Canterbury · New Zealand · 44.40° S · 171.25° E
Solar position in Timaru
Sun position, daylight and the best solar panel angle for Timaru — computed for 44.40° S, 171.25° E, 14 m above sea level.
The sun right now
Sun in Timaru today
Sunday, 25 October 2026 · local time UTC+13
| Event | Time | Direction / height |
|---|---|---|
| Astronomical dawn | 04:37 | sun 18° below horizon |
| Nautical dawn | 05:18 | 12° below |
| Civil dawn | 05:55 | 6° below |
| Sunrise | 06:26 | 108° ESE |
| Golden hour ends | 07:05 | sun 6° up |
| Solar noon | 13:19 | 57.6° high |
| Golden hour starts | 19:32 | sun 6° up |
| Sunset | 20:12 | 252° WSW |
| Civil dusk | 20:43 | 6° below |
| Nautical dusk | 21:21 | 12° below |
| Astronomical dusk | 22:02 | 18° below |
| Day length | 13 h 46 min | |
Sun path diagram for Timaru
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 22.2° at solar noon in Timaru; on the December solstice only 69.0°. Sunrise swings from 57° ENE in June to 125° SE in December — a 68° 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 | 06:17 | 13:46 | 21:14 | 14 h 57 min | 65.5° |
| February | 07:01 | 13:48 | 20:35 | 13 h 34 min | 56.2° |
| March | 07:37 | 13:42 | 19:45 | 12 h 08 min | 45.5° |
| April | 07:15 | 12:33 | 17:51 | 10 h 35 min | 33.8° |
| May | 07:50 | 12:31 | 17:12 | 9 h 22 min | 25.5° |
| June | 08:11 | 12:36 | 17:01 | 8 h 50 min | 22.2° |
| July | 08:02 | 12:41 | 17:21 | 9 h 19 min | 25.1° |
| August | 07:22 | 12:38 | 17:54 | 10 h 32 min | 33.5° |
| September | 06:27 | 12:28 | 18:30 | 12 h 03 min | 44.8° |
| October | 06:32 | 13:19 | 20:07 | 13 h 34 min | 56.2° |
| November | 05:52 | 13:20 | 20:49 | 14 h 57 min | 65.5° |
| December | 05:46 | 13:32 | 21:19 | 15 h 32 min | 69.0° |
A year of daylight in Timaru
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 Timaru
Fixed array facing north (azimuth 0°). Energy per kWp from NASA POWER monthly climate, including clouds, temperature and snow reflection.
39°collects the most energy over a year: 1434 kWh per kWp.
69°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 | June kWh/kWp/day | Best ÷ worst month |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0° | 1158 | 81% | 1.04 | 5.0× |
| 15° | 1328 | 93% | 1.65 | 3.2× |
| 30° | 1419 | 99% | 2.16 | 2.4× |
| 39° year-round best | 1434 | 100% | 2.39 | 2.1× |
| 44° = latitude | 1429 | 100% | 2.50 | 1.9× |
| 45° | 1427 | 100% | 2.52 | 1.9× |
| 60° | 1352 | 94% | 2.72 | 1.6× |
| 69° off-grid best | 1270 | 89% | 2.75 | 1.4× |
| 70° | 1259 | 88% | 2.75 | 1.4× |
| 90° | 983 | 69% | 2.57 | 1.5× |
A fixed array in Timaru produces the most over a year at 39°. The design month for an off-grid system is June: at 69° it makes 2.75 kWh per kWp a day, 15% more than at 39°, and costs 11% of the yearly total. Why steep panels win winter.
Off-grid solar in Timaru at 70°
Daily energy of 1 kWp by month. Bars: panels at 70°. Line: panels at 39° (year-round best).
| Month | Sun hours, flat | Sun hours at 70° | kWh/kWp/day at 70° | at 39° | Mean temp. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 6.10 | 4.03 | 3.42 | 4.84 | 14.7 °C |
| February | 5.41 | 4.44 | 3.78 | 4.82 | 14.8 °C |
| March | 4.15 | 4.45 | 3.81 | 4.30 | 13.5 °C |
| April | 2.81 | 4.14 | 3.59 | 3.58 | 11.2 °C |
| May | 1.75 | 3.37 | 2.94 | 2.69 | 8.9 °C |
| June | 1.35 | 3.12 | 2.75 | 2.39 | 6.7 °C |
| July | 1.59 | 3.44 | 3.04 | 2.70 | 6.0 °C |
| August | 2.35 | 3.89 | 3.43 | 3.29 | 6.7 °C |
| September | 3.60 | 4.40 | 3.85 | 4.12 | 8.1 °C |
| October | 4.92 | 4.46 | 3.88 | 4.71 | 9.5 °C |
| November | 5.93 | 4.17 | 3.59 | 4.93 | 11.4 °C |
| December | 6.24 | 3.92 | 3.34 | 4.84 | 13.4 °C |
| Year | 3.84 avg | 3.98 avg | 1259 kWh | 1434 kWh |
Sizing example. To run a 1 kWh-per-day load through June on LiFePO4 batteries (charge controller, battery and inverter losses included) you need about 430 Wp of panels at 70°, versus 490 Wp at 39°. The steep array is 13% smaller for the same winter. Size your own system.
Row spacing in Timaru
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.
6.1 mrow pitch at 70°
5.2 mrow pitch at 39°
How Timaru compares in New Zealand
Against the other 46 places in New Zealand with climate data, for a fixed array at its best angle.
45thof 47 places in New Zealand for sunshine: 3.84 peak sun hours a day on flat ground.
−1%solar energy a year compared with the average place in New Zealand: 1,434 against 1,455 kWh per kWp.
+51 mindaylight on the longest day, compared with Auckland: 15 h 32 min against 14 h 42 min.
39°best year-round tilt here; across New Zealand it runs from 30° in Whangarei to 39° in Dunedin.
Of the 47 places in New Zealand, Whangarei gets the most sun (4.36 peak sun hours a day) and Invercargill the least (3.46); Timaru ranks 45th. In its darkest month, June, 1 kWp of off-grid panels at 70° makes 2.75 kWh a day here, against 2.77 kWh on average in New Zealand. The shortest day lasts 8 h 50 min, −48 min compared with Auckland.
Solar forecast for Timaru, 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 Timaru
What is the best solar panel angle in Timaru?
What time is sunrise and sunset in Timaru today?
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Places near Timaru
Put this on your site
A free, live card for Timaru: 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.