Solarposition.org

Queensland · Australia · 26.66° S · 153.08° E

Solar position in Sunshine Coast

Sun position, daylight and the best solar panel angle for Sunshine Coast — computed for 26.66° S, 153.08° E, 9 m above sea level.

Sunrise today05:03104° ESE
Sunset today18:00256° WSW
Best panel angle26°year-round, facing north
Off-grid angle44°best for the darkest month

The sun right now

Azimuth180.0°
Elevation75.4°
At solar noon, 11:31Open on the sun map

Sun in Sunshine Coast today

Sunday, 25 October 2026 · local time UTC+10

EventTimeDirection / height
Astronomical dawn03:42sun 18° below horizon
Nautical dawn04:1112° below
Civil dawn04:396° below
Sunrise05:03104° ESE
Golden hour ends05:34sun 6° up
Solar noon11:3175.4° high
Golden hour starts17:29sun 6° up
Sunset18:00256° WSW
Civil dusk18:246° below
Nautical dusk18:5212° below
Astronomical dusk19:2118° below
Day length12 h 57 min

Sun path diagram for Sunshine Coast

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 solstice78910111213141516EquinoxDecember solstice56789101112131415161718Today
  • June solstice
  • Equinox
  • December solstice
  • Today

On the June solstice the sun reaches 39.9° at solar noon in Sunshine Coast; on the December solstice only 86.8°. Sunrise swings from 64° ENE in June to 117° ESE in December — a 53° 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
January05:1211:5818:4413 h 32 min83.3°
February05:3512:0118:2612 h 51 min74.0°
March05:5111:5417:5812 h 07 min63.2°
April06:0611:4617:2511 h 19 min51.5°
May06:2211:4417:0510 h 43 min43.2°
June06:3511:4917:0310 h 28 min39.9°
July06:3311:5417:1510 h 42 min42.9°
August06:1211:5117:3011 h 18 min51.2°
September05:3811:4117:4312 h 04 min62.6°
October05:0711:3217:5812 h 51 min74.0°
November04:4711:3318:1913 h 32 min83.2°
December04:5011:4518:4013 h 49 min86.8°

A year of daylight in Sunshine Coast

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 Sunshine Coast

Fixed array facing north (azimuth 0°). Energy per kWp from NASA POWER monthly climate, including clouds, temperature and snow reflection.

26°collects the most energy over a year: 1686 kWh per kWp.

44°gives the most in the darkest month — the one an off-grid system is sized for.

20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%100%0°10°20°30°40°50°60°70°80°90°Best year-round 26°Best worst-month 44°70°Yearly energyWorst-month energy
  • Yearly energy
  • Worst-month energy
TiltkWh/kWp per yearShare of best yearJune kWh/kWp/dayBest ÷ worst month
0°154191%2.512.2×
15°166199%3.211.7×
26° year-round best1686100%3.591.4×
27° = latitude1685100%3.621.4×
30°1681100%3.701.4×
44° off-grid best161196%3.961.3×
45°160395%3.971.3×
60°143185%3.981.7×
70°127275%3.862.1×
90°88753%3.293.4×

A fixed array in Sunshine Coast produces the most over a year at 26°. The design month for an off-grid system is June: at 44° it makes 3.96 kWh per kWp a day, 10% more than at 26°, and costs 4% of the yearly total. Why steep panels win winter.

Off-grid solar in Sunshine Coast at 70°

Daily energy of 1 kWp by month. Bars: panels at 70°. Line: panels at 26° (year-round best).

0123456January: 2.39 (70°)2.4JanFebruary: 2.85 (70°)2.8FebMarch: 3.30 (70°)3.3MarApril: 3.91 (70°)3.9AprMay: 4.14 (70°)4.1MayJune: 3.86 (70°)3.9JunJuly: 4.43 (70°)4.4JulAugust: 4.59 (70°)4.6AugSeptember: 4.15 (70°)4.1SepOctober: 3.29 (70°)3.3OctNovember: 2.63 (70°)2.6NovDecember: 2.23 (70°)2.2Dec26°
MonthSun hours, flatSun hours at 70°kWh/kWp/day at 70°at 26°Mean temp.
January6.692.962.394.8725.0 °C
February6.093.492.854.7724.7 °C
March5.234.023.304.5023.7 °C
April4.534.713.914.4021.8 °C
May3.724.924.144.0619.1 °C
June3.134.553.863.5917.2 °C
July3.605.214.434.1516.4 °C
August4.505.424.594.7717.1 °C
September5.544.944.155.1619.4 °C
October6.243.973.295.1421.2 °C
November6.913.212.635.1622.8 °C
December6.802.752.234.8524.2 °C
Year5.24 avg4.18 avg1272 kWh1686 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 530 Wp of panels at 70°, versus 330 Wp at 26°. Here the lower tilt is the better winter choice — the sun stays high enough. Size your own system.

Row spacing in Sunshine Coast

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.

3.2 mrow pitch at 70°

3.0 mrow pitch at 26°

Row spacing calculator

How Sunshine Coast compares in Australia

Against the other 88 places in Australia with climate data, for a fixed array at its best angle.

28thof 89 places in Australia for sunshine, shared: 5.24 peak sun hours a day on flat ground.

+1%solar energy a year compared with the average place in Australia: 1,686 against 1,665 kWh per kWp.

−36 mindaylight on the longest day, compared with Sydney: 13 h 49 min against 14 h 25 min.

26°best year-round tilt here; across Australia it runs from 16° in Cairns to 35° in Hobart.

Of the 89 places in Australia, Port Hedland gets the most sun (6.31 peak sun hours a day) and Hobart the least (3.89); Sunshine Coast ranks joint 28th. In its darkest month, December, 1 kWp of off-grid panels at 70° makes 2.23 kWh a day here, against 2.60 kWh on average in Australia. The shortest day lasts 10 h 28 min, +34 min compared with Sydney.

The sunniest places in Australia

Solar forecast for Sunshine Coast, 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 Sunshine Coast

What is the best solar panel angle in Sunshine Coast?
For a fixed array facing north, the best year-round tilt in Sunshine Coast is 26°, worth about 1686 kWh per kWp a year. An off-grid system that has to get through June does better at about 44°.
What time is sunrise and sunset in Sunshine Coast today?
On 25 October 2026 the sun rises at 05:03 and sets at 18:00 local time (UTC+10), giving 12 h 57 min of daylight. Solar noon is at 11:31.
How many peak sun hours does Sunshine Coast get?
On a flat surface 5.2 hours a day averaged over the year, from 3.1 in June to 6.9 in November. Panels tilted at 70° receive 2.8 sun hours a day in December.
How high does the sun get in Sunshine Coast?
At solar noon the sun stands 39.9° above the horizon on the June solstice and 86.8° on the December solstice.
Is Sunshine Coast a good place for solar panels?
With 5.2 peak sun hours a day on flat ground, Sunshine Coast ranks joint 28th of 89 places in Australia for sunshine. A 1 kWp array at the best angle (26°) makes about 1,686 kWh a year here, 1% more than the average place in Australia.

Places near Sunshine Coast

All places in Australia

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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.