Sun Path: Nelson, New Zealand

Direct answer

For Nelson at -41.2708, 173.2840, the declination-only solar-noon altitude is approximately 25.3° at the June solstice, 48.7° at an equinox and 72.2° 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 2186280 in administrative area F5, at -41.2708, 173.2840; replace it with the surveyed parcel point before relying on the result. As a transparent geometry check, declination-only solar-noon altitude is about 25.3° at the June solstice, 48.7° at an equinox and 72.2° at the December solstice. Representative 21st-day geometry ranges from about 9.0 hours in June to 15.0 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 Nelson?

Nelson is represented here at approximately -41.2708, 173.2840 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 Nelson 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.

Nelson monthly solar geometry check for sun path

Nelson solar-geometry fingerprint at -41.2708, 173.2840

• Nelson, 21 January: declination -20.14°, noon altitude 68.87°, zenith 21.13°, geometric daylight 14.503 hours, and vertical-object noon shadow ratio 0.387.
• Nelson, 21 February: declination -11.23°, noon altitude 59.96°, zenith 30.04°, geometric daylight 13.338 hours, and vertical-object noon shadow ratio 0.578.
• Nelson, 21 March: declination -0.40°, noon altitude 49.13°, zenith 40.87°, geometric daylight 12.047 hours, and vertical-object noon shadow ratio 0.865.
• Nelson, 21 April: declination +11.58°, noon altitude 37.15°, zenith 52.85°, geometric daylight 10.619 hours, and vertical-object noon shadow ratio 1.320.
• Nelson, 21 May: declination +20.14°, noon altitude 28.59°, zenith 61.41°, geometric daylight 9.497 hours, and vertical-object noon shadow ratio 1.835.
• Nelson, 21 June: declination +23.45°, noon altitude 25.28°, zenith 64.72°, geometric daylight 9.017 hours, and vertical-object noon shadow ratio 2.117.
• Nelson, 21 July: declination +20.44°, noon altitude 28.29°, zenith 61.71°, geometric daylight 9.454 hours, and vertical-object noon shadow ratio 1.858.
• Nelson, 21 August: declination +11.75°, noon altitude 36.98°, zenith 53.02°, geometric daylight 10.597 hours, and vertical-object noon shadow ratio 1.328.
• Nelson, 21 September: declination -0.20°, noon altitude 48.93°, zenith 41.07°, geometric daylight 12.024 hours, and vertical-object noon shadow ratio 0.871.
• Nelson, 21 October: declination -11.75°, noon altitude 60.48°, zenith 29.52°, geometric daylight 13.403 hours, and vertical-object noon shadow ratio 0.566.
• Nelson, 21 November: declination -20.44°, noon altitude 69.17°, zenith 20.83°, geometric daylight 14.546 hours, and vertical-object noon shadow ratio 0.380.
• Nelson, 21 December: declination -23.45°, noon altitude 72.18°, zenith 17.82°, geometric daylight 14.983 hours, and vertical-object noon shadow ratio 0.321.

Harth computed the Nelson fingerprint for latitude -41.2708° with the Cooper declination approximation, 90° - |latitude - declination| at solar noon, centre-to-centre sunrise hour angle and 1 / tan(altitude) shadow ratio. Longitude 173.2840° is retained for a later civil-time conversion; this screen does not perform that conversion. See NOAA's solar calculation details. Atmospheric refraction, terrain, facade azimuth and obstructions remain outside this first-pass comparison.

Where can you explore related guidance?

• Explore all solar data guidance
• Sun Path: Stoke, New Zealand
• Sun Path: Richmond, New Zealand
• Sun Path: Blenheim, New Zealand
• Sun Path: Wellington, New Zealand
• All solar & daylight data guidance for New Zealand

Sources and method

Location data from the GeoNames NZ dump (CC BY 4.0, snapshot 2026-08-31, GeoNames ID 2186280). Regulatory starting point: Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment and the local council. 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

• building.govt.nz

• gml.noaa.gov