Solarposition.org

Matagalpa Department · Nicaragua · 12.93° N · 85.22° W

Solar position in Río Blanco

Sun position, daylight and the best solar panel angle for Río Blanco — computed for 12.93° N, 85.22° W, 265 m above sea level.

Sunrise today05:32102° ESE
Sunset today17:17258° WSW
Best panel angle14°year-round, facing south
Off-grid angle3°best for the darkest month

The sun right now

Azimuth180.0°
Elevation65.1°
At solar noon, 11:24Open on the sun map

Sun in Río Blanco today

Saturday, 24 October 2026 · local time UTC−6

EventTimeDirection / height
Astronomical dawn04:21sun 18° below horizon
Nautical dawn04:4512° below
Civil dawn05:116° below
Sunrise05:32102° ESE
Golden hour ends06:01sun 6° up
Solar noon11:2465.1° high
Golden hour starts16:48sun 6° up
Sunset17:17258° WSW
Civil dusk17:386° below
Nautical dusk18:0312° below
Astronomical dusk18:2818° below
Day length11 h 45 min

Sun path diagram for Río Blanco

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 solstice6789101112131415161718EquinoxDecember solstice7891011121314151617Today
  • June solstice
  • Equinox
  • December solstice
  • Today

On the June solstice the sun reaches 79.5° at solar noon in Río Blanco; on the December solstice only 53.6°. Sunrise swings from 66° ENE in June to 114° ESE in December — a 48° 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
January06:0711:5217:3711 h 29 min57.3°
February06:0011:5417:4811 h 48 min66.7°
March05:4411:4817:5112 h 07 min77.5°
April05:2411:3917:5412 h 29 min89.1°
May05:1411:3718:0012 h 46 min82.6°
June05:1611:4218:0912 h 53 min79.5°
July05:2411:4718:1012 h 46 min82.6°
August05:2911:4317:5812 h 29 min89.0°
September05:3011:3317:3712 h 08 min77.6°
October05:3211:2517:1811 h 47 min66.2°
November05:4211:2617:1111 h 29 min57.1°
December05:5811:3917:2011 h 22 min53.6°

A year of daylight in Río Blanco

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 Río Blanco

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

14°collects the most energy over a year: 1401 kWh per kWp.

3°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 14°Best worst-month 3°70°Yearly energyWorst-month energy
  • Yearly energy
  • Worst-month energy
TiltkWh/kWp per yearShare of best yearJuly kWh/kWp/dayBest ÷ worst month
0°136798%3.401.4×
3° off-grid best138099%3.381.3×
13° = latitude1401100%3.231.4×
14° year-round best1401100%3.211.4×
15°1401100%3.191.4×
30°135797%2.821.6×
45°123988%2.311.8×
60°105675%1.712.3×
70°90765%1.322.8×
90°61844%0.992.9×

A fixed array in Río Blanco produces the most over a year at 14°. The design month for an off-grid system is July: at 3° it makes 3.38 kWh per kWp a day, 5% more than at 14°, and costs 1% of the yearly total. Why steep panels win winter.

Off-grid solar in Río Blanco at 70°

Daily energy of 1 kWp by month. Bars: panels at 70°. Line: panels at 14° (year-round best).

012345January: 3.62 (70°)3.6JanFebruary: 3.32 (70°)3.3FebMarch: 2.92 (70°)2.9MarApril: 2.05 (70°)2.0AprMay: 1.49 (70°)1.5MayJune: 1.29 (70°)1.3JunJuly: 1.32 (70°)1.3JulAugust: 1.66 (70°)1.7AugSeptember: 2.31 (70°)2.3SepOctober: 2.84 (70°)2.8OctNovember: 3.42 (70°)3.4NovDecember: 3.65 (70°)3.7Dec14°
MonthSun hours, flatSun hours at 70°kWh/kWp/day at 70°at 14°Mean temp.
January4.334.393.623.8923.9 °C
February4.824.053.324.1524.9 °C
March5.583.592.924.5726.4 °C
April5.572.562.054.3027.9 °C
May4.891.881.493.6727.3 °C
June4.491.641.293.3425.8 °C
July4.281.671.323.2125.4 °C
August4.632.071.663.5625.6 °C
September4.902.852.313.9325.3 °C
October4.573.472.843.8424.7 °C
November4.354.153.423.8524.1 °C
December4.124.433.653.7623.8 °C
Year4.71 avg3.06 avg907 kWh1401 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 910 Wp of panels at 70°, versus 370 Wp at 14°. Here the lower tilt is the better winter choice — the sun stays high enough. Size your own system.

Row spacing in Río Blanco

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.

2.2 mrow pitch at 70°

2.3 mrow pitch at 14°

Row spacing calculator

How Río Blanco compares in Nicaragua

Against the other 36 places in Nicaragua with climate data, for a fixed array at its best angle.

33rdof 37 places in Nicaragua for sunshine: 4.71 peak sun hours a day on flat ground.

−11%solar energy a year compared with the average place in Nicaragua: 1,401 against 1,576 kWh per kWp.

+3 mindaylight on the longest day, compared with Managua: 12 h 53 min against 12 h 50 min.

14°best year-round tilt here; across Nicaragua it runs from 13° in Nueva Guinea to 15° in León.

Of the 37 places in Nicaragua, Corinto gets the most sun (5.84 peak sun hours a day) and Nueva Guinea the least (4.44); Río Blanco ranks 33rd. In its darkest month, June, 1 kWp of off-grid panels at 70° makes 1.29 kWh a day here, against 1.32 kWh on average in Nicaragua. The shortest day lasts 11 h 22 min, −3 min compared with Managua.

The sunniest places in Nicaragua

Solar forecast for Río Blanco, 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 Río Blanco

What is the best solar panel angle in Río Blanco?
For a fixed array facing south, the best year-round tilt in Río Blanco is 14°, worth about 1401 kWh per kWp a year. An off-grid system that has to get through July does better at about 3°.
What time is sunrise and sunset in Río Blanco today?
On 24 October 2026 the sun rises at 05:32 and sets at 17:17 local time (UTC−6), giving 11 h 45 min of daylight. Solar noon is at 11:24.
How many peak sun hours does Río Blanco get?
On a flat surface 4.7 hours a day averaged over the year, from 4.1 in December to 5.6 in March. Panels tilted at 70° receive 1.6 sun hours a day in June.
How high does the sun get in Río Blanco?
At solar noon the sun stands 79.5° above the horizon on the June solstice and 53.6° on the December solstice.
Is Río Blanco a good place for solar panels?
With 4.7 peak sun hours a day on flat ground, Río Blanco ranks 33rd of 37 places in Nicaragua for sunshine. A 1 kWp array at the best angle (14°) makes about 1,401 kWh a year here, 11% less than the average place in Nicaragua.

Places near Río Blanco

All places in Nicaragua

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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.