Sun Path: Canberra, Australia

Direct answer

For Canberra at -35.2835, 149.1281, the declination-only solar-noon altitude is approximately 31.3° at the June solstice, 54.7° at an equinox and 78.2° at the December solstice. Refine these geometry checks with the project date, civil time, facade azimuth, terrain and local horizon. The reproducible location record is GeoNames ID 2172517 in administrative area 01, at -35.2835, 149.1281; replace it with the surveyed parcel point before relying on the result. As a transparent geometry check, declination-only solar-noon altitude is about 31.3° at the June solstice, 54.7° at an equinox and 78.2° at the December solstice. Representative 21st-day geometry ranges from about 9.6 hours in June to 14.4 hours in December; this excludes atmospheric refraction, terrain and obstruction effects. The cited national authority is a discovery starting point; current local documents and a named qualified reviewer control project use of this sun path record.

Prepared by Harth · Prepared from the cited location and country sources; local project inputs remain unreviewed · Published 2026-08-26 · Updated 2026-08-31.

What must be verified for Canberra?

Canberra is represented here at approximately -35.2835, 149.1281 for discovery and workflow planning. A project address, parcel, elevation, exposure, authority, and submission date must replace that city-centre reference before design use.

How should sun path be established?

1. Fix the surveyed site and local time basis.
2. Select an authoritative weather source or a named solar-position algorithm.
3. Record period, percentile or scenario and units.
4. Test sensitivity to elevation, exposure, urban form and horizon.
5. Save the source file, retrieval date and checker in the model record.

What are the limits of this worksheet?

This sun-path-workflow page is a project-starting worksheet, not a design value or approval. The controlling authority and qualified professionals for the Canberra site remain authoritative.

Which related searches does this primary location record cover?

This primary route consolidates the location evidence needed for Sun Path, Solar Altitude & Azimuth, Solar Shading Design, Daylight & Orientation. A narrower route should be released only when it adds a materially different official source, calculation, process, threshold or worked example.

Canberra monthly solar geometry check for sun path

Month-by-month geometry interpretation

• 21 January: approximate solar-noon altitude 74.9° (zenith angle 15.1°) and 14.0 hours of geometric daylight. That is 0.4 hours shorter than the preceding representative date in this annual sequence.
• 21 February: approximate solar-noon altitude 65.9° (zenith angle 24.1°) and 13.1 hours of geometric daylight. That is 0.9 hours shorter than the preceding representative date in this annual sequence.
• 21 March: approximate solar-noon altitude 55.1° (zenith angle 34.9°) and 12.0 hours of geometric daylight. That is 1.0 hours shorter than the preceding representative date in this annual sequence.
• 21 April: approximate solar-noon altitude 43.1° (zenith angle 46.9°) and 10.9 hours of geometric daylight. That is 1.1 hours shorter than the preceding representative date in this annual sequence.
• 21 May: approximate solar-noon altitude 34.6° (zenith angle 55.4°) and 10.0 hours of geometric daylight. That is 0.9 hours shorter than the preceding representative date in this annual sequence.
• 21 June: approximate solar-noon altitude 31.3° (zenith angle 58.7°) and 9.6 hours of geometric daylight. That is 0.4 hours shorter than the preceding representative date in this annual sequence.
• 21 July: approximate solar-noon altitude 34.3° (zenith angle 55.7°) and 10.0 hours of geometric daylight. That is 0.3 hours longer than the preceding representative date in this annual sequence.
• 21 August: approximate solar-noon altitude 43.0° (zenith angle 47.0°) and 10.9 hours of geometric daylight. That is 0.9 hours longer than the preceding representative date in this annual sequence.
• 21 September: approximate solar-noon altitude 54.9° (zenith angle 35.1°) and 12.0 hours of geometric daylight. That is 1.1 hours longer than the preceding representative date in this annual sequence.
• 21 October: approximate solar-noon altitude 66.5° (zenith angle 23.5°) and 13.1 hours of geometric daylight. That is 1.1 hours longer than the preceding representative date in this annual sequence.
• 21 November: approximate solar-noon altitude 75.2° (zenith angle 14.8°) and 14.0 hours of geometric daylight. That is 0.9 hours longer than the preceding representative date in this annual sequence.
• 21 December: approximate solar-noon altitude 78.2° (zenith angle 11.8°) and 14.4 hours of geometric daylight. That is 0.3 hours longer than the preceding representative date in this annual sequence.

Harth calculation for latitude -35.2835°: Cooper declination approximation, 90° - |latitude - declination| at solar noon, and centre-to-centre sunrise hour angle. See NOAA's solar calculation details for fuller method context. This screening table excludes equation-of-time/civil-time conversion, atmospheric refraction, terrain, facade azimuth and obstructions; it is not an hourly shading result.

Where can you explore related guidance?

• Explore all solar data guidance
• Sun Path: Tuggeranong, Australia
• Sun Path: Wollongong, Australia
• Sun Path: Blacktown, Australia
• Sun Path: Sydney, Australia

Sources and method

Location data from the GeoNames AU dump (CC BY 4.0, snapshot 2026-08-31, GeoNames ID 2172517). Regulatory starting point: Australian Building Codes Board and the applicable state or territory authority. Figures are illustrative — verify against the current locally adopted edition for the site. Solar-method context: NOAA Solar Calculation Details; the Harth monthly table uses a simpler declination and geometric-daylight approximation whose stated limitations must be retained.

Source links

• download.geonames.org

• ncc.abcb.gov.au

• gml.noaa.gov