Imbabura · Ecuador · 0.23° N · 78.26° W
Solar position in Otavalo
Sun position, daylight and the best solar panel angle for Otavalo — computed for 0.23° N, 78.26° W, 2532 m above sea level.
The sun right now
Sun in Otavalo today
Saturday, 24 October 2026 · local time UTC−5
| Event | Time | Direction / height |
|---|---|---|
| Astronomical dawn | 04:43 | sun 18° below horizon |
| Nautical dawn | 05:08 | 12° below |
| Civil dawn | 05:32 | 6° below |
| Sunrise | 05:54 | 102° ESE |
| Golden hour ends | 06:21 | sun 6° up |
| Solar noon | 11:57 | 77.8° high |
| Golden hour starts | 17:32 | sun 6° up |
| Sunset | 18:00 | 258° WSW |
| Civil dusk | 18:21 | 6° below |
| Nautical dusk | 18:46 | 12° below |
| Astronomical dusk | 19:10 | 18° below |
| Day length | 12 h 06 min | |
Sun path diagram for Otavalo
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 66.8° at solar noon in Otavalo; on the December solstice only 66.3°. Sunrise swings from 67° ENE in June to 113° ESE in December — a 47° 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 | 06:21 | 12:24 | 18:27 | 12 h 07 min | 70.0° |
| February | 06:23 | 12:26 | 18:29 | 12 h 06 min | 79.4° |
| March | 06:16 | 12:20 | 18:23 | 12 h 07 min | 89.8° |
| April | 06:08 | 12:11 | 18:15 | 12 h 07 min | 78.2° |
| May | 06:05 | 12:09 | 18:13 | 12 h 08 min | 69.9° |
| June | 06:10 | 12:14 | 18:19 | 12 h 08 min | 66.8° |
| July | 06:15 | 12:19 | 18:23 | 12 h 08 min | 69.9° |
| August | 06:12 | 12:16 | 18:19 | 12 h 07 min | 78.3° |
| September | 06:02 | 12:06 | 18:09 | 12 h 06 min | 89.7° |
| October | 05:54 | 11:57 | 18:00 | 12 h 06 min | 78.9° |
| November | 05:55 | 11:58 | 18:02 | 12 h 07 min | 69.7° |
| December | 06:07 | 12:11 | 18:14 | 12 h 07 min | 66.3° |
A year of daylight in Otavalo
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 Otavalo
Fixed array facing south (azimuth 180°). Energy per kWp from NASA POWER monthly climate, including clouds, temperature and snow reflection.
1°collects the most energy over a year: 1153 kWh per kWp.
0°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 | June kWh/kWp/day | Best ÷ worst month |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0° off-grid best = latitude | 1153 | 100% | 3.00 | 1.1× |
| 1° year-round best | 1153 | 100% | 2.98 | 1.1× |
| 15° | 1124 | 98% | 2.66 | 1.3× |
| 30° | 1038 | 90% | 2.19 | 1.6× |
| 45° | 902 | 78% | 1.63 | 2.0× |
| 60° | 730 | 63% | 1.12 | 2.6× |
| 70° | 620 | 54% | 1.00 | 2.6× |
| 90° | 436 | 38% | 0.88 | 2.1× |
A fixed array in Otavalo produces the most over a year at 1°. The design month for an off-grid system is June: at 0° it makes 3.00 kWh per kWp a day, and costs 0% of the yearly total. Why steep panels win winter.
Off-grid solar in Otavalo at 70°
Daily energy of 1 kWp by month. Bars: panels at 70°. Line: panels at 1° (year-round best).
| Month | Sun hours, flat | Sun hours at 70° | kWh/kWp/day at 70° | at 1° | Mean temp. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 3.82 | 3.00 | 2.53 | 3.16 | 16.1 °C |
| February | 3.68 | 2.46 | 2.06 | 3.03 | 16.2 °C |
| March | 3.69 | 2.04 | 1.69 | 3.03 | 16.2 °C |
| April | 3.88 | 1.57 | 1.29 | 3.18 | 16.3 °C |
| May | 3.73 | 1.31 | 1.06 | 3.04 | 16.1 °C |
| June | 3.65 | 1.23 | 1.00 | 2.98 | 15.4 °C |
| July | 3.76 | 1.22 | 0.99 | 3.07 | 15.3 °C |
| August | 3.97 | 1.31 | 1.06 | 3.26 | 15.7 °C |
| September | 4.13 | 1.88 | 1.55 | 3.41 | 16.1 °C |
| October | 4.11 | 2.52 | 2.11 | 3.39 | 16.2 °C |
| November | 3.99 | 2.99 | 2.52 | 3.29 | 16.1 °C |
| December | 3.70 | 3.02 | 2.54 | 3.05 | 16.0 °C |
| Year | 3.84 avg | 2.04 avg | 620 kWh | 1153 kWh |
Sizing example. To run a 1 kWh-per-day load through July on LiFePO4 batteries (charge controller, battery and inverter losses included) you need about 1,200 Wp of panels at 70°, versus 400 Wp at 1°. Here the lower tilt is the better winter choice — the sun stays high enough. Size your own system.
Row spacing in Otavalo
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.
1.6 mrow pitch at 70°
2.0 mrow pitch at 1°
How Otavalo compares in Ecuador
Against the other 70 places in Ecuador with climate data, for a fixed array at its best angle.
60thof 71 places in Ecuador for sunshine, shared: 3.84 peak sun hours a day on flat ground.
−3%solar energy a year compared with the average place in Ecuador: 1,153 against 1,193 kWh per kWp.
±0 mindaylight on the longest day, compared with Quito: 12 h 08 min against 12 h 08 min.
1°best year-round tilt here; across Ecuador it runs from 0° in Puerto Francisco de Orellana to 6° in Cariamanga.
Of the 71 places in Ecuador, Huaquillas and one other place get the most sun (4.70 peak sun hours a day) and Rosa Zarate the least (3.61); Otavalo ranks joint 60th. In its darkest month, July, 1 kWp of off-grid panels at 70° makes 0.99 kWh a day here, against 1.01 kWh on average in Ecuador. The shortest day lasts 12 h 07 min, ±0 min compared with Quito.
Solar forecast for Otavalo, 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 Otavalo
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A free, live card for Otavalo: 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.