Solarposition.org

Pennsylvania · United States · 41.25° N · 75.88° W

Solar position in Wilkes-Barre

Sun position, daylight and the best solar panel angle for Wilkes-Barre — computed for 41.25° N, 75.88° W, 163 m above sea level.

Sunrise today07:25105° ESE
Sunset today18:09255° WSW
Best panel angle34°year-round, facing south
Off-grid angle66°best for the darkest month

The sun right now

Azimuth180.0°
Elevation36.9°
At solar noon, 12:47Open on the sun map

Sun in Wilkes-Barre today

Saturday, 24 October 2026 · local time UTC−4

EventTimeDirection / height
Astronomical dawn05:53sun 18° below horizon
Nautical dawn06:2512° below
Civil dawn06:576° below
Sunrise07:25105° ESE
Golden hour ends08:03sun 6° up
Solar noon12:4736.9° high
Golden hour starts17:30sun 6° up
Sunset18:09255° WSW
Civil dusk18:376° below
Nautical dusk19:0912° below
Astronomical dusk19:4118° below
Day length10 h 44 min

Sun path diagram for Wilkes-Barre

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 solstice67891011121314151617181920EquinoxDecember solstice8910111213141516Today
  • June solstice
  • Equinox
  • December solstice
  • Today

On the June solstice the sun reaches 72.2° at solar noon in Wilkes-Barre; on the December solstice only 25.3°. Sunrise swings from 57° ENE in June to 121° 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
January07:2312:1517:069 h 43 min29.0°
February06:4912:1717:4410 h 55 min38.4°
March07:0513:1019:1612 h 12 min49.2°
April06:1413:0219:5013 h 35 min60.8°
May05:3913:0020:2114 h 41 min69.0°
June05:3013:0520:4015 h 09 min72.2°
July05:4813:0920:3014 h 42 min69.1°
August06:1913:0619:5313 h 35 min60.7°
September06:5012:5619:0212 h 12 min49.3°
October07:2212:4718:1310 h 51 min37.9°
November06:5811:4916:399 h 41 min28.8°
December07:2512:0116:379 h 12 min25.3°

A year of daylight in Wilkes-Barre

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 Wilkes-Barre

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

34°collects the most energy over a year: 1311 kWh per kWp.

66°gives the most in the darkest month — the one an off-grid system is sized for.

50%60%70%80%90%100%0°10°20°30°40°50°60°70°80°90°Best year-round 34°Best worst-month 66°70°Yearly energyWorst-month energy
  • Yearly energy
  • Worst-month energy
TiltkWh/kWp per yearShare of best yearDecember kWh/kWp/dayBest ÷ worst month
0°112486%1.124.2×
15°125095%1.543.1×
30°1308100%1.882.5×
34° year-round best1311100%1.952.3×
41° = latitude130499%2.062.1×
45°129399%2.112.0×
60°120892%2.231.7×
66° off-grid best115588%2.241.6×
70°111585%2.231.6×
90°85865%2.071.8×

A fixed array in Wilkes-Barre produces the most over a year at 34°. The design month for an off-grid system is December: at 66° it makes 2.24 kWh per kWp a day, 15% more than at 34°, and costs 12% of the yearly total. Why steep panels win winter.

Off-grid solar in Wilkes-Barre at 70°

Daily energy of 1 kWp by month. Bars: panels at 70°. Line: panels at 34° (year-round best).

012345January: 2.79 (70°)2.8JanFebruary: 3.49 (70°)3.5FebMarch: 3.40 (70°)3.4MarApril: 3.32 (70°)3.3AprMay: 2.97 (70°)3.0MayJune: 2.87 (70°)2.9JunJuly: 3.02 (70°)3.0JulAugust: 3.18 (70°)3.2AugSeptember: 3.45 (70°)3.4SepOctober: 3.11 (70°)3.1OctNovember: 2.88 (70°)2.9NovDecember: 2.23 (70°)2.2Dec34°
MonthSun hours, flatSun hours at 70°kWh/kWp/day at 70°at 34°Mean temp.
January snow1.703.042.792.41-4.4 °C
February snow2.533.813.493.23-3.5 °C
March3.533.793.403.791.1 °C
April4.613.803.324.267.9 °C
May5.283.502.974.3114.3 °C
June5.813.462.874.4519.1 °C
July5.903.663.024.5522.0 °C
August5.123.843.184.3021.3 °C
September4.134.093.454.0317.5 °C
October2.783.583.113.1910.5 °C
November1.943.242.882.654.1 °C
December snow1.382.472.231.95-1.3 °C
Year3.73 avg3.52 avg1115 kWh1311 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 530 Wp of panels at 70°, versus 600 Wp at 34°. The steep array is 12% smaller for the same winter. Size your own system.

Row spacing in Wilkes-Barre

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°

4.4 mrow pitch at 34°

Row spacing calculator

How Wilkes-Barre compares in the United States

Against the other 3,120 places in the United States with climate data, for a fixed array at its best angle.

2866thof 3,121 places in the United States for sunshine, shared: 3.73 peak sun hours a day on flat ground.

−13%solar energy a year compared with the average place in the United States: 1,311 against 1,515 kWh per kWp.

+4 mindaylight on the longest day, compared with New York City: 15 h 09 min against 15 h 06 min.

34°best year-round tilt here; across the United States it runs from 18° in Honolulu to 53° in Fairbanks.

Of the 3,121 places in the United States, Fortuna Foothills and 2 other places get the most sun (5.96 peak sun hours a day) and Juneau the least (2.38); Wilkes-Barre ranks joint 2866th. In its darkest month, December, 1 kWp of off-grid panels at 70° makes 2.23 kWh a day here, against 2.55 kWh on average in the United States. The shortest day lasts 9 h 12 min, −3 min compared with New York City.

The sunniest places in the United States

Solar forecast for Wilkes-Barre, 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 Wilkes-Barre

What is the best solar panel angle in Wilkes-Barre?
For a fixed array facing south, the best year-round tilt in Wilkes-Barre is 34°, worth about 1311 kWh per kWp a year. An off-grid system that has to get through December does better at about 66°.
What time is sunrise and sunset in Wilkes-Barre today?
On 24 October 2026 the sun rises at 07:25 and sets at 18:09 local time (UTC−4), giving 10 h 44 min of daylight. Solar noon is at 12:47.
How many peak sun hours does Wilkes-Barre get?
On a flat surface 3.7 hours a day averaged over the year, from 1.4 in December to 5.9 in July. Panels tilted at 70° receive 2.5 sun hours a day in December.
How high does the sun get in Wilkes-Barre?
At solar noon the sun stands 72.2° above the horizon on the June solstice and 25.3° on the December solstice.
Is Wilkes-Barre a good place for solar panels?
With 3.7 peak sun hours a day on flat ground, Wilkes-Barre ranks joint 2866th of 3,121 places in the United States for sunshine. A 1 kWp array at the best angle (34°) makes about 1,311 kWh a year here, 13% less than the average place in the United States.

Places near Wilkes-Barre

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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.