Panels tilted at 70° receive 3.8 sun hours a day in December.
How high does the sun get in Orangevale?
At solar noon the sun stands 74.8° above the horizon on the June solstice and 27.9° on the December solstice.
Is Orangevale a good place for solar panels?
With 5.2 peak sun hours a day on flat ground, Orangevale ranks joint 415th of 3,121 places in the United States for sunshine. A 1 kWp array at the best angle (32°) makes about 1,793 kWh a year here, 18% more than the average place in the United States.

Places near Orangevale

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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.