Solarposition.org

California · United States · 38.93° N · 119.98° W

Solar position in South Lake Tahoe

Sun position, daylight and the best solar panel angle for South Lake Tahoe — computed for 38.93° N, 119.98° W, 1901 m above sea level.

Sunrise today07:18105° ESE
Sunset today18:08255° WSW
Best panel angle33°year-round, facing south
Off-grid angle64°best for the darkest month

The sun right now

Azimuth180.0°
Elevation39.1°
At solar noon, 12:43Open on the sun map

Sun in South Lake Tahoe today

Saturday, 24 October 2026 · local time UTC−7

EventTimeDirection / height
Astronomical dawn05:49sun 18° below horizon
Nautical dawn06:2012° below
Civil dawn06:516° below
Sunrise07:18105° ESE
Golden hour ends07:55sun 6° up
Solar noon12:4339.1° high
Golden hour starts17:31sun 6° up
Sunset18:08255° WSW
Civil dusk18:366° below
Nautical dusk19:0712° below
Astronomical dusk19:3818° below
Day length10 h 50 min

Sun path diagram for South Lake Tahoe

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 solstice67891011121314151617181920EquinoxDecember solstice8910111213141516Today
  • June solstice
  • Equinox
  • December solstice
  • Today

On the June solstice the sun reaches 74.5° at solar noon in South Lake Tahoe; on the December solstice only 27.7°. Sunrise swings from 58° ENE in June to 120° ESE in December — a 62° 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
January07:1412:1117:089 h 55 min31.3°
February06:4312:1317:4411 h 01 min40.8°
March07:0113:0719:1312 h 12 min51.6°
April06:1412:5819:4313 h 28 min63.1°
May05:4212:5620:1114 h 29 min71.4°
June05:3413:0120:2814 h 54 min74.5°
July05:5113:0620:2014 h 29 min71.4°
August06:1913:0219:4613 h 27 min63.0°
September06:4612:5218:5812 h 11 min51.5°
October07:1512:4418:1210 h 57 min40.2°
November06:4911:4516:419 h 52 min31.0°
December07:1511:5816:419 h 26 min27.7°

A year of daylight in South Lake Tahoe

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 South Lake Tahoe

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

33°collects the most energy over a year: 1844 kWh per kWp.

64°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 33°Best worst-month 64°70°Yearly energyWorst-month energy
  • Yearly energy
  • Worst-month energy
TiltkWh/kWp per yearShare of best yearDecember kWh/kWp/dayBest ÷ worst month
0°157485%1.724.0×
15°176196%2.482.7×
30°1841100%3.082.0×
33° year-round best1844100%3.181.9×
39° = latitude1836100%3.351.8×
45°181098%3.481.7×
60°167391%3.661.5×
64° off-grid best161988%3.671.5×
70°152683%3.651.5×
90°112761%3.332.5×

A fixed array in South Lake Tahoe produces the most over a year at 33°. The design month for an off-grid system is December: at 64° it makes 3.67 kWh per kWp a day, 16% more than at 33°, and costs 12% of the yearly total. Why steep panels win winter.

Off-grid solar in South Lake Tahoe at 70°

Daily energy of 1 kWp by month. Bars: panels at 70°. Line: panels at 33° (year-round best).

02468January: 4.00 (70°)4.0JanFebruary: 4.24 (70°)4.2FebMarch: 4.35 (70°)4.3MarApril: 4.15 (70°)4.2AprMay: 3.70 (70°)3.7MayJune: 3.48 (70°)3.5JunJuly: 3.55 (70°)3.6JulAugust: 4.23 (70°)4.2AugSeptember: 5.03 (70°)5.0SepOctober: 5.29 (70°)5.3OctNovember: 4.50 (70°)4.5NovDecember: 3.65 (70°)3.7Dec33°
MonthSun hours, flatSun hours at 70°kWh/kWp/day at 70°at 33°Mean temp.
January2.454.454.003.571.3 °C
February3.324.724.244.171.9 °C
March4.564.894.354.874.3 °C
April5.994.734.155.517.1 °C
May7.204.303.705.7912.0 °C
June8.314.133.486.0917.5 °C
July8.134.313.555.9922.5 °C
August7.375.104.236.1021.4 °C
September5.995.975.035.9417.7 °C
October4.356.125.295.2911.4 °C
November2.845.074.504.065.2 °C
December2.094.053.653.180.9 °C
Year5.23 avg4.82 avg1526 kWh1844 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 340 Wp of panels at 70°, versus 370 Wp at 33°. The steep array is 9% smaller for the same winter. Size your own system.

Row spacing in South Lake Tahoe

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.

4.8 mrow pitch at 70°

4.1 mrow pitch at 33°

Row spacing calculator

How South Lake Tahoe compares in the United States

Against the other 3,120 places in the United States with climate data, for a fixed array at its best angle.

402ndof 3,121 places in the United States for sunshine, shared: 5.23 peak sun hours a day on flat ground.

+22%solar energy a year compared with the average place in the United States: 1,844 against 1,515 kWh per kWp.

−12 mindaylight on the longest day, compared with New York City: 14 h 54 min against 15 h 06 min.

33°best year-round tilt here; across the United States it runs from 18° in Honolulu to 53° in Fairbanks.

Of the 3,121 places in the United States, Fortuna Foothills and 2 other places get the most sun (5.96 peak sun hours a day) and Juneau the least (2.38); South Lake Tahoe ranks joint 402nd. In its darkest month, June, 1 kWp of off-grid panels at 70° makes 3.48 kWh a day here, against 2.55 kWh on average in the United States. The shortest day lasts 9 h 26 min, +11 min compared with New York City.

The sunniest places in the United States

Solar forecast for South Lake Tahoe, 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 South Lake Tahoe

What is the best solar panel angle in South Lake Tahoe?
For a fixed array facing south, the best year-round tilt in South Lake Tahoe is 33°, worth about 1844 kWh per kWp a year. An off-grid system that has to get through December does better at about 64°.
What time is sunrise and sunset in South Lake Tahoe today?
On 24 October 2026 the sun rises at 07:18 and sets at 18:08 local time (UTC−7), giving 10 h 50 min of daylight. Solar noon is at 12:43.
How many peak sun hours does South Lake Tahoe get?
On a flat surface 5.2 hours a day averaged over the year, from 2.1 in December to 8.3 in June. Panels tilted at 70° receive 4.1 sun hours a day in June.
How high does the sun get in South Lake Tahoe?
At solar noon the sun stands 74.5° above the horizon on the June solstice and 27.7° on the December solstice.
Is South Lake Tahoe a good place for solar panels?
With 5.2 peak sun hours a day on flat ground, South Lake Tahoe ranks joint 402nd of 3,121 places in the United States for sunshine. A 1 kWp array at the best angle (33°) makes about 1,844 kWh a year here, 22% more than the average place in the United States.

Places near South Lake Tahoe

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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.