Sun Path: Papatoetoe, New Zealand

Direct answer

For Papatoetoe at -36.9682, 174.8402, the declination-only solar-noon altitude is approximately 29.6° at the June solstice, 53.0° at an equinox and 76.5° 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 6232008 in administrative area E7, at -36.9682, 174.8402; replace it with the surveyed parcel point before relying on the result. As a transparent geometry check, declination-only solar-noon altitude is about 29.6° at the June solstice, 53.0° at an equinox and 76.5° at the December solstice. Representative 21st-day geometry ranges from about 9.5 hours in June to 14.5 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 Papatoetoe?

Papatoetoe is represented here at approximately -36.9682, 174.8402 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 Papatoetoe 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.

Papatoetoe monthly solar geometry check for sun path

Papatoetoe solar-geometry fingerprint at -36.9682, 174.8402

• Papatoetoe, 21 January: declination -20.14°, noon altitude 73.17°, zenith 16.83°, geometric daylight 14.136 hours, and vertical-object noon shadow ratio 0.302.
• Papatoetoe, 21 February: declination -11.23°, noon altitude 64.26°, zenith 25.74°, geometric daylight 13.146 hours, and vertical-object noon shadow ratio 0.482.
• Papatoetoe, 21 March: declination -0.40°, noon altitude 53.44°, zenith 36.56°, geometric daylight 12.041 hours, and vertical-object noon shadow ratio 0.742.
• Papatoetoe, 21 April: declination +11.58°, noon altitude 41.45°, zenith 48.55°, geometric daylight 10.817 hours, and vertical-object noon shadow ratio 1.132.
• Papatoetoe, 21 May: declination +20.14°, noon altitude 32.89°, zenith 57.11°, geometric daylight 9.864 hours, and vertical-object noon shadow ratio 1.546.
• Papatoetoe, 21 June: declination +23.45°, noon altitude 29.58°, zenith 60.42°, geometric daylight 9.459 hours, and vertical-object noon shadow ratio 1.762.
• Papatoetoe, 21 July: declination +20.44°, noon altitude 32.59°, zenith 57.41°, geometric daylight 9.828 hours, and vertical-object noon shadow ratio 1.564.
• Papatoetoe, 21 August: declination +11.75°, noon altitude 41.28°, zenith 48.72°, geometric daylight 10.799 hours, and vertical-object noon shadow ratio 1.139.
• Papatoetoe, 21 September: declination -0.20°, noon altitude 53.23°, zenith 36.77°, geometric daylight 12.020 hours, and vertical-object noon shadow ratio 0.747.
• Papatoetoe, 21 October: declination -11.75°, noon altitude 64.79°, zenith 25.21°, geometric daylight 13.201 hours, and vertical-object noon shadow ratio 0.471.
• Papatoetoe, 21 November: declination -20.44°, noon altitude 73.47°, zenith 16.53°, geometric daylight 14.172 hours, and vertical-object noon shadow ratio 0.297.
• Papatoetoe, 21 December: declination -23.45°, noon altitude 76.48°, zenith 13.52°, geometric daylight 14.541 hours, and vertical-object noon shadow ratio 0.240.

Harth computed the Papatoetoe fingerprint for latitude -36.9682° with the Cooper declination approximation, 90° - |latitude - declination| at solar noon, centre-to-centre sunrise hour angle and 1 / tan(altitude) shadow ratio. Longitude 174.8402° 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
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• Sun Path: Manurewa, 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 6232008). 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