Massachusetts · United States · 42.53° N · 71.10° W
Solar position in Reading
Sun position, daylight and the best solar panel angle for Reading — computed for 42.53° N, 71.10° W, 29 m above sea level.
The sun right now
Sun in Reading today
Saturday, 24 October 2026 · local time UTC−4
| Event | Time | Direction / height |
|---|---|---|
| Astronomical dawn | 05:33 | sun 18° below horizon |
| Nautical dawn | 06:06 | 12° below |
| Civil dawn | 06:39 | 6° below |
| Sunrise | 07:08 | 105° ESE |
| Golden hour ends | 07:47 | sun 6° up |
| Solar noon | 12:28 | 35.6° high |
| Golden hour starts | 17:09 | sun 6° up |
| Sunset | 17:48 | 254° WSW |
| Civil dusk | 18:17 | 6° below |
| Nautical dusk | 18:49 | 12° below |
| Astronomical dusk | 19:22 | 18° below |
| Day length | 10 h 40 min | |
Sun path diagram for Reading
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 70.9° at solar noon in Reading; on the December solstice only 24.1°. Sunrise swings from 56° ENE in June to 122° ESE in December — a 65° 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 | 07:07 | 11:55 | 16:43 | 9 h 36 min | 27.7° |
| February | 06:32 | 11:58 | 17:24 | 10 h 52 min | 37.1° |
| March | 06:45 | 12:51 | 18:57 | 12 h 12 min | 47.9° |
| April | 05:53 | 12:43 | 19:33 | 13 h 39 min | 59.5° |
| May | 05:16 | 12:41 | 20:05 | 14 h 49 min | 67.8° |
| June | 05:07 | 12:46 | 20:25 | 15 h 18 min | 70.9° |
| July | 05:25 | 12:50 | 20:15 | 14 h 50 min | 67.8° |
| August | 05:57 | 12:47 | 19:36 | 13 h 39 min | 59.4° |
| September | 06:30 | 12:37 | 18:43 | 12 h 13 min | 48.0° |
| October | 07:04 | 12:28 | 17:52 | 10 h 48 min | 36.6° |
| November | 06:43 | 11:30 | 16:17 | 9 h 34 min | 27.5° |
| December | 07:10 | 11:42 | 16:14 | 9 h 03 min | 24.1° |
A year of daylight in Reading
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 Reading
Fixed array facing south (azimuth 180°). Energy per kWp from NASA POWER monthly climate, including clouds, temperature and snow reflection.
37°collects the most energy over a year: 1388 kWh per kWp.
69°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° | 1148 | 83% | 1.16 | 4.2× |
| 15° | 1300 | 94% | 1.72 | 2.9× |
| 30° | 1379 | 99% | 2.18 | 2.2× |
| 37° year-round best | 1388 | 100% | 2.35 | 1.9× |
| 43° = latitude | 1383 | 100% | 2.47 | 1.8× |
| 45° | 1378 | 99% | 2.51 | 1.7× |
| 60° | 1300 | 94% | 2.69 | 1.5× |
| 69° off-grid best | 1218 | 88% | 2.72 | 1.4× |
| 70° | 1208 | 87% | 2.72 | 1.4× |
| 90° | 943 | 68% | 2.55 | 2.0× |
A fixed array in Reading produces the most over a year at 37°. The design month for an off-grid system is December: at 69° it makes 2.72 kWh per kWp a day, 16% more than at 37°, and costs 12% of the yearly total. Why steep panels win winter.
Off-grid solar in Reading at 70°
Daily energy of 1 kWp by month. Bars: panels at 70°. Line: panels at 37° (year-round best).
| Month | Sun hours, flat | Sun hours at 70° | kWh/kWp/day at 70° | at 37° | Mean temp. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January snow | 1.78 | 3.66 | 3.34 | 2.87 | -3.1 °C |
| February snow | 2.61 | 4.26 | 3.88 | 3.58 | -2.4 °C |
| March | 3.66 | 4.18 | 3.75 | 4.11 | 1.2 °C |
| April | 4.74 | 4.01 | 3.52 | 4.44 | 7.0 °C |
| May | 5.35 | 3.61 | 3.08 | 4.37 | 12.8 °C |
| June | 5.75 | 3.47 | 2.90 | 4.37 | 17.9 °C |
| July | 5.99 | 3.76 | 3.10 | 4.58 | 21.7 °C |
| August | 5.34 | 4.09 | 3.39 | 4.50 | 21.4 °C |
| September | 4.29 | 4.40 | 3.71 | 4.28 | 17.8 °C |
| October | 2.81 | 3.81 | 3.30 | 3.36 | 11.5 °C |
| November | 1.94 | 3.49 | 3.09 | 2.84 | 5.5 °C |
| December snow | 1.45 | 3.01 | 2.72 | 2.35 | 0.4 °C |
| Year | 3.81 avg | 3.81 avg | 1208 kWh | 1388 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 430 Wp of panels at 70°, versus 500 Wp at 37°. The steep array is 13% smaller for the same winter. Size your own system.
Row spacing in Reading
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.
5.6 mrow pitch at 70°
4.8 mrow pitch at 37°
How Reading 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.
2643rdof 3,121 places in the United States for sunshine, shared: 3.81 peak sun hours a day on flat ground.
−8%solar energy a year compared with the average place in the United States: 1,388 against 1,515 kWh per kWp.
+13 mindaylight on the longest day, compared with New York City: 15 h 18 min against 15 h 06 min.
37°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); Reading ranks joint 2643rd. In its darkest month, December, 1 kWp of off-grid panels at 70° makes 2.72 kWh a day here, against 2.55 kWh on average in the United States. The shortest day lasts 9 h 03 min, −12 min compared with New York City.
Solar forecast for Reading, 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 Reading
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Places near Reading
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A free, live card for Reading: 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.