Thimphu District · Bhutan · 27.47° N · 89.64° E
Solar position in Thimphu
Sun position, daylight and the best solar panel angle for Thimphu — computed for 27.47° N, 89.64° E, 2320 m above sea level.
The sun right now
Sun in Thimphu today
Sunday, 25 October 2026 · local time UTC+6
| Event | Time | Direction / height |
|---|---|---|
| Astronomical dawn | 04:48 | sun 18° below horizon |
| Nautical dawn | 05:15 | 12° below |
| Civil dawn | 05:43 | 6° below |
| Sunrise | 06:07 | 103° ESE |
| Golden hour ends | 06:39 | sun 6° up |
| Solar noon | 11:45 | 50.4° high |
| Golden hour starts | 16:51 | sun 6° up |
| Sunset | 17:23 | 257° WSW |
| Civil dusk | 17:47 | 6° below |
| Nautical dusk | 18:14 | 12° below |
| Astronomical dusk | 18:41 | 18° below |
| Day length | 11 h 16 min | |
Sun path diagram for Thimphu
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 86.0° at solar noon in Thimphu; on the December solstice only 39.1°. Sunrise swings from 63° ENE in June to 116° 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.
| Month | Sunrise | Solar noon | Sunset | Day length | Noon elevation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 06:52 | 12:12 | 17:33 | 10 h 42 min | 42.7° |
| February | 06:33 | 12:15 | 17:56 | 11 h 23 min | 52.0° |
| March | 06:04 | 12:08 | 18:13 | 12 h 08 min | 62.8° |
| April | 05:31 | 12:00 | 18:29 | 12 h 58 min | 74.4° |
| May | 05:09 | 11:58 | 18:46 | 13 h 36 min | 82.7° |
| June | 05:06 | 12:03 | 18:59 | 13 h 53 min | 86.0° |
| July | 05:18 | 12:07 | 18:56 | 13 h 38 min | 83.0° |
| August | 05:35 | 12:04 | 18:33 | 12 h 59 min | 74.6° |
| September | 05:49 | 11:54 | 17:59 | 12 h 10 min | 63.2° |
| October | 06:04 | 11:45 | 17:27 | 11 h 22 min | 51.8° |
| November | 06:26 | 11:47 | 17:07 | 10 h 41 min | 42.6° |
| December | 06:47 | 11:59 | 17:11 | 10 h 24 min | 39.1° |
A year of daylight in Thimphu
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 Thimphu
Fixed array facing south (azimuth 180°). Energy per kWp from NASA POWER monthly climate, including clouds, temperature and snow reflection.
31°collects the most energy over a year: 1484 kWh per kWp.
9°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 | July kWh/kWp/day | Best ÷ worst month |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0° | 1312 | 88% | 3.44 | 1.3× |
| 9° off-grid best | 1396 | 94% | 3.42 | 1.2× |
| 15° | 1437 | 97% | 3.38 | 1.3× |
| 27° = latitude | 1481 | 100% | 3.21 | 1.5× |
| 30° | 1484 | 100% | 3.16 | 1.6× |
| 31° year-round best | 1484 | 100% | 3.14 | 1.6× |
| 45° | 1452 | 98% | 2.80 | 1.9× |
| 60° | 1344 | 91% | 2.33 | 2.3× |
| 70° | 1233 | 83% | 1.98 | 2.6× |
| 90° | 941 | 63% | 1.30 | 3.4× |
A fixed array in Thimphu produces the most over a year at 31°. The design month for an off-grid system is July: at 9° it makes 3.42 kWh per kWp a day, 9% more than at 31°, and costs 6% of the yearly total. Why steep panels win winter.
Off-grid solar in Thimphu at 70°
Daily energy of 1 kWp by month. Bars: panels at 70°. Line: panels at 31° (year-round best).
| Month | Sun hours, flat | Sun hours at 70° | kWh/kWp/day at 70° | at 31° | Mean temp. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January snow | 3.75 | 5.51 | 5.00 | 4.74 | -0.8 °C |
| February snow | 4.17 | 4.86 | 4.39 | 4.61 | 0.5 °C |
| March | 4.57 | 3.86 | 3.44 | 4.35 | 3.1 °C |
| April | 4.72 | 3.08 | 2.69 | 3.96 | 6.4 °C |
| May | 4.67 | 2.60 | 2.22 | 3.61 | 9.7 °C |
| June | 4.37 | 2.37 | 1.99 | 3.26 | 12.8 °C |
| July | 4.16 | 2.36 | 1.98 | 3.14 | 13.3 °C |
| August | 4.39 | 2.74 | 2.32 | 3.46 | 13.0 °C |
| September | 3.99 | 2.97 | 2.55 | 3.41 | 11.6 °C |
| October | 4.40 | 4.40 | 3.86 | 4.47 | 7.9 °C |
| November | 4.08 | 5.55 | 4.95 | 4.95 | 4.1 °C |
| December | 3.71 | 5.76 | 5.19 | 4.89 | 1.1 °C |
| Year | 4.25 avg | 3.83 avg | 1233 kWh | 1484 kWh |
Sizing example. To run a 1 kWh-per-day load through July on LiFePO4 batteries (charge controller, battery and inverter losses included) you need about 600 Wp of panels at 70°, versus 380 Wp at 31°. Here the lower tilt is the better winter choice — the sun stays high enough. Size your own system.
Row spacing in Thimphu
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.
3.3 mrow pitch at 70°
3.1 mrow pitch at 31°
How Thimphu compares in Bhutan
Against the other 3 places in Bhutan with climate data, for a fixed array at its best angle.
3rdof 4 places in Bhutan for sunshine: 4.25 peak sun hours a day on flat ground.
+2%solar energy a year compared with the average place in Bhutan: 1,484 against 1,461 kWh per kWp.
+1 mindaylight on the longest day, compared with the average place in Bhutan: 13 h 53 min against 13 h 52 min.
31°best year-round tilt here; across Bhutan it runs from 29° in Phuntsholing to 32° in Punākha.
Of the 4 places in Bhutan, Punākha gets the most sun (4.32 peak sun hours a day) and Tsirang the least (4.24); Thimphu ranks 3rd. In its darkest month, July, 1 kWp of off-grid panels at 70° makes 1.98 kWh a day here, against 1.94 kWh on average in Bhutan. The shortest day lasts 10 h 24 min, −1 min compared with the average.
Solar forecast for Thimphu, 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 Thimphu
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Places near Thimphu
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A free, live card for Thimphu: 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.