Aruba · 12.52° N · 70.03° W
Solar position in Oranjestad
Sun position, daylight and the best solar panel angle for Oranjestad — computed for 12.52° N, 70.03° W, 5 m above sea level.
The sun right now
Sun in Oranjestad today
Saturday, 24 October 2026 · local time UTC−4
| Event | Time | Direction / height |
|---|---|---|
| Astronomical dawn | 05:20 | sun 18° below horizon |
| Nautical dawn | 05:44 | 12° below |
| Civil dawn | 06:09 | 6° below |
| Sunrise | 06:31 | 102° ESE |
| Golden hour ends | 07:00 | sun 6° up |
| Solar noon | 12:24 | 65.6° high |
| Golden hour starts | 17:48 | sun 6° up |
| Sunset | 18:16 | 258° WSW |
| Civil dusk | 18:38 | 6° below |
| Nautical dusk | 19:03 | 12° below |
| Astronomical dusk | 19:28 | 18° below |
| Day length | 11 h 45 min | |
Sun path diagram for Oranjestad
Where the sun stands in the sky: the centre is straight overhead, the outer ring is the horizon. Numbers mark local clock hours.
- June solstice
- Equinox
- December solstice
- Today
On the June solstice the sun reaches 79.1° at solar noon in Oranjestad; on the December solstice only 54.0°. Sunrise swings from 66° ENE in June to 114° ESE in December — a 48° 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.
| Month | Sunrise | Solar noon | Sunset | Day length | Noon elevation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 07:06 | 12:51 | 18:36 | 11 h 31 min | 57.7° |
| February | 06:59 | 12:53 | 18:47 | 11 h 48 min | 67.1° |
| March | 06:43 | 12:47 | 18:50 | 12 h 07 min | 77.9° |
| April | 06:24 | 12:38 | 18:53 | 12 h 29 min | 89.5° |
| May | 06:14 | 12:36 | 18:59 | 12 h 45 min | 82.2° |
| June | 06:16 | 12:41 | 19:07 | 12 h 52 min | 79.1° |
| July | 06:23 | 12:46 | 19:09 | 12 h 45 min | 82.2° |
| August | 06:28 | 12:43 | 18:57 | 12 h 28 min | 89.4° |
| September | 06:29 | 12:33 | 18:36 | 12 h 08 min | 78.0° |
| October | 06:30 | 12:24 | 18:18 | 11 h 47 min | 66.6° |
| November | 06:40 | 12:25 | 18:11 | 11 h 30 min | 57.5° |
| December | 06:56 | 12:38 | 18:20 | 11 h 23 min | 54.0° |
A year of daylight in Oranjestad
Each column is one day of 2026. Bright: sun above the horizon; soft: civil twilight; line: solar noon. Steps are daylight saving time changes.
Best solar panel angle in Oranjestad
Fixed array facing south (azimuth 180°). Energy per kWp from NASA POWER monthly climate, including clouds, temperature and snow reflection.
12°collects the most energy over a year: 1738 kWh per kWp.
17°gives the most in the darkest month — the one an off-grid system is sized for.
- Yearly energy
- Worst-month energy
| Tilt | kWh/kWp per year | Share of best year | November kWh/kWp/day | Best ÷ worst month |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0° | 1704 | 98% | 3.92 | 1.3× |
| 12° year-round best | 1738 | 100% | 4.31 | 1.2× |
| 13° = latitude | 1738 | 100% | 4.34 | 1.2× |
| 15° | 1736 | 100% | 4.39 | 1.2× |
| 17° off-grid best | 1733 | 100% | 4.43 | 1.2× |
| 30° | 1669 | 96% | 4.60 | 1.4× |
| 45° | 1508 | 87% | 4.55 | 1.7× |
| 60° | 1265 | 73% | 4.23 | 2.4× |
| 70° | 1071 | 62% | 3.88 | 3.2× |
| 90° | 718 | 41% | 2.88 | 3.3× |
A fixed array in Oranjestad produces the most over a year at 12°. The design month for an off-grid system is November: at 17° it makes 4.43 kWh per kWp a day, 3% more than at 12°, and costs 0% of the yearly total. Why steep panels win winter.
Off-grid solar in Oranjestad at 70°
Daily energy of 1 kWp by month. Bars: panels at 70°. Line: panels at 12° (year-round best).
| Month | Sun hours, flat | Sun hours at 70° | kWh/kWp/day at 70° | at 12° | Mean temp. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 5.33 | 5.58 | 4.56 | 4.73 | 26.4 °C |
| February | 5.98 | 5.09 | 4.16 | 5.12 | 26.1 °C |
| March | 6.33 | 4.04 | 3.29 | 5.17 | 26.2 °C |
| April | 6.31 | 2.87 | 2.31 | 4.92 | 26.8 °C |
| May | 6.15 | 2.13 | 1.69 | 4.64 | 27.4 °C |
| June | 6.24 | 1.83 | 1.44 | 4.62 | 27.7 °C |
| July | 6.38 | 1.88 | 1.48 | 4.75 | 27.6 °C |
| August | 6.57 | 2.47 | 1.96 | 5.01 | 28.2 °C |
| September | 6.24 | 3.47 | 2.79 | 4.95 | 28.7 °C |
| October | 5.47 | 4.16 | 3.36 | 4.53 | 28.5 °C |
| November | 4.99 | 4.78 | 3.88 | 4.31 | 28.2 °C |
| December | 4.94 | 5.40 | 4.39 | 4.40 | 27.3 °C |
| Year | 5.91 avg | 3.63 avg | 1071 kWh | 1738 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 820 Wp of panels at 70°, versus 270 Wp at 12°. Here the lower tilt is the better winter choice — the sun stays high enough. Size your own system.
Row spacing in Oranjestad
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.
2.2 mrow pitch at 70°
2.3 mrow pitch at 12°
How Oranjestad compares in Aruba
Against the other 3 places in Aruba with climate data, for a fixed array at its best angle.
1stof 4 places in Aruba for sunshine, shared: 5.91 peak sun hours a day on flat ground.
±0%solar energy a year compared with the average place in Aruba: 1,738 against 1,737 kWh per kWp.
±0 mindaylight on the longest day, compared with the average place in Aruba: 12 h 52 min against 12 h 52 min.
12°best year-round tilt here, the same everywhere in Aruba.
Oranjestad shares the top spot for sunshine among the 4 places in Aruba (5.91 peak sun hours a day); the least sunny is Santa Cruz with 5.90. In its darkest month, June, 1 kWp of off-grid panels at 70° makes 1.44 kWh a day here, against 1.44 kWh on average in Aruba. The shortest day lasts 11 h 23 min, ±0 min compared with the average.
Solar forecast for Oranjestad, next 48 hours
Expected output of 1 kWp at 70°, computed from the ICON-EU weather model of the Deutscher Wetterdienst (DWD), Europe.
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Questions about the sun in Oranjestad
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Places near Oranjestad
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A free, live card for Oranjestad: where the sun is right now on today's path, a countdown to sunset or sunrise, the daylight change, the moon phase at night and the best panel angle.
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.