Mayaro · Trinidad and Tobago · 10.31° N · 61.18° W
Solar position in Rio Claro
Sun position, daylight and the best solar panel angle for Rio Claro — computed for 10.31° N, 61.18° W, 45 m above sea level.
The sun right now
Sun in Rio Claro today
Saturday, 24 October 2026 · local time UTC−4
| Event | Time | Direction / height |
|---|---|---|
| Astronomical dawn | 04:43 | sun 18° below horizon |
| Nautical dawn | 05:07 | 12° below |
| Civil dawn | 05:32 | 6° below |
| Sunrise | 05:54 | 102° ESE |
| Golden hour ends | 06:22 | sun 6° up |
| Solar noon | 11:48 | 67.8° high |
| Golden hour starts | 17:14 | sun 6° up |
| Sunset | 17:43 | 258° WSW |
| Civil dusk | 18:04 | 6° below |
| Nautical dusk | 18:29 | 12° below |
| Astronomical dusk | 18:54 | 18° below |
| Day length | 11 h 49 min | |
Sun path diagram for Rio Claro
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 76.9° at solar noon in Rio Claro; on the December solstice only 56.3°. 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.
| Month | Sunrise | Solar noon | Sunset | Day length | Noon elevation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 06:27 | 12:16 | 18:04 | 11 h 37 min | 59.9° |
| February | 06:22 | 12:18 | 18:14 | 11 h 52 min | 69.3° |
| March | 06:08 | 12:11 | 18:15 | 12 h 07 min | 80.1° |
| April | 05:51 | 12:03 | 18:15 | 12 h 25 min | 88.3° |
| May | 05:42 | 12:01 | 18:20 | 12 h 38 min | 80.0° |
| June | 05:44 | 12:06 | 18:28 | 12 h 44 min | 76.9° |
| July | 05:52 | 12:11 | 18:30 | 12 h 38 min | 79.9° |
| August | 05:55 | 12:07 | 18:19 | 12 h 24 min | 88.4° |
| September | 05:53 | 11:57 | 18:01 | 12 h 07 min | 80.2° |
| October | 05:53 | 11:49 | 17:44 | 11 h 51 min | 68.8° |
| November | 06:02 | 11:50 | 17:39 | 11 h 37 min | 59.7° |
| December | 06:17 | 12:02 | 17:48 | 11 h 31 min | 56.3° |
A year of daylight in Rio Claro
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 Rio Claro
Fixed array facing south (azimuth 180°). Energy per kWp from NASA POWER monthly climate, including clouds, temperature and snow reflection.
10°collects the most energy over a year: 1573 kWh per kWp.
10°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° | 1553 | 99% | 4.13 | 1.3× |
| 10° year-round best off-grid best = latitude | 1573 | 100% | 3.92 | 1.2× |
| 15° | 1569 | 100% | 3.78 | 1.3× |
| 30° | 1497 | 95% | 3.22 | 1.5× |
| 45° | 1343 | 85% | 2.51 | 1.9× |
| 60° | 1118 | 71% | 1.73 | 2.5× |
| 70° | 943 | 60% | 1.27 | 3.2× |
| 90° | 635 | 40% | 1.06 | 3.0× |
A fixed array in Rio Claro produces the most over a year at 10°. The design month for an off-grid system is June: at 10° it makes 3.92 kWh per kWp a day, and costs 0% of the yearly total. Why steep panels win winter.
Off-grid solar in Rio Claro at 70°
Daily energy of 1 kWp by month. Bars: panels at 70°. Line: panels at 10° (year-round best).
| Month | Sun hours, flat | Sun hours at 70° | kWh/kWp/day at 70° | at 10° | Mean temp. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 5.04 | 4.92 | 4.02 | 4.34 | 26.4 °C |
| February | 5.58 | 4.48 | 3.65 | 4.68 | 26.4 °C |
| March | 5.89 | 3.61 | 2.93 | 4.76 | 26.8 °C |
| April | 5.92 | 2.58 | 2.06 | 4.61 | 27.5 °C |
| May | 5.57 | 1.86 | 1.47 | 4.22 | 27.7 °C |
| June | 5.22 | 1.62 | 1.27 | 3.92 | 27.3 °C |
| July | 5.47 | 1.66 | 1.30 | 4.12 | 27.3 °C |
| August | 5.72 | 2.12 | 1.68 | 4.40 | 27.7 °C |
| September | 5.73 | 3.06 | 2.46 | 4.55 | 28.1 °C |
| October | 5.20 | 3.78 | 3.05 | 4.26 | 27.9 °C |
| November | 4.70 | 4.25 | 3.45 | 3.97 | 27.5 °C |
| December | 4.54 | 4.60 | 3.74 | 3.93 | 26.9 °C |
| Year | 5.38 avg | 3.20 avg | 943 kWh | 1573 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 930 Wp of panels at 70°, versus 300 Wp at 10°. Here the lower tilt is the better winter choice — the sun stays high enough. Size your own system.
Row spacing in Rio Claro
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.
2.1 mrow pitch at 70°
2.2 mrow pitch at 10°
How Rio Claro compares in Trinidad and Tobago
Against the other 13 places in Trinidad and Tobago with climate data, for a fixed array at its best angle.
9thof 14 places in Trinidad and Tobago for sunshine: 5.38 peak sun hours a day on flat ground.
−1%solar energy a year compared with the average place in Trinidad and Tobago: 1,573 against 1,581 kWh per kWp.
−1 mindaylight on the longest day, compared with Chaguanas: 12 h 44 min against 12 h 44 min.
10°best year-round tilt here; across Trinidad and Tobago it runs from 10° in Chaguanas to 11° in Port of Spain.
Of the 14 places in Trinidad and Tobago, Scarborough gets the most sun (5.70 peak sun hours a day) and Point Fortin the least (5.27); Rio Claro ranks 9th. In its darkest month, June, 1 kWp of off-grid panels at 70° makes 1.27 kWh a day here, against 1.28 kWh on average in Trinidad and Tobago. The shortest day lasts 11 h 31 min, +1 min compared with Chaguanas.
Solar forecast for Rio Claro, 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 Rio Claro
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Places near Rio Claro
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A free, live card for Rio Claro: 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.