Solarposition.org

England · United Kingdom · 51.54° N · 0.71° E

Solar position in Southend-on-Sea

Sun position, daylight and the best solar panel angle for Southend-on-Sea — computed for 51.54° N, 0.71° E, 31 m above sea level.

Sunrise today07:36108° ESE
Sunset today17:45252° WSW
Best panel angle40°year-round, facing south
Off-grid angle73°best for the darkest month

The sun right now

Azimuth180.0°
Elevation26.6°
At solar noon, 12:41Open on the sun map

Sun in Southend-on-Sea today

Saturday, 24 October 2026 · local time UTC+1

EventTimeDirection / height
Astronomical dawn05:44sun 18° below horizon
Nautical dawn06:2312° below
Civil dawn07:026° below
Sunrise07:36108° ESE
Golden hour ends08:24sun 6° up
Solar noon12:4126.6° high
Golden hour starts16:57sun 6° up
Sunset17:45252° WSW
Civil dusk18:196° below
Nautical dusk18:5812° below
Astronomical dusk19:3718° below
Day length10 h 09 min

Sun path diagram for Southend-on-Sea

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 solstice56789101112131415161718192021EquinoxDecember solstice9101112131415Today
  • June solstice
  • Equinox
  • December solstice
  • Today

On the June solstice the sun reaches 61.9° at solar noon in Southend-on-Sea; on the December solstice only 15.1°. Sunrise swings from 49° NE in June to 128° SE in December — a 80° 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
January07:5012:0816:278 h 37 min18.7°
February06:5912:1117:2210 h 24 min28.0°
March05:5712:0418:1112 h 14 min38.8°
April05:4812:5620:0314 h 15 min50.4°
May04:5712:5320:5115 h 54 min58.7°
June04:3912:5821:1816 h 39 min61.9°
July05:0413:0321:0115 h 56 min58.9°
August05:5213:0020:0714 h 15 min50.5°
September06:4112:4918:5712 h 16 min39.1°
October07:3112:4117:5110 h 20 min27.7°
November07:2511:4216:008 h 35 min18.5°
December08:0011:5515:497 h 49 min15.1°

A year of daylight in Southend-on-Sea

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 Southend-on-Sea

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

40°collects the most energy over a year: 1092 kWh per kWp.

73°gives the most in the darkest month — the one an off-grid system is sized for.

30%40%50%60%70%80%90%100%0°10°20°30°40°50°60°70°80°90°Best year-round 40°Best worst-month 73°70°Yearly energyWorst-month energy
  • Yearly energy
  • Worst-month energy
TiltkWh/kWp per yearShare of best yearDecember kWh/kWp/dayBest ÷ worst month
0°88181%0.459.7×
15°100892%0.775.9×
30°107899%1.054.3×
40° year-round best1092100%1.203.6×
45°1088100%1.263.3×
52° = latitude107298%1.333.0×
60°103895%1.392.8×
70°97289%1.422.5×
73° off-grid best94887%1.422.4×
90°77571%1.372.0×

A fixed array in Southend-on-Sea produces the most over a year at 40°. The design month for an off-grid system is December: at 73° it makes 1.42 kWh per kWp a day, 19% more than at 40°, and costs 13% of the yearly total. Why steep panels win winter.

Off-grid solar in Southend-on-Sea at 70°

Daily energy of 1 kWp by month. Bars: panels at 70°. Line: panels at 40° (year-round best).

012345January: 1.62 (70°)1.6JanFebruary: 2.20 (70°)2.2FebMarch: 2.91 (70°)2.9MarApril: 3.54 (70°)3.5AprMay: 3.31 (70°)3.3MayJune: 3.24 (70°)3.2JunJuly: 3.21 (70°)3.2JulAugust: 3.18 (70°)3.2AugSeptember: 3.18 (70°)3.2SepOctober: 2.40 (70°)2.4OctNovember: 1.75 (70°)1.8NovDecember: 1.42 (70°)1.4Dec40°
MonthSun hours, flatSun hours at 70°kWh/kWp/day at 70°at 40°Mean temp.
January0.801.841.621.404.9 °C
February1.482.492.202.084.8 °C
March2.623.322.913.046.3 °C
April4.174.073.544.129.1 °C
May4.913.863.314.2312.2 °C
June5.373.843.244.3315.3 °C
July5.163.833.214.2217.5 °C
August4.303.783.183.8617.5 °C
September3.273.753.183.4615.2 °C
October1.852.802.402.3612.1 °C
November0.972.021.751.568.3 °C
December0.631.631.421.205.7 °C
Year2.97 avg3.10 avg972 kWh1092 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 830 Wp of panels at 70°, versus 980 Wp at 40°. The steep array is 16% smaller for the same winter. Size your own system.

Row spacing in Southend-on-Sea

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.

9.6 mrow pitch at 70°

7.6 mrow pitch at 40°

Row spacing calculator

How Southend-on-Sea compares in the United Kingdom

Against the other 801 places in the United Kingdom with climate data, for a fixed array at its best angle.

171stof 802 places in the United Kingdom for sunshine, shared: 2.97 peak sun hours a day on flat ground.

+3%solar energy a year compared with the average place in the United Kingdom: 1,092 against 1,058 kWh per kWp.

±0 mindaylight on the longest day, compared with London: 16 h 39 min against 16 h 38 min.

40°best year-round tilt here; across the United Kingdom it runs from 38° in Plymouth to 45° in Elgin.

Of the 802 places in the United Kingdom, Sandown and 2 other places get the most sun (3.23 peak sun hours a day) and Fort William the least (2.32); Southend-on-Sea ranks joint 171st. In its darkest month, December, 1 kWp of off-grid panels at 70° makes 1.42 kWh a day here, against 1.32 kWh on average in the United Kingdom. The shortest day lasts 7 h 49 min, ±0 min compared with London.

The sunniest places in the United Kingdom

Solar forecast for Southend-on-Sea, 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 Southend-on-Sea

What is the best solar panel angle in Southend-on-Sea?
For a fixed array facing south, the best year-round tilt in Southend-on-Sea is 40°, worth about 1092 kWh per kWp a year. An off-grid system that has to get through December does better at about 73°.
What time is sunrise and sunset in Southend-on-Sea today?
On 24 October 2026 the sun rises at 07:36 and sets at 17:45 local time (UTC+1), giving 10 h 09 min of daylight. Solar noon is at 12:41.
How many peak sun hours does Southend-on-Sea get?
On a flat surface 3.0 hours a day averaged over the year, from 0.6 in December to 5.4 in June. Panels tilted at 70° receive 1.6 sun hours a day in December.
How high does the sun get in Southend-on-Sea?
At solar noon the sun stands 61.9° above the horizon on the June solstice and 15.1° on the December solstice.
Is Southend-on-Sea a good place for solar panels?
With 3.0 peak sun hours a day on flat ground, Southend-on-Sea ranks joint 171st of 802 places in the United Kingdom for sunshine. A 1 kWp array at the best angle (40°) makes about 1,092 kWh a year here, 3% more than the average place in the United Kingdom.

Places near Southend-on-Sea

All places in United Kingdom

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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.