Puebla · Mexico · 18.34° N · 97.25° W
Solar position in Zinacatepec
Sun position, daylight and the best solar panel angle for Zinacatepec — computed for 18.34° N, 97.25° W, 1145 m above sea level.
The sun right now
Sun in Zinacatepec today
Saturday, 24 October 2026 · local time UTC−6
| Event | Time | Direction / height |
|---|---|---|
| Astronomical dawn | 05:12 | sun 18° below horizon |
| Nautical dawn | 05:37 | 12° below |
| Civil dawn | 06:03 | 6° below |
| Sunrise | 06:25 | 102° ESE |
| Golden hour ends | 06:55 | sun 6° up |
| Solar noon | 12:13 | 59.7° high |
| Golden hour starts | 17:30 | sun 6° up |
| Sunset | 18:00 | 258° WSW |
| Civil dusk | 18:22 | 6° below |
| Nautical dusk | 18:48 | 12° below |
| Astronomical dusk | 19:13 | 18° below |
| Day length | 11 h 35 min | |
Sun path diagram for Zinacatepec
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 84.9° at solar noon in Zinacatepec; on the December solstice only 48.2°. Sunrise swings from 65° ENE in June to 114° ESE in December — a 50° 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 | 07:03 | 12:40 | 18:16 | 11 h 13 min | 51.9° |
| February | 06:52 | 12:42 | 18:32 | 11 h 39 min | 61.3° |
| March | 06:32 | 12:36 | 18:40 | 12 h 08 min | 72.1° |
| April | 06:07 | 12:27 | 18:47 | 12 h 40 min | 83.7° |
| May | 05:53 | 12:25 | 18:57 | 13 h 04 min | 88.0° |
| June | 05:53 | 12:30 | 19:07 | 13 h 14 min | 84.9° |
| July | 06:03 | 12:35 | 19:07 | 13 h 04 min | 88.0° |
| August | 06:12 | 12:32 | 18:51 | 12 h 39 min | 83.6° |
| September | 06:17 | 12:21 | 18:25 | 12 h 08 min | 72.2° |
| October | 06:24 | 12:13 | 18:02 | 11 h 38 min | 60.8° |
| November | 06:38 | 12:14 | 17:50 | 11 h 12 min | 51.6° |
| December | 06:56 | 12:27 | 17:58 | 11 h 02 min | 48.2° |
A year of daylight in Zinacatepec
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 Zinacatepec
Fixed array facing south (azimuth 180°). Energy per kWp from NASA POWER monthly climate, including clouds, temperature and snow reflection.
19°collects the most energy over a year: 1724 kWh per kWp.
14°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° | 1645 | 95% | 4.78 | 1.4× |
| 14° off-grid best | 1719 | 100% | 4.48 | 1.2× |
| 15° | 1721 | 100% | 4.45 | 1.2× |
| 18° = latitude | 1724 | 100% | 4.36 | 1.2× |
| 19° year-round best | 1724 | 100% | 4.33 | 1.2× |
| 30° | 1697 | 98% | 3.89 | 1.4× |
| 45° | 1576 | 91% | 3.13 | 1.7× |
| 60° | 1368 | 79% | 2.26 | 2.3× |
| 70° | 1190 | 69% | 1.67 | 2.9× |
| 90° | 815 | 47% | 1.12 | 3.7× |
A fixed array in Zinacatepec produces the most over a year at 19°. The design month for an off-grid system is June: at 14° it makes 4.48 kWh per kWp a day, 4% more than at 19°, and costs 0% of the yearly total. Why steep panels win winter.
Off-grid solar in Zinacatepec at 70°
Daily energy of 1 kWp by month. Bars: panels at 70°. Line: panels at 19° (year-round best).
| Month | Sun hours, flat | Sun hours at 70° | kWh/kWp/day at 70° | at 19° | Mean temp. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 4.60 | 5.46 | 4.70 | 4.70 | 13.1 °C |
| February | 5.41 | 5.21 | 4.45 | 5.14 | 15.0 °C |
| March | 6.14 | 4.44 | 3.75 | 5.37 | 17.1 °C |
| April | 6.40 | 3.18 | 2.65 | 5.11 | 19.7 °C |
| May | 6.12 | 2.37 | 1.94 | 4.63 | 20.1 °C |
| June | 5.83 | 2.05 | 1.67 | 4.33 | 18.9 °C |
| July | 5.93 | 2.23 | 1.84 | 4.48 | 17.8 °C |
| August | 5.82 | 2.73 | 2.27 | 4.59 | 17.8 °C |
| September | 5.17 | 3.34 | 2.80 | 4.34 | 17.4 °C |
| October | 5.02 | 4.28 | 3.63 | 4.56 | 16.3 °C |
| November | 4.75 | 5.30 | 4.54 | 4.73 | 14.3 °C |
| December | 4.54 | 5.74 | 4.93 | 4.73 | 13.6 °C |
| Year | 5.48 avg | 3.85 avg | 1190 kWh | 1724 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 700 Wp of panels at 70°, versus 270 Wp at 19°. Here the lower tilt is the better winter choice — the sun stays high enough. Size your own system.
Row spacing in Zinacatepec
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.
2.6 mrow pitch at 70°
2.5 mrow pitch at 19°
How Zinacatepec compares in Mexico
Against the other 624 places in Mexico with climate data, for a fixed array at its best angle.
414thof 625 places in Mexico for sunshine, shared: 5.48 peak sun hours a day on flat ground.
−2%solar energy a year compared with the average place in Mexico: 1,724 against 1,754 kWh per kWp.
−4 mindaylight on the longest day, compared with Mexico City: 13 h 14 min against 13 h 18 min.
19°best year-round tilt here; across Mexico it runs from 15° in Coatzacoalcos to 30° in Tijuana.
Of the 625 places in Mexico, Ciudad Constitución gets the most sun (6.12 peak sun hours a day) and Poza Rica de Hidalgo and one other place the least (4.59); Zinacatepec ranks joint 414th. In its darkest month, June, 1 kWp of off-grid panels at 70° makes 1.68 kWh a day here, against 1.82 kWh on average in Mexico. The shortest day lasts 11 h 02 min, +4 min compared with Mexico City.
Solar forecast for Zinacatepec, 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 Zinacatepec
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A free, live card for Zinacatepec: 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.