Solarposition.org

British Columbia · Canada · 49.33° N · 123.16° W

Solar position in West Vancouver

Sun position, daylight and the best solar panel angle for West Vancouver — computed for 49.33° N, 123.16° W, 26 m above sea level.

Sunrise today07:48107° ESE
Sunset today18:04252° WSW
Best panel angle38°year-round, facing south
Off-grid angle73°best for the darkest month

The sun right now

Azimuth180.0°
Elevation28.7°
At solar noon, 12:56Open on the sun map

Sun in West Vancouver today

Saturday, 24 October 2026 · local time UTC−7

EventTimeDirection / height
Astronomical dawn06:01sun 18° below horizon
Nautical dawn06:3812° below
Civil dawn07:156° below
Sunrise07:48107° ESE
Golden hour ends08:33sun 6° up
Solar noon12:5628.7° high
Golden hour starts17:19sun 6° up
Sunset18:04252° WSW
Civil dusk18:376° below
Nautical dusk19:1412° below
Astronomical dusk19:5118° below
Day length10 h 16 min

Sun path diagram for West Vancouver

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 solstice6789101112131415161718192021EquinoxDecember solstice910111213141516Today
  • June solstice
  • Equinox
  • December solstice
  • Today

On the June solstice the sun reaches 64.1° at solar noon in West Vancouver; on the December solstice only 17.3°. Sunrise swings from 51° NE in June to 126° SE in December — a 75° 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
January07:5712:2416:518 h 54 min21.0°
February07:1012:2617:4210 h 33 min30.4°
March07:1213:1919:2712 h 15 min41.2°
April06:0813:1120:1414 h 06 min52.8°
May05:2113:0920:5715 h 36 min61.0°
June05:0613:1421:2216 h 16 min64.1°
July05:3013:1921:0715 h 37 min61.0°
August06:1313:1520:1714 h 04 min52.6°
September06:5813:0519:1212 h 14 min41.1°
October07:4312:5618:1010 h 27 min29.8°
November07:3211:5816:238 h 51 min20.7°
December08:0512:1016:168 h 11 min17.3°

A year of daylight in West Vancouver

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 West Vancouver

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

38°collects the most energy over a year: 1192 kWh per kWp.

73°gives the most in the darkest month — the one an off-grid system is sized for.

30%40%50%60%70%80%90%100%0°10°20°30°40°50°60°70°80°90°Best year-round 38°Best worst-month 73°70°Yearly energyWorst-month energy
  • Yearly energy
  • Worst-month energy
TiltkWh/kWp per yearShare of best yearDecember kWh/kWp/dayBest ÷ worst month
0°98282%0.539.7×
15°111493%0.846.4×
30°118399%1.104.8×
38° year-round best1192100%1.224.2×
45°118599%1.303.8×
49° = latitude117498%1.343.5×
60°111994%1.423.0×
70°104187%1.452.7×
73° off-grid best101385%1.462.6×
90°81568%1.402.1×

A fixed array in West Vancouver produces the most over a year at 38°. The design month for an off-grid system is December: at 73° it makes 1.46 kWh per kWp a day, 20% more than at 38°, and costs 15% of the yearly total. Why steep panels win winter.

Off-grid solar in West Vancouver at 70°

Daily energy of 1 kWp by month. Bars: panels at 70°. Line: panels at 38° (year-round best).

0123456January: 1.62 (70°)1.6JanFebruary: 2.72 (70°)2.7FebMarch: 2.78 (70°)2.8MarApril: 3.25 (70°)3.3AprMay: 3.44 (70°)3.4MayJune: 3.26 (70°)3.3JunJuly: 3.69 (70°)3.7JulAugust: 3.87 (70°)3.9AugSeptember: 3.68 (70°)3.7SepOctober: 2.71 (70°)2.7OctNovember: 1.76 (70°)1.8NovDecember: 1.45 (70°)1.5Dec38°
MonthSun hours, flatSun hours at 70°kWh/kWp/day at 70°at 38°Mean temp.
January snow0.881.821.621.400.2 °C
February snow1.763.022.722.500.3 °C
March2.623.132.782.962.3 °C
April3.983.703.253.875.6 °C
May5.253.993.444.5310.6 °C
June5.613.833.264.5313.4 °C
July6.254.383.695.1016.6 °C
August5.294.583.874.8316.6 °C
September3.664.293.684.0013.2 °C
October2.053.102.712.648.0 °C
November1.031.991.761.573.0 °C
December snow0.701.631.451.22-0.3 °C
Year3.26 avg3.29 avg1041 kWh1192 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 810 Wp of panels at 70°, versus 970 Wp at 38°. The steep array is 16% smaller for the same winter. Size your own system.

Row spacing in West Vancouver

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.

8.2 mrow pitch at 70°

6.5 mrow pitch at 38°

Row spacing calculator

How West Vancouver compares in Canada

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

277thof 296 places in Canada for sunshine, shared: 3.26 peak sun hours a day on flat ground.

−8%solar energy a year compared with the average place in Canada: 1,192 against 1,292 kWh per kWp.

+48 mindaylight on the longest day, compared with Toronto: 16 h 16 min against 15 h 27 min.

38°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); West Vancouver ranks joint 277th. In its darkest month, December, 1 kWp of off-grid panels at 70° makes 1.45 kWh a day here, against 1.88 kWh on average in Canada. The shortest day lasts 8 h 11 min, −45 min compared with Toronto.

The sunniest places in Canada

Solar forecast for West Vancouver, 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 West Vancouver

What is the best solar panel angle in West Vancouver?
For a fixed array facing south, the best year-round tilt in West Vancouver is 38°, worth about 1192 kWh per kWp a year. An off-grid system that has to get through December does better at about 73°.
What time is sunrise and sunset in West Vancouver today?
On 24 October 2026 the sun rises at 07:48 and sets at 18:04 local time (UTC−7), giving 10 h 16 min of daylight. Solar noon is at 12:56.
How many peak sun hours does West Vancouver get?
On a flat surface 3.3 hours a day averaged over the year, from 0.7 in December to 6.2 in July. Panels tilted at 70° receive 1.6 sun hours a day in December.
How high does the sun get in West Vancouver?
At solar noon the sun stands 64.1° above the horizon on the June solstice and 17.3° on the December solstice.
Is West Vancouver a good place for solar panels?
With 3.3 peak sun hours a day on flat ground, West Vancouver ranks joint 277th of 296 places in Canada for sunshine. A 1 kWp array at the best angle (38°) makes about 1,192 kWh a year here, 8% less than the average place in Canada.

Places near West Vancouver

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.