Solarposition.org

Wellington Region · New Zealand · 41.29° S · 174.78° E

Solar position in Wellington

Sun position, daylight and the best solar panel angle for Wellington — computed for 41.29° S, 174.78° E, 31 m above sea level.

Sunrise today06:17107° ESE
Sunset today19:53253° WSW
Best panel angle35°year-round, facing north
Off-grid angle65°best for the darkest month

The sun right now

Azimuth180.0°
Elevation60.7°
At solar noon, 13:05Open on the sun map

Sun in Wellington today

Sunday, 25 October 2026 · local time UTC+13

EventTimeDirection / height
Astronomical dawn04:36sun 18° below horizon
Nautical dawn05:1312° below
Civil dawn05:486° below
Sunrise06:17107° ESE
Golden hour ends06:55sun 6° up
Solar noon13:0560.7° high
Golden hour starts19:15sun 6° up
Sunset19:53253° WSW
Civil dusk20:226° below
Nautical dusk20:5712° below
Astronomical dusk21:3518° below
Day length13 h 35 min

Sun path diagram for Wellington

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 solstice8910111213141516EquinoxDecember solstice67891011121314151617181920Today
  • June solstice
  • Equinox
  • December solstice
  • Today

On the June solstice the sun reaches 25.3° at solar noon in Wellington; on the December solstice only 72.2°. Sunrise swings from 59° ENE in June to 123° 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.

MonthSunriseSolar noonSunsetDay lengthNoon elevation
January06:1213:3120:5114 h 39 min68.7°
February06:5113:3420:1613 h 25 min59.3°
March07:2413:2719:3112 h 08 min48.6°
April06:5712:1917:4110 h 45 min36.9°
May07:2712:1717:079 h 40 min28.6°
June07:4612:2216:589 h 11 min25.3°
July07:3912:2717:159 h 37 min28.2°
August07:0312:2417:4510 h 42 min36.6°
September06:1212:1418:1612 h 03 min48.0°
October06:2313:0519:4813 h 25 min59.3°
November05:4713:0620:2514 h 38 min68.6°
December05:4313:1820:5315 h 10 min72.2°

A year of daylight in Wellington

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 Wellington

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

35°collects the most energy over a year: 1495 kWh per kWp.

65°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 35°Best worst-month 65°70°Yearly energyWorst-month energy
  • Yearly energy
  • Worst-month energy
TiltkWh/kWp per yearShare of best yearJune kWh/kWp/dayBest ÷ worst month
0°125784%1.214.6×
15°141695%1.773.2×
30°1490100%2.222.5×
35° year-round best1495100%2.342.3×
41° = latitude1489100%2.462.1×
45°147799%2.522.0×
60°137892%2.671.6×
65° off-grid best132789%2.681.6×
70°126885%2.671.5×
90°96264%2.451.6×

A fixed array in Wellington produces the most over a year at 35°. The design month for an off-grid system is June: at 65° it makes 2.68 kWh per kWp a day, 15% more than at 35°, and costs 11% of the yearly total. Why steep panels win winter.

Off-grid solar in Wellington at 70°

Daily energy of 1 kWp by month. Bars: panels at 70°. Line: panels at 35° (year-round best).

0123456January: 3.49 (70°)3.5JanFebruary: 3.88 (70°)3.9FebMarch: 4.02 (70°)4.0MarApril: 3.67 (70°)3.7AprMay: 3.16 (70°)3.2MayJune: 2.67 (70°)2.7JunJuly: 2.89 (70°)2.9JulAugust: 3.46 (70°)3.5AugSeptember: 3.81 (70°)3.8SepOctober: 3.80 (70°)3.8OctNovember: 3.57 (70°)3.6NovDecember: 3.29 (70°)3.3Dec35°
MonthSun hours, flatSun hours at 70°kWh/kWp/day at 70°at 35°Mean temp.
January6.764.143.495.3116.7 °C
February5.944.603.885.1817.1 °C
March4.614.734.024.6316.0 °C
April3.114.293.673.7014.2 °C
May2.093.673.162.8912.6 °C
June1.553.082.672.3410.8 °C
July1.773.322.892.589.9 °C
August2.623.983.463.3510.1 °C
September3.834.393.814.1511.0 °C
October5.144.413.804.7811.9 °C
November6.344.183.575.2013.4 °C
December6.673.893.295.1415.3 °C
Year4.19 avg4.05 avg1268 kWh1495 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 440 Wp of panels at 70°, versus 510 Wp at 35°. The steep array is 13% smaller for the same winter. Size your own system.

Row spacing in Wellington

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.

5.3 mrow pitch at 70°

4.5 mrow pitch at 35°

Row spacing calculator

How Wellington compares in New Zealand

Against the other 46 places in New Zealand with climate data, for a fixed array at its best angle.

22ndof 47 places in New Zealand for sunshine: 4.19 peak sun hours a day on flat ground.

+3%solar energy a year compared with the average place in New Zealand: 1,496 against 1,455 kWh per kWp.

+28 mindaylight on the longest day, compared with Auckland: 15 h 10 min against 14 h 42 min.

35°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); Wellington ranks 22nd. In its darkest month, June, 1 kWp of off-grid panels at 70° makes 2.67 kWh a day here, against 2.77 kWh on average in New Zealand. The shortest day lasts 9 h 11 min, −26 min compared with Auckland.

The sunniest places in New Zealand

Solar forecast for Wellington, 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 Wellington

What is the best solar panel angle in Wellington?
For a fixed array facing north, the best year-round tilt in Wellington is 35°, worth about 1495 kWh per kWp a year. An off-grid system that has to get through June does better at about 65°.
What time is sunrise and sunset in Wellington today?
On 25 October 2026 the sun rises at 06:17 and sets at 19:53 local time (UTC+13), giving 13 h 35 min of daylight. Solar noon is at 13:05.
How many peak sun hours does Wellington get?
On a flat surface 4.2 hours a day averaged over the year, from 1.6 in June to 6.8 in January. Panels tilted at 70° receive 3.1 sun hours a day in June.
How high does the sun get in Wellington?
At solar noon the sun stands 25.3° above the horizon on the June solstice and 72.2° on the December solstice.
Is Wellington a good place for solar panels?
With 4.2 peak sun hours a day on flat ground, Wellington ranks 22nd of 47 places in New Zealand for sunshine. A 1 kWp array at the best angle (35°) makes about 1,496 kWh a year here, 3% more than the average place in New Zealand.

Places near Wellington

All places in New Zealand

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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.