Cocos Islands · 12.16° S · 96.82° E
Solar position in West Island
Sun position, daylight and the best solar panel angle for West Island — computed for 12.16° S, 96.82° E, 12 m above sea level.
The sun right now
Sun in West Island today
Sunday, 25 October 2026 · local time UTC+6:30
| Event | Time | Direction / height |
|---|---|---|
| Astronomical dawn | 04:20 | sun 18° below horizon |
| Nautical dawn | 04:45 | 12° below |
| Civil dawn | 05:11 | 6° below |
| Sunrise | 05:32 | 102° ESE |
| Golden hour ends | 06:01 | sun 6° up |
| Solar noon | 11:46 | 89.9° high |
| Golden hour starts | 17:32 | sun 6° up |
| Sunset | 18:00 | 257° WSW |
| Civil dusk | 18:22 | 6° below |
| Nautical dusk | 18:48 | 12° below |
| Astronomical dusk | 19:13 | 18° below |
| Day length | 12 h 28 min | |
Sun path diagram for West Island
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 54.4° at solar noon in West Island; on the December solstice only 78.7°. Sunrise swings from 66° ENE in June to 114° ESE in December — a 48° 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 | 05:52 | 12:13 | 18:35 | 12 h 43 min | 82.3° |
| February | 06:03 | 12:16 | 18:28 | 12 h 25 min | 88.4° |
| March | 06:06 | 12:09 | 18:12 | 12 h 06 min | 77.6° |
| April | 06:08 | 12:01 | 17:54 | 11 h 46 min | 66.0° |
| May | 06:13 | 11:59 | 17:44 | 11 h 31 min | 57.7° |
| June | 06:22 | 12:04 | 17:46 | 11 h 25 min | 54.4° |
| July | 06:23 | 12:09 | 17:54 | 11 h 30 min | 57.4° |
| August | 06:13 | 12:06 | 17:58 | 11 h 46 min | 65.8° |
| September | 05:53 | 11:55 | 17:58 | 12 h 05 min | 77.2° |
| October | 05:34 | 11:47 | 18:00 | 12 h 26 min | 88.5° |
| November | 05:26 | 11:48 | 18:10 | 12 h 43 min | 82.2° |
| December | 05:35 | 12:00 | 18:25 | 12 h 51 min | 78.7° |
A year of daylight in West Island
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 West Island
Fixed array facing north (azimuth 0°). Energy per kWp from NASA POWER monthly climate, including clouds, temperature and snow reflection.
10°collects the most energy over a year: 1652 kWh per kWp.
29°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° | 1631 | 99% | 3.33 | 1.6× |
| 10° year-round best | 1652 | 100% | 3.66 | 1.4× |
| 12° = latitude | 1651 | 100% | 3.71 | 1.4× |
| 15° | 1647 | 100% | 3.79 | 1.3× |
| 29° off-grid best | 1578 | 96% | 4.02 | 1.2× |
| 30° | 1570 | 95% | 4.03 | 1.2× |
| 45° | 1405 | 85% | 4.04 | 1.5× |
| 60° | 1167 | 71% | 3.81 | 2.0× |
| 70° | 981 | 59% | 3.54 | 2.7× |
| 90° | 654 | 40% | 2.74 | 2.7× |
A fixed array in West Island produces the most over a year at 10°. The design month for an off-grid system is June: at 29° it makes 4.02 kWh per kWp a day, 10% more than at 10°, and costs 4% of the yearly total. Why steep panels win winter.
Off-grid solar in West Island at 70°
Daily energy of 1 kWp by month. Bars: panels at 70°. Line: panels at 10° (year-round best).
| Month | Sun hours, flat | Sun hours at 70° | kWh/kWp/day at 70° | at 10° | Mean temp. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 6.55 | 1.81 | 1.43 | 4.93 | 27.1 °C |
| February | 6.35 | 2.48 | 1.98 | 4.91 | 27.6 °C |
| March | 5.84 | 3.33 | 2.69 | 4.67 | 27.8 °C |
| April | 5.18 | 4.00 | 3.24 | 4.29 | 27.9 °C |
| May | 4.65 | 4.38 | 3.56 | 3.95 | 27.7 °C |
| June | 4.24 | 4.36 | 3.54 | 3.66 | 27.2 °C |
| July | 4.43 | 4.39 | 3.58 | 3.81 | 26.6 °C |
| August | 5.20 | 4.44 | 3.62 | 4.39 | 26.1 °C |
| September | 5.84 | 3.83 | 3.12 | 4.77 | 25.8 °C |
| October | 6.45 | 2.97 | 2.40 | 5.09 | 25.9 °C |
| November | 6.48 | 2.12 | 1.69 | 4.95 | 26.3 °C |
| December | 6.53 | 1.73 | 1.36 | 4.90 | 26.6 °C |
| Year | 5.64 avg | 3.32 avg | 981 kWh | 1652 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 870 Wp of panels at 70°, versus 320 Wp at 10°. Here the lower tilt is the better winter choice — the sun stays high enough. Size your own system.
Row spacing in West Island
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.
2.2 mrow pitch at 70°
2.2 mrow pitch at 10°
Solar forecast for West Island, 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 West Island
What is the best solar panel angle in West Island?
What time is sunrise and sunset in West Island today?
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Places near West Island
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A free, live card for West Island: 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.