Solarposition.org

Rhône-Alpes · France · 45.43° N · 4.39° E

Solar position in Saint-Étienne

Sun position, daylight and the best solar panel angle for Saint-Étienne — computed for 45.43° N, 4.39° E, 529 m above sea level.

Sunrise today08:10106° ESE
Sunset today18:42254° WSW
Best panel angle36°year-round, facing south
Off-grid angle68°best for the darkest month

The sun right now

Azimuth180.0°
Elevation32.7°
At solar noon, 13:26Open on the sun map

Sun in Saint-Étienne today

Saturday, 24 October 2026 · local time UTC+2

EventTimeDirection / height
Astronomical dawn06:31sun 18° below horizon
Nautical dawn07:0512° below
Civil dawn07:406° below
Sunrise08:10106° ESE
Golden hour ends08:52sun 6° up
Solar noon13:2632.7° high
Golden hour starts18:00sun 6° up
Sunset18:42254° WSW
Civil dusk19:126° below
Nautical dusk19:4612° below
Astronomical dusk20:2118° below
Day length10 h 31 min

Sun path diagram for Saint-Étienne

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 solstice789101112131415161718192021EquinoxDecember solstice910111213141516Today
  • June solstice
  • Equinox
  • December solstice
  • Today

On the June solstice the sun reaches 68.0° at solar noon in Saint-Étienne; on the December solstice only 21.2°. Sunrise swings from 54° NE in June to 124° ESE in December — a 69° 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
January08:1412:5317:339 h 19 min24.8°
February07:3412:5618:1810 h 43 min34.1°
March06:4312:4918:5612 h 12 min44.9°
April06:4613:4120:3613 h 49 min56.5°
May06:0513:3921:1215 h 07 min64.8°
June05:5313:4421:3415 h 41 min68.0°
July06:1413:4821:2215 h 09 min65.0°
August06:5013:4520:3913 h 50 min56.6°
September07:2813:3519:4212 h 14 min45.2°
October08:0613:2618:4610 h 40 min33.8°
November07:4912:2817:069 h 18 min24.6°
December08:1912:4017:018 h 43 min21.2°

A year of daylight in Saint-Étienne

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 Saint-Étienne

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

36°collects the most energy over a year: 1346 kWh per kWp.

68°gives the most in the darkest month — the one an off-grid system is sized for.

40%50%60%70%80%90%100%0°10°20°30°40°50°60°70°80°90°Best year-round 36°Best worst-month 68°70°Yearly energyWorst-month energy
  • Yearly energy
  • Worst-month energy
TiltkWh/kWp per yearShare of best yearDecember kWh/kWp/dayBest ÷ worst month
0°112383%0.895.9×
15°126794%1.344.0×
30°133999%1.723.0×
36° year-round best1346100%1.842.7×
45° = latitude133399%1.992.4×
60°125193%2.131.9×
68° off-grid best117888%2.151.8×
70°115786%2.151.8×
90°89166%2.011.5×

A fixed array in Saint-Étienne produces the most over a year at 36°. The design month for an off-grid system is December: at 68° it makes 2.15 kWh per kWp a day, 17% more than at 36°, and costs 12% of the yearly total. Why steep panels win winter.

Off-grid solar in Saint-Étienne at 70°

Daily energy of 1 kWp by month. Bars: panels at 70°. Line: panels at 36° (year-round best).

0123456January: 2.34 (70°)2.3JanFebruary: 3.06 (70°)3.1FebMarch: 3.69 (70°)3.7MarApril: 3.63 (70°)3.6AprMay: 3.31 (70°)3.3MayJune: 3.37 (70°)3.4JunJuly: 3.48 (70°)3.5JulAugust: 3.68 (70°)3.7AugSeptember: 3.80 (70°)3.8SepOctober: 3.14 (70°)3.1OctNovember: 2.40 (70°)2.4NovDecember: 2.15 (70°)2.2Dec36°
MonthSun hours, flatSun hours at 70°kWh/kWp/day at 70°at 36°Mean temp.
January1.342.612.342.061.3 °C
February2.213.413.062.941.9 °C
March3.514.173.693.955.6 °C
April4.704.183.634.469.5 °C
May5.453.883.314.5513.3 °C
June6.404.033.374.9818.0 °C
July6.414.193.485.0520.4 °C
August5.494.413.684.7919.9 °C
September4.164.463.804.2715.5 °C
October2.603.633.143.1411.3 °C
November1.522.722.402.175.7 °C
December1.132.412.151.842.1 °C
Year3.75 avg3.68 avg1157 kWh1346 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 550 Wp of panels at 70°, versus 640 Wp at 36°. The steep array is 14% smaller for the same winter. Size your own system.

Row spacing in Saint-Étienne

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.

6.5 mrow pitch at 70°

5.2 mrow pitch at 36°

Row spacing calculator

How Saint-Étienne compares in France

Against the other 656 places in France with climate data, for a fixed array at its best angle.

139thof 657 places in France for sunshine, shared: 3.75 peak sun hours a day on flat ground.

+7%solar energy a year compared with the average place in France: 1,346 against 1,261 kWh per kWp.

−30 mindaylight on the longest day, compared with Paris: 15 h 41 min against 16 h 11 min.

36°best year-round tilt here; across France it runs from 33° in Ajaccio to 39° in Lille.

Of the 657 places in France, Marseille 12 and 5 other places get the most sun (4.46 peak sun hours a day) and Maubeuge and one other place the least (3.10); Saint-Étienne ranks joint 139th. In its darkest month, December, 1 kWp of off-grid panels at 70° makes 2.15 kWh a day here, against 1.86 kWh on average in France. The shortest day lasts 8 h 43 min, +28 min compared with Paris.

The sunniest places in France

Solar forecast for Saint-Étienne, 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 Saint-Étienne

What is the best solar panel angle in Saint-Étienne?
For a fixed array facing south, the best year-round tilt in Saint-Étienne is 36°, worth about 1346 kWh per kWp a year. An off-grid system that has to get through December does better at about 68°.
What time is sunrise and sunset in Saint-Étienne today?
On 24 October 2026 the sun rises at 08:10 and sets at 18:42 local time (UTC+2), giving 10 h 31 min of daylight. Solar noon is at 13:26.
How many peak sun hours does Saint-Étienne get?
On a flat surface 3.8 hours a day averaged over the year, from 1.1 in December to 6.4 in July. Panels tilted at 70° receive 2.4 sun hours a day in December.
How high does the sun get in Saint-Étienne?
At solar noon the sun stands 68.0° above the horizon on the June solstice and 21.2° on the December solstice.
Is Saint-Étienne a good place for solar panels?
With 3.8 peak sun hours a day on flat ground, Saint-Étienne ranks joint 139th of 657 places in France for sunshine. A 1 kWp array at the best angle (36°) makes about 1,346 kWh a year here, 7% more than the average place in France.

Places near Saint-Étienne

All places in France

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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.