Solarposition.org

Quebec · Canada · 46.09° N · 71.31° W

Solar position in Thetford-Mines

Sun position, daylight and the best solar panel angle for Thetford-Mines — computed for 46.09° N, 71.31° W, 317 m above sea level.

Sunrise today07:14106° ESE
Sunset today17:43253° WSW
Best panel angle39°year-round, facing south
Off-grid angle74°best for the darkest month

The sun right now

Azimuth180.0°
Elevation32.0°
At solar noon, 12:29Open on the sun map

Sun in Thetford-Mines today

Saturday, 24 October 2026 · local time UTC−4

EventTimeDirection / height
Astronomical dawn05:34sun 18° below horizon
Nautical dawn06:0912° below
Civil dawn06:446° below
Sunrise07:14106° ESE
Golden hour ends07:56sun 6° up
Solar noon12:2932.0° high
Golden hour starts17:01sun 6° up
Sunset17:43253° WSW
Civil dusk18:146° below
Nautical dusk18:4812° below
Astronomical dusk19:2318° below
Day length10 h 29 min

Sun path diagram for Thetford-Mines

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 solstice89101112131415Today
  • June solstice
  • Equinox
  • December solstice
  • Today

On the June solstice the sun reaches 67.3° at solar noon in Thetford-Mines; on the December solstice only 20.5°. Sunrise swings from 54° NE in June to 124° SE in December — a 70° 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
January07:1911:5616:349 h 15 min24.2°
February06:3811:5917:2010 h 42 min33.6°
March06:4612:5218:5912 h 13 min44.4°
April05:4812:4419:4013 h 52 min55.9°
May05:0612:4120:1815 h 12 min64.2°
June04:5412:4720:4015 h 46 min67.3°
July05:1512:5120:2715 h 13 min64.3°
August05:5212:4819:4313 h 51 min55.9°
September06:3012:3718:4412 h 14 min44.4°
October07:1012:2917:4810 h 38 min33.1°
November06:5411:3016:079 h 13 min23.9°
December07:2411:4316:028 h 38 min20.5°

A year of daylight in Thetford-Mines

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 Thetford-Mines

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

39°collects the most energy over a year: 1276 kWh per kWp.

74°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 39°Best worst-month 74°70°Yearly energyWorst-month energy
  • Yearly energy
  • Worst-month energy
TiltkWh/kWp per yearShare of best yearDecember kWh/kWp/dayBest ÷ worst month
0°104582%0.805.8×
15°118693%1.174.0×
30°126399%1.503.0×
39° year-round best1276100%1.662.6×
45°1271100%1.752.5×
46° = latitude126999%1.762.5×
60°121195%1.902.3×
70°113589%1.942.2×
74° off-grid best109786%1.952.2×
90°90971%1.892.0×

A fixed array in Thetford-Mines produces the most over a year at 39°. The design month for an off-grid system is December: at 74° it makes 1.95 kWh per kWp a day, 17% more than at 39°, and costs 14% of the yearly total. Why steep panels win winter.

Off-grid solar in Thetford-Mines at 70°

Daily energy of 1 kWp by month. Bars: panels at 70°. Line: panels at 39° (year-round best).

012345January: 2.74 (70°)2.7JanFebruary: 3.53 (70°)3.5FebMarch: 4.30 (70°)4.3MarApril: 3.54 (70°)3.5AprMay: 3.17 (70°)3.2MayJune: 3.05 (70°)3.0JunJuly: 3.15 (70°)3.1JulAugust: 3.33 (70°)3.3AugSeptember: 3.57 (70°)3.6SepOctober: 2.76 (70°)2.8OctNovember: 2.27 (70°)2.3NovDecember: 1.94 (70°)1.9Dec39°
MonthSun hours, flatSun hours at 70°kWh/kWp/day at 70°at 39°Mean temp.
January snow1.392.912.742.36-12.1 °C
February snow2.253.753.533.25-10.8 °C
March snow3.464.674.304.27-5.5 °C
April4.453.983.544.312.8 °C
May5.133.693.174.2910.6 °C
June5.603.623.054.3515.8 °C
July5.573.773.154.3818.7 °C
August4.873.963.334.2417.7 °C
September3.824.173.574.0013.8 °C
October2.263.142.762.796.6 °C
November snow1.362.532.272.06-0.4 °C
December snow0.982.111.941.66-7.8 °C
Year3.44 avg3.52 avg1135 kWh1276 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 610 Wp of panels at 70°, versus 710 Wp at 39°. The steep array is 15% smaller for the same winter. Size your own system.

Row spacing in Thetford-Mines

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.

6.7 mrow pitch at 70°

5.6 mrow pitch at 39°

Row spacing calculator

How Thetford-Mines compares in Canada

Against the other 295 places in Canada with climate data, for a fixed array at its best angle.

225thof 296 places in Canada for sunshine, shared: 3.44 peak sun hours a day on flat ground.

−1%solar energy a year compared with the average place in Canada: 1,276 against 1,292 kWh per kWp.

+19 mindaylight on the longest day, compared with Toronto: 15 h 46 min against 15 h 27 min.

39°best year-round tilt here; across Canada it runs from 34° in Hamilton to 52° in Yellowknife.

Of the 296 places in Canada, Medicine Hat and one other place get the most sun (3.84 peak sun hours a day) and Terrace the least (2.57); Thetford-Mines ranks joint 225th. In its darkest month, December, 1 kWp of off-grid panels at 70° makes 1.94 kWh a day here, against 1.88 kWh on average in Canada. The shortest day lasts 8 h 38 min, −18 min compared with Toronto.

The sunniest places in Canada

Solar forecast for Thetford-Mines, 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 Thetford-Mines

What is the best solar panel angle in Thetford-Mines?
For a fixed array facing south, the best year-round tilt in Thetford-Mines is 39°, worth about 1276 kWh per kWp a year. An off-grid system that has to get through December does better at about 74°.
What time is sunrise and sunset in Thetford-Mines today?
On 24 October 2026 the sun rises at 07:14 and sets at 17:43 local time (UTC−4), giving 10 h 29 min of daylight. Solar noon is at 12:29.
How many peak sun hours does Thetford-Mines get?
On a flat surface 3.4 hours a day averaged over the year, from 1.0 in December to 5.6 in June. Panels tilted at 70° receive 2.1 sun hours a day in December.
How high does the sun get in Thetford-Mines?
At solar noon the sun stands 67.3° above the horizon on the June solstice and 20.5° on the December solstice.
Is Thetford-Mines a good place for solar panels?
With 3.4 peak sun hours a day on flat ground, Thetford-Mines ranks joint 225th of 296 places in Canada for sunshine. A 1 kWp array at the best angle (39°) makes about 1,276 kWh a year here, 1% less than the average place in Canada.

Places near Thetford-Mines

All places in Canada

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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.