Solarposition.org

Alberta · Canada · 52.27° N · 113.80° W

Solar position in Red Deer

Sun position, daylight and the best solar panel angle for Red Deer — computed for 52.27° N, 113.80° W, 856 m above sea level.

Sunrise today08:16109° ESE
Sunset today18:21251° WSW
Best panel angle45°year-round, facing south
Off-grid angle79°best for the darkest month

The sun right now

Azimuth180.0°
Elevation25.8°
At solar noon, 13:19Open on the sun map

Sun in Red Deer today

Saturday, 24 October 2026 · local time UTC−6

EventTimeDirection / height
Astronomical dawn06:22sun 18° below horizon
Nautical dawn07:0212° below
Civil dawn07:416° below
Sunrise08:16109° ESE
Golden hour ends09:05sun 6° up
Solar noon13:1925.8° high
Golden hour starts17:32sun 6° up
Sunset18:21251° WSW
Civil dusk18:566° below
Nautical dusk19:3512° below
Astronomical dusk20:1418° below
Day length10 h 04 min

Sun path diagram for Red Deer

Where the sun stands in the sky: the centre is straight overhead, the outer ring is the horizon. Numbers mark local clock hours.

15°30°45°60°75°N30°60°E120°150°S210°240°W300°330°June solstice6789101112131415161718192021EquinoxDecember solstice910111213141516Today
  • June solstice
  • Equinox
  • December solstice
  • Today

On the June solstice the sun reaches 61.2° at solar noon in Red Deer; on the December solstice only 14.4°. Sunrise swings from 48° NE in June to 129° SE in December — a 81° 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.

MonthSunriseSolar noonSunsetDay lengthNoon elevation
January08:3012:4617:028 h 32 min18.0°
February07:3812:4918:0010 h 22 min27.4°
March07:3413:4219:5012 h 16 min38.2°
April06:2413:3420:4414 h 20 min49.8°
May05:3113:3121:3316 h 02 min58.0°
June05:1313:3722:0016 h 47 min61.2°
July05:4013:4121:4216 h 02 min58.1°
August06:2813:3820:4614 h 18 min49.6°
September07:1913:2719:3512 h 15 min38.2°
October08:1113:1918:2710 h 16 min26.9°
November08:0612:2016:348 h 28 min17.7°
December08:4212:3316:247 h 42 min14.4°

A year of daylight in Red Deer

Each column is one day of 2026. Bright: sun above the horizon; soft: civil twilight; line: solar noon. Steps are daylight saving time changes.

00:0003:0006:0009:0012:0015:0018:0021:0000:00JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec

Best solar panel angle in Red Deer

Fixed array facing south (azimuth 180°). Energy per kWp from NASA POWER monthly climate, including clouds, temperature and snow reflection.

45°collects the most energy over a year: 1423 kWh per kWp.

79°gives the most in the darkest month — the one an off-grid system is sized for.

20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%100%0°10°20°30°40°50°60°70°80°90°Best year-round 45°Best worst-month 79°70°Yearly energyWorst-month energy
  • Yearly energy
  • Worst-month energy
TiltkWh/kWp per yearShare of best yearDecember kWh/kWp/dayBest ÷ worst month
0°108176%0.657.9×
15°126789%1.174.6×
30°138397%1.633.3×
45° year-round best1423100%2.002.5×
52° = latitude141599%2.132.3×
60°138597%2.252.2×
70°131793%2.342.1×
79° off-grid best122986%2.362.0×
90°109277%2.331.9×

A fixed array in Red Deer produces the most over a year at 45°. The design month for an off-grid system is December: at 79° it makes 2.36 kWh per kWp a day, 18% more than at 45°, and costs 14% of the yearly total. Why steep panels win winter.

Off-grid solar in Red Deer at 70°

Daily energy of 1 kWp by month. Bars: panels at 70°. Line: panels at 45° (year-round best).

0123456January: 2.81 (70°)2.8JanFebruary: 4.15 (70°)4.2FebMarch: 4.95 (70°)5.0MarApril: 4.10 (70°)4.1AprMay: 3.88 (70°)3.9MayJune: 3.63 (70°)3.6JunJuly: 3.90 (70°)3.9JulAugust: 3.96 (70°)4.0AugSeptember: 3.83 (70°)3.8SepOctober: 3.26 (70°)3.3OctNovember: 2.51 (70°)2.5NovDecember: 2.34 (70°)2.3Dec45°
MonthSun hours, flatSun hours at 70°kWh/kWp/day at 70°at 45°Mean temp.
January snow1.163.022.812.46-8.7 °C
February snow2.284.464.153.83-7.8 °C
March snow3.705.434.954.87-2.6 °C
April4.674.614.104.713.8 °C
May5.674.493.884.8610.2 °C
June6.044.283.634.7414.4 °C
July6.304.643.905.0317.7 °C
August5.164.683.964.7316.4 °C
September3.614.433.834.1211.1 °C
October2.193.663.263.203.8 °C
November snow1.152.752.512.22-3.2 °C
December snow0.852.512.342.00-8.5 °C
Year3.57 avg4.08 avg1317 kWh1423 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 500 Wp of panels at 70°, versus 590 Wp at 45°. The steep array is 14% smaller for the same winter. Size your own system.

Row spacing in Red Deer

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.

10.2 mrow pitch at 70°

8.6 mrow pitch at 45°

Row spacing calculator

How Red Deer compares in Canada

Against the other 295 places in Canada with climate data, for a fixed array at its best angle.

108thof 296 places in Canada for sunshine, shared: 3.57 peak sun hours a day on flat ground.

+10%solar energy a year compared with the average place in Canada: 1,423 against 1,292 kWh per kWp.

+1 h 20 mindaylight on the longest day, compared with Toronto: 16 h 47 min against 15 h 27 min.

45°best year-round tilt here; across Canada it runs from 34° in Hamilton to 52° in Yellowknife.

Of the 296 places in Canada, Medicine Hat and one other place get the most sun (3.84 peak sun hours a day) and Terrace the least (2.57); Red Deer ranks joint 108th. In its darkest month, December, 1 kWp of off-grid panels at 70° makes 2.34 kWh a day here, against 1.88 kWh on average in Canada. The shortest day lasts 7 h 42 min, −1 h 14 min compared with Toronto.

The sunniest places in Canada

Solar forecast for Red Deer, next 48 hours

Expected output of 1 kWp at 70°, computed from the ICON-EU weather model of the Deutscher Wetterdienst (DWD), Europe.

Loading the latest forecast…

Questions about the sun in Red Deer

What is the best solar panel angle in Red Deer?
For a fixed array facing south, the best year-round tilt in Red Deer is 45°, worth about 1423 kWh per kWp a year. An off-grid system that has to get through December does better at about 79°.
What time is sunrise and sunset in Red Deer today?
On 24 October 2026 the sun rises at 08:16 and sets at 18:21 local time (UTC−6), giving 10 h 04 min of daylight. Solar noon is at 13:19.
How many peak sun hours does Red Deer get?
On a flat surface 3.6 hours a day averaged over the year, from 0.8 in December to 6.3 in July. Panels tilted at 70° receive 2.5 sun hours a day in December.
How high does the sun get in Red Deer?
At solar noon the sun stands 61.2° above the horizon on the June solstice and 14.4° on the December solstice.
Is Red Deer a good place for solar panels?
With 3.6 peak sun hours a day on flat ground, Red Deer ranks joint 108th of 296 places in Canada for sunshine. A 1 kWp array at the best angle (45°) makes about 1,423 kWh a year here, 10% more than the average place in Canada.

Places near Red Deer

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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.