England · United Kingdom · 51.69° N · 0.18° W
Solar position in Potters Bar
Sun position, daylight and the best solar panel angle for Potters Bar — computed for 51.69° N, 0.18° W, 125 m above sea level.
The sun right now
Sun in Potters Bar today
Saturday, 24 October 2026 · local time UTC+1
| Event | Time | Direction / height |
|---|---|---|
| Astronomical dawn | 05:48 | sun 18° below horizon |
| Nautical dawn | 06:26 | 12° below |
| Civil dawn | 07:05 | 6° below |
| Sunrise | 07:40 | 108° ESE |
| Golden hour ends | 08:28 | sun 6° up |
| Solar noon | 12:44 | 26.5° high |
| Golden hour starts | 17:00 | sun 6° up |
| Sunset | 17:48 | 252° WSW |
| Civil dusk | 18:23 | 6° below |
| Nautical dusk | 19:02 | 12° below |
| Astronomical dusk | 19:40 | 18° below |
| Day length | 10 h 08 min | |
Sun path diagram for Potters Bar
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 61.8° at solar noon in Potters Bar; on the December solstice only 14.9°. Sunrise swings from 49° NE in June to 129° SE in December — a 80° 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 | 07:54 | 12:12 | 16:30 | 8 h 35 min | 18.5° |
| February | 07:03 | 12:14 | 17:26 | 10 h 23 min | 27.9° |
| March | 06:01 | 12:08 | 18:15 | 12 h 14 min | 38.7° |
| April | 05:52 | 12:59 | 20:07 | 14 h 16 min | 50.3° |
| May | 04:59 | 12:57 | 20:55 | 15 h 56 min | 58.6° |
| June | 04:42 | 13:02 | 21:22 | 16 h 41 min | 61.8° |
| July | 05:07 | 13:07 | 21:05 | 15 h 58 min | 58.7° |
| August | 05:55 | 13:03 | 20:11 | 14 h 16 min | 50.3° |
| September | 06:45 | 12:53 | 19:01 | 12 h 16 min | 38.9° |
| October | 07:35 | 12:45 | 17:54 | 10 h 19 min | 27.5° |
| November | 07:29 | 11:46 | 16:03 | 8 h 34 min | 18.4° |
| December | 08:04 | 11:58 | 15:52 | 7 h 48 min | 14.9° |
A year of daylight in Potters Bar
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 Potters Bar
Fixed array facing south (azimuth 180°). Energy per kWp from NASA POWER monthly climate, including clouds, temperature and snow reflection.
40°collects the most energy over a year: 1086 kWh per kWp.
74°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 | December kWh/kWp/day | Best ÷ worst month |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0° | 873 | 80% | 0.47 | 9.3× |
| 15° | 999 | 92% | 0.81 | 5.6× |
| 30° | 1071 | 99% | 1.10 | 4.0× |
| 40° year-round best | 1086 | 100% | 1.26 | 3.4× |
| 45° | 1083 | 100% | 1.32 | 3.1× |
| 52° = latitude | 1068 | 98% | 1.40 | 2.8× |
| 60° | 1035 | 95% | 1.46 | 2.5× |
| 70° | 971 | 89% | 1.50 | 2.3× |
| 74° off-grid best | 939 | 86% | 1.50 | 2.2× |
| 90° | 778 | 72% | 1.44 | 1.8× |
A fixed array in Potters Bar produces the most over a year at 40°. The design month for an off-grid system is December: at 74° it makes 1.50 kWh per kWp a day, 19% more than at 40°, and costs 14% of the yearly total. Why steep panels win winter.
Off-grid solar in Potters Bar at 70°
Daily energy of 1 kWp by month. Bars: panels at 70°. Line: panels at 40° (year-round best).
| Month | Sun hours, flat | Sun hours at 70° | kWh/kWp/day at 70° | at 40° | Mean temp. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 0.81 | 1.92 | 1.69 | 1.46 | 4.1 °C |
| February | 1.49 | 2.55 | 2.25 | 2.12 | 4.2 °C |
| March | 2.63 | 3.33 | 2.93 | 3.06 | 6.0 °C |
| April | 4.07 | 3.95 | 3.43 | 3.99 | 8.9 °C |
| May | 4.89 | 3.86 | 3.30 | 4.22 | 12.1 °C |
| June | 5.29 | 3.80 | 3.20 | 4.26 | 15.4 °C |
| July | 5.09 | 3.80 | 3.18 | 4.16 | 17.6 °C |
| August | 4.21 | 3.69 | 3.10 | 3.76 | 17.3 °C |
| September | 3.23 | 3.68 | 3.13 | 3.41 | 14.6 °C |
| October | 1.84 | 2.78 | 2.39 | 2.35 | 11.2 °C |
| November | 0.97 | 2.07 | 1.81 | 1.60 | 7.3 °C |
| December | 0.64 | 1.70 | 1.50 | 1.26 | 4.8 °C |
| Year | 2.94 avg | 3.10 avg | 971 kWh | 1086 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 790 Wp of panels at 70°, versus 940 Wp at 40°. The steep array is 16% smaller for the same winter. Size your own system.
Row spacing in Potters Bar
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.
9.7 mrow pitch at 70°
7.7 mrow pitch at 40°
How Potters Bar compares in the United Kingdom
Against the other 801 places in the United Kingdom with climate data, for a fixed array at its best angle.
260thof 802 places in the United Kingdom for sunshine, shared: 2.94 peak sun hours a day on flat ground.
+3%solar energy a year compared with the average place in the United Kingdom: 1,086 against 1,058 kWh per kWp.
+2 mindaylight on the longest day, compared with London: 16 h 41 min against 16 h 38 min.
40°best year-round tilt here; across the United Kingdom it runs from 38° in Plymouth to 45° in Elgin.
Of the 802 places in the United Kingdom, Sandown and 2 other places get the most sun (3.23 peak sun hours a day) and Fort William the least (2.32); Potters Bar ranks joint 260th. In its darkest month, December, 1 kWp of off-grid panels at 70° makes 1.50 kWh a day here, against 1.32 kWh on average in the United Kingdom. The shortest day lasts 7 h 48 min, −2 min compared with London.
Solar forecast for Potters Bar, 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 Potters Bar
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A free, live card for Potters Bar: 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.