Illinois · United States · 41.79° N · 89.70° W
Solar position in Sterling
Sun position, daylight and the best solar panel angle for Sterling — computed for 41.79° N, 89.70° W, 201 m above sea level.
The sun right now
Sun in Sterling today
Saturday, 24 October 2026 · local time UTC−5
| Event | Time | Direction / height |
|---|---|---|
| Astronomical dawn | 05:48 | sun 18° below horizon |
| Nautical dawn | 06:20 | 12° below |
| Civil dawn | 06:53 | 6° below |
| Sunrise | 07:21 | 105° ESE |
| Golden hour ends | 08:00 | sun 6° up |
| Solar noon | 12:42 | 36.3° high |
| Golden hour starts | 17:25 | sun 6° up |
| Sunset | 18:03 | 255° WSW |
| Civil dusk | 18:32 | 6° below |
| Nautical dusk | 19:04 | 12° below |
| Astronomical dusk | 19:36 | 18° below |
| Day length | 10 h 42 min | |
Sun path diagram for Sterling
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 71.7° at solar noon in Sterling; on the December solstice only 24.8°. Sunrise swings from 57° ENE in June to 121° ESE in December — a 64° 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 | 07:20 | 12:10 | 17:00 | 9 h 40 min | 28.5° |
| February | 06:45 | 12:12 | 17:39 | 10 h 54 min | 37.9° |
| March | 07:00 | 13:06 | 19:12 | 12 h 12 min | 48.7° |
| April | 06:09 | 12:57 | 19:46 | 13 h 37 min | 60.3° |
| May | 05:33 | 12:55 | 20:17 | 14 h 45 min | 68.5° |
| June | 05:24 | 13:00 | 20:37 | 15 h 13 min | 71.7° |
| July | 05:42 | 13:05 | 20:27 | 14 h 45 min | 68.6° |
| August | 06:13 | 13:01 | 19:49 | 13 h 36 min | 60.1° |
| September | 06:45 | 12:51 | 18:57 | 12 h 12 min | 48.7° |
| October | 07:18 | 12:43 | 18:08 | 10 h 50 min | 37.3° |
| November | 06:55 | 11:44 | 16:33 | 9 h 38 min | 28.2° |
| December | 07:22 | 11:56 | 16:31 | 9 h 08 min | 24.8° |
A year of daylight in Sterling
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 Sterling
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: 1418 kWh per kWp.
72°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 | December kWh/kWp/day | Best ÷ worst month |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0° | 1189 | 84% | 1.23 | 4.1× |
| 15° | 1337 | 94% | 1.78 | 2.9× |
| 30° | 1411 | 99% | 2.24 | 2.2× |
| 36° year-round best | 1418 | 100% | 2.40 | 2.0× |
| 42° = latitude | 1412 | 100% | 2.53 | 1.8× |
| 45° | 1405 | 99% | 2.59 | 1.7× |
| 60° | 1321 | 93% | 2.79 | 1.5× |
| 70° | 1224 | 86% | 2.84 | 1.4× |
| 72° off-grid best | 1201 | 85% | 2.84 | 1.4× |
| 90° | 951 | 67% | 2.72 | 2.0× |
A fixed array in Sterling produces the most over a year at 36°. The design month for an off-grid system is December: at 72° it makes 2.84 kWh per kWp a day, 18% more than at 36°, and costs 15% of the yearly total. Why steep panels win winter.
Off-grid solar in Sterling at 70°
Daily energy of 1 kWp by month. Bars: panels at 70°. Line: panels at 36° (year-round best).
| Month | Sun hours, flat | Sun hours at 70° | kWh/kWp/day at 70° | at 36° | Mean temp. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January snow | 1.81 | 3.48 | 3.21 | 2.78 | -6.0 °C |
| February snow | 2.76 | 4.35 | 4.00 | 3.70 | -4.3 °C |
| March | 3.72 | 4.11 | 3.67 | 4.06 | 2.7 °C |
| April | 4.76 | 3.97 | 3.44 | 4.38 | 9.6 °C |
| May | 5.54 | 3.70 | 3.12 | 4.47 | 15.8 °C |
| June | 6.19 | 3.66 | 3.02 | 4.64 | 21.4 °C |
| July | 6.28 | 3.88 | 3.18 | 4.76 | 23.6 °C |
| August | 5.48 | 4.14 | 3.41 | 4.59 | 22.7 °C |
| September | 4.48 | 4.56 | 3.84 | 4.45 | 18.5 °C |
| October | 2.99 | 4.01 | 3.48 | 3.55 | 10.7 °C |
| November | 2.00 | 3.46 | 3.09 | 2.85 | 3.6 °C |
| December snow | 1.50 | 3.11 | 2.84 | 2.40 | -3.0 °C |
| Year | 3.96 avg | 3.87 avg | 1224 kWh | 1418 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 420 Wp of panels at 70°, versus 490 Wp at 36°. The steep array is 16% smaller for the same winter. Size your own system.
Row spacing in Sterling
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.
5.4 mrow pitch at 70°
4.6 mrow pitch at 36°
How Sterling 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.
2024thof 3,121 places in the United States for sunshine, shared: 3.96 peak sun hours a day on flat ground.
−6%solar energy a year compared with the average place in the United States: 1,418 against 1,515 kWh per kWp.
+7 mindaylight on the longest day, compared with New York City: 15 h 13 min against 15 h 06 min.
36°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); Sterling ranks joint 2024th. In its darkest month, December, 1 kWp of off-grid panels at 70° makes 2.84 kWh a day here, against 2.55 kWh on average in the United States. The shortest day lasts 9 h 08 min, −7 min compared with New York City.
Solar forecast for Sterling, 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 Sterling
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Places near Sterling
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A free, live card for Sterling: 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.