Auckland · New Zealand · 37.06° S · 174.94° E
Solar position in Papakura
Sun position, daylight and the best solar panel angle for Papakura — computed for 37.06° S, 174.94° E, 14 m above sea level.
The sun right now
Sun in Papakura today
Sunday, 25 October 2026 · local time UTC+13
| Event | Time | Direction / height |
|---|---|---|
| Astronomical dawn | 04:49 | sun 18° below horizon |
| Nautical dawn | 05:23 | 12° below |
| Civil dawn | 05:56 | 6° below |
| Sunrise | 06:23 | 106° ESE |
| Golden hour ends | 06:58 | sun 6° up |
| Solar noon | 13:04 | 65.0° high |
| Golden hour starts | 19:10 | sun 6° up |
| Sunset | 19:46 | 254° WSW |
| Civil dusk | 20:13 | 6° below |
| Nautical dusk | 20:45 | 12° below |
| Astronomical dusk | 21:20 | 18° below |
| Day length | 13 h 23 min | |
Sun path diagram for Papakura
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 29.5° at solar noon in Papakura; on the December solstice only 76.4°. Sunrise swings from 61° ENE in June to 121° ESE in December — a 60° 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 | 06:22 | 13:31 | 20:39 | 14 h 17 min | 72.9° |
| February | 06:56 | 13:33 | 20:10 | 13 h 14 min | 63.6° |
| March | 07:23 | 13:27 | 19:30 | 12 h 07 min | 52.8° |
| April | 06:50 | 12:18 | 17:46 | 10 h 56 min | 41.2° |
| May | 07:16 | 12:16 | 17:16 | 10 h 01 min | 32.8° |
| June | 07:33 | 12:21 | 17:10 | 9 h 37 min | 29.5° |
| July | 07:27 | 12:26 | 17:25 | 9 h 58 min | 32.5° |
| August | 06:56 | 12:23 | 17:50 | 10 h 54 min | 40.8° |
| September | 06:12 | 12:13 | 18:15 | 12 h 03 min | 52.2° |
| October | 06:28 | 13:05 | 19:42 | 13 h 14 min | 63.6° |
| November | 05:58 | 13:06 | 20:14 | 14 h 16 min | 72.8° |
| December | 05:56 | 13:18 | 20:39 | 14 h 43 min | 76.4° |
A year of daylight in Papakura
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 Papakura
Fixed array facing north (azimuth 0°). Energy per kWp from NASA POWER monthly climate, including clouds, temperature and snow reflection.
32°collects the most energy over a year: 1461 kWh per kWp.
61°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° | 1279 | 88% | 1.51 | 3.6× |
| 15° | 1410 | 97% | 2.08 | 2.7× |
| 30° | 1461 | 100% | 2.52 | 2.1× |
| 32° year-round best | 1461 | 100% | 2.57 | 2.0× |
| 37° = latitude | 1456 | 100% | 2.68 | 1.9× |
| 45° | 1428 | 98% | 2.81 | 1.7× |
| 60° | 1315 | 90% | 2.91 | 1.4× |
| 61° off-grid best | 1304 | 89% | 2.91 | 1.4× |
| 70° | 1199 | 82% | 2.88 | 1.3× |
| 90° | 891 | 61% | 2.59 | 1.7× |
A fixed array in Papakura produces the most over a year at 32°. The design month for an off-grid system is June: at 61° it makes 2.91 kWh per kWp a day, 13% more than at 32°, and costs 11% of the yearly total. Why steep panels win winter.
Off-grid solar in Papakura at 70°
Daily energy of 1 kWp by month. Bars: panels at 70°. Line: panels at 32° (year-round best).
| Month | Sun hours, flat | Sun hours at 70° | kWh/kWp/day at 70° | at 32° | Mean temp. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 6.73 | 3.85 | 3.21 | 5.17 | 19.4 °C |
| February | 5.79 | 4.15 | 3.46 | 4.85 | 20.0 °C |
| March | 4.77 | 4.46 | 3.74 | 4.50 | 18.9 °C |
| April | 3.43 | 4.22 | 3.58 | 3.73 | 17.0 °C |
| May | 2.38 | 3.64 | 3.10 | 2.92 | 14.9 °C |
| June | 1.92 | 3.35 | 2.88 | 2.57 | 12.9 °C |
| July | 2.13 | 3.49 | 3.02 | 2.76 | 11.7 °C |
| August | 2.89 | 3.86 | 3.33 | 3.33 | 12.0 °C |
| September | 3.95 | 4.05 | 3.48 | 3.96 | 12.9 °C |
| October | 5.08 | 4.02 | 3.43 | 4.51 | 14.1 °C |
| November | 6.10 | 3.80 | 3.21 | 4.90 | 15.8 °C |
| December | 6.42 | 3.56 | 2.97 | 4.88 | 17.9 °C |
| Year | 4.29 avg | 3.87 avg | 1199 kWh | 1461 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 410 Wp of panels at 70°, versus 460 Wp at 32°. The steep array is 11% smaller for the same winter. Size your own system.
Row spacing in Papakura
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.
4.5 mrow pitch at 70°
3.8 mrow pitch at 32°
How Papakura compares in New Zealand
Against the other 46 places in New Zealand with climate data, for a fixed array at its best angle.
14thof 47 places in New Zealand for sunshine: 4.29 peak sun hours a day on flat ground.
±0%solar energy a year compared with the average place in New Zealand: 1,461 against 1,455 kWh per kWp.
+1 mindaylight on the longest day, compared with Auckland: 14 h 43 min against 14 h 42 min.
32°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); Papakura ranks 14th. In its darkest month, June, 1 kWp of off-grid panels at 70° makes 2.88 kWh a day here, against 2.77 kWh on average in New Zealand. The shortest day lasts 9 h 37 min, −1 min compared with Auckland.
Solar forecast for Papakura, 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 Papakura
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Places near Papakura
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A free, live card for Papakura: 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.