Sun Path: Taupo, New Zealand

Direct answer

For Taupo at -38.6833, 176.0833, the declination-only solar-noon altitude is approximately 27.9° at the June solstice, 51.3° at an equinox and 74.8° 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 2181742 in administrative area G1, at -38.6833, 176.0833; replace it with the surveyed parcel point before relying on the result. As a transparent geometry check, declination-only solar-noon altitude is about 27.9° at the June solstice, 51.3° at an equinox and 74.8° at the December solstice. Representative 21st-day geometry ranges from about 9.3 hours in June to 14.7 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 Taupo?

Taupo is represented here at approximately -38.6833, 176.0833 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 Taupo 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.

Taupo monthly solar geometry check for sun path

Taupo solar-geometry fingerprint at -38.6833, 176.0833

• Taupo, 21 January: declination -20.14°, noon altitude 71.45°, zenith 18.55°, geometric daylight 14.277 hours, and vertical-object noon shadow ratio 0.335.
• Taupo, 21 February: declination -11.23°, noon altitude 62.54°, zenith 27.46°, geometric daylight 13.219 hours, and vertical-object noon shadow ratio 0.520.
• Taupo, 21 March: declination -0.40°, noon altitude 51.72°, zenith 38.28°, geometric daylight 12.043 hours, and vertical-object noon shadow ratio 0.789.
• Taupo, 21 April: declination +11.58°, noon altitude 39.74°, zenith 50.26°, geometric daylight 10.741 hours, and vertical-object noon shadow ratio 1.203.
• Taupo, 21 May: declination +20.14°, noon altitude 31.18°, zenith 58.82°, geometric daylight 9.723 hours, and vertical-object noon shadow ratio 1.653.
• Taupo, 21 June: declination +23.45°, noon altitude 27.87°, zenith 62.13°, geometric daylight 9.290 hours, and vertical-object noon shadow ratio 1.891.
• Taupo, 21 July: declination +20.44°, noon altitude 30.88°, zenith 59.12°, geometric daylight 9.685 hours, and vertical-object noon shadow ratio 1.673.
• Taupo, 21 August: declination +11.75°, noon altitude 39.56°, zenith 50.44°, geometric daylight 10.721 hours, and vertical-object noon shadow ratio 1.210.
• Taupo, 21 September: declination -0.20°, noon altitude 51.52°, zenith 38.48°, geometric daylight 12.022 hours, and vertical-object noon shadow ratio 0.795.
• Taupo, 21 October: declination -11.75°, noon altitude 63.07°, zenith 26.93°, geometric daylight 13.279 hours, and vertical-object noon shadow ratio 0.508.
• Taupo, 21 November: declination -20.44°, noon altitude 71.76°, zenith 18.24°, geometric daylight 14.315 hours, and vertical-object noon shadow ratio 0.330.
• Taupo, 21 December: declination -23.45°, noon altitude 74.77°, zenith 15.23°, geometric daylight 14.710 hours, and vertical-object noon shadow ratio 0.272.

Harth computed the Taupo fingerprint for latitude -38.6833° with the Cooper declination approximation, 90° - |latitude - declination| at solar noon, centre-to-centre sunrise hour angle and 1 / tan(altitude) shadow ratio. Longitude 176.0833° 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: Rotorua, New Zealand
• Sun Path: Tauranga, New Zealand
• Sun Path: Napier, New Zealand
• Sun Path: Hamilton, New Zealand
• All solar & daylight data guidance for New Zealand
• Climate Design Data: Taupo, New Zealand

Sources and method

Location data from the GeoNames NZ dump (CC BY 4.0, snapshot 2026-08-31, GeoNames ID 2181742). 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