Aruba · 12.51° N · 69.98° W
Solar position in Santa Cruz
Sun position, daylight and the best solar panel angle for Santa Cruz — computed for 12.51° N, 69.98° W, 34 m above sea level.
The sun right now
Sun in Santa Cruz today
Saturday, 24 October 2026 · local time UTC−4
| Event | Time | Direction / height |
|---|---|---|
| Astronomical dawn | 05:19 | sun 18° below horizon |
| Nautical dawn | 05:44 | 12° below |
| Civil dawn | 06:09 | 6° below |
| Sunrise | 06:31 | 102° ESE |
| Golden hour ends | 07:00 | sun 6° up |
| Solar noon | 12:24 | 65.6° high |
| Golden hour starts | 17:48 | sun 6° up |
| Sunset | 18:16 | 258° WSW |
| Civil dusk | 18:38 | 6° below |
| Nautical dusk | 19:03 | 12° below |
| Astronomical dusk | 19:28 | 18° below |
| Day length | 11 h 45 min | |
Sun path diagram for Santa Cruz
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 79.1° at solar noon in Santa Cruz; on the December solstice only 54.1°. 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 | 07:05 | 12:51 | 18:36 | 11 h 31 min | 57.7° |
| February | 06:59 | 12:53 | 18:47 | 11 h 48 min | 67.1° |
| March | 06:43 | 12:47 | 18:50 | 12 h 07 min | 77.9° |
| April | 06:24 | 12:38 | 18:52 | 12 h 29 min | 89.5° |
| May | 06:14 | 12:36 | 18:59 | 12 h 45 min | 82.2° |
| June | 06:15 | 12:41 | 19:07 | 12 h 52 min | 79.1° |
| July | 06:23 | 12:46 | 19:08 | 12 h 45 min | 82.1° |
| August | 06:28 | 12:43 | 18:57 | 12 h 28 min | 89.4° |
| September | 06:29 | 12:32 | 18:36 | 12 h 08 min | 78.0° |
| October | 06:30 | 12:24 | 18:18 | 11 h 47 min | 66.6° |
| November | 06:40 | 12:25 | 18:10 | 11 h 30 min | 57.5° |
| December | 06:56 | 12:38 | 18:19 | 11 h 24 min | 54.1° |
A year of daylight in Santa Cruz
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 Santa Cruz
Fixed array facing south (azimuth 180°). Energy per kWp from NASA POWER monthly climate, including clouds, temperature and snow reflection.
12°collects the most energy over a year: 1735 kWh per kWp.
17°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 | November kWh/kWp/day | Best ÷ worst month |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0° | 1702 | 98% | 3.91 | 1.3× |
| 12° year-round best | 1735 | 100% | 4.31 | 1.2× |
| 13° = latitude | 1735 | 100% | 4.33 | 1.2× |
| 15° | 1734 | 100% | 4.38 | 1.2× |
| 17° off-grid best | 1731 | 100% | 4.42 | 1.2× |
| 30° | 1667 | 96% | 4.59 | 1.4× |
| 45° | 1506 | 87% | 4.54 | 1.7× |
| 60° | 1263 | 73% | 4.22 | 2.4× |
| 70° | 1070 | 62% | 3.87 | 3.2× |
| 90° | 717 | 41% | 2.88 | 3.3× |
A fixed array in Santa Cruz produces the most over a year at 12°. The design month for an off-grid system is November: at 17° it makes 4.42 kWh per kWp a day, 3% more than at 12°, and costs 0% of the yearly total. Why steep panels win winter.
Off-grid solar in Santa Cruz at 70°
Daily energy of 1 kWp by month. Bars: panels at 70°. Line: panels at 12° (year-round best).
| Month | Sun hours, flat | Sun hours at 70° | kWh/kWp/day at 70° | at 12° | Mean temp. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 5.32 | 5.57 | 4.55 | 4.73 | 26.4 °C |
| February | 5.97 | 5.08 | 4.15 | 5.11 | 26.1 °C |
| March | 6.32 | 4.03 | 3.28 | 5.16 | 26.3 °C |
| April | 6.30 | 2.87 | 2.31 | 4.91 | 26.8 °C |
| May | 6.14 | 2.12 | 1.68 | 4.63 | 27.4 °C |
| June | 6.23 | 1.84 | 1.44 | 4.61 | 27.7 °C |
| July | 6.37 | 1.88 | 1.48 | 4.74 | 27.6 °C |
| August | 6.56 | 2.46 | 1.96 | 5.00 | 28.3 °C |
| September | 6.23 | 3.47 | 2.79 | 4.95 | 28.7 °C |
| October | 5.47 | 4.15 | 3.35 | 4.53 | 28.5 °C |
| November | 4.99 | 4.78 | 3.87 | 4.31 | 28.2 °C |
| December | 4.93 | 5.39 | 4.38 | 4.40 | 27.3 °C |
| Year | 5.90 avg | 3.63 avg | 1070 kWh | 1735 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 820 Wp of panels at 70°, versus 270 Wp at 12°. Here the lower tilt is the better winter choice — the sun stays high enough. Size your own system.
Row spacing in Santa Cruz
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 12°
How Santa Cruz compares in Aruba
Against the other 3 places in Aruba with climate data, for a fixed array at its best angle.
4thof 4 places in Aruba for sunshine: 5.90 peak sun hours a day on flat ground.
±0%solar energy a year compared with the average place in Aruba: 1,736 against 1,737 kWh per kWp.
±0 mindaylight on the longest day, compared with Oranjestad: 12 h 52 min against 12 h 52 min.
12°best year-round tilt here, the same everywhere in Aruba.
Santa Cruz gets the least sun of the 4 places in Aruba (5.90 peak sun hours a day); the sunniest are Noord and 2 other places with 5.91. In its darkest month, June, 1 kWp of off-grid panels at 70° makes 1.44 kWh a day here, against 1.44 kWh on average in Aruba. The shortest day lasts 11 h 24 min, ±0 min compared with Oranjestad.
Solar forecast for Santa Cruz, 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 Santa Cruz
What is the best solar panel angle in Santa Cruz?
What time is sunrise and sunset in Santa Cruz today?
How many peak sun hours does Santa Cruz get?
How high does the sun get in Santa Cruz?
Is Santa Cruz a good place for solar panels?
Places near Santa Cruz
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A free, live card for Santa Cruz: 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.