Sun Path: Vancouver, Canada

Direct answer

For Vancouver at 49.2497, -123.1193, the declination-only solar-noon altitude is approximately 64.2° at the June solstice, 40.8° at an equinox and 17.3° 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 6173331 in administrative area 02, at 49.2497, -123.1193; replace it with the surveyed parcel point before relying on the result. As a transparent geometry check, declination-only solar-noon altitude is about 64.2° at the June solstice, 40.8° at an equinox and 17.3° at the December solstice. Representative 21st-day geometry ranges from about 8.0 hours in December to 16.0 hours in June; 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 Vancouver?

Vancouver is represented here at approximately 49.2497, -123.1193 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 Vancouver site remain authoritative.

Vancouver monthly solar geometry check for sun path

Vancouver solar-geometry fingerprint at 49.2497, -123.1193

• Vancouver, 21 January: declination -20.14°, noon altitude 20.61°, zenith 69.39°, geometric daylight 8.642 hours, and vertical-object noon shadow ratio 2.659.
• Vancouver, 21 February: declination -11.23°, noon altitude 29.52°, zenith 60.48°, geometric daylight 10.224 hours, and vertical-object noon shadow ratio 1.766.
• Vancouver, 21 March: declination -0.40°, noon altitude 40.35°, zenith 49.65°, geometric daylight 11.938 hours, and vertical-object noon shadow ratio 1.177.
• Vancouver, 21 April: declination +11.58°, noon altitude 52.33°, zenith 37.67°, geometric daylight 13.834 hours, and vertical-object noon shadow ratio 0.772.
• Vancouver, 21 May: declination +20.14°, noon altitude 60.89°, zenith 29.11°, geometric daylight 15.358 hours, and vertical-object noon shadow ratio 0.557.
• Vancouver, 21 June: declination +23.45°, noon altitude 64.20°, zenith 25.80°, geometric daylight 16.030 hours, and vertical-object noon shadow ratio 0.483.
• Vancouver, 21 July: declination +20.44°, noon altitude 61.19°, zenith 28.81°, geometric daylight 15.417 hours, and vertical-object noon shadow ratio 0.550.
• Vancouver, 21 August: declination +11.75°, noon altitude 52.50°, zenith 37.50°, geometric daylight 13.863 hours, and vertical-object noon shadow ratio 0.767.
• Vancouver, 21 September: declination -0.20°, noon altitude 40.55°, zenith 49.45°, geometric daylight 11.969 hours, and vertical-object noon shadow ratio 1.169.
• Vancouver, 21 October: declination -11.75°, noon altitude 29.00°, zenith 61.00°, geometric daylight 10.137 hours, and vertical-object noon shadow ratio 1.804.
• Vancouver, 21 November: declination -20.44°, noon altitude 20.31°, zenith 69.69°, geometric daylight 8.583 hours, and vertical-object noon shadow ratio 2.702.
• Vancouver, 21 December: declination -23.45°, noon altitude 17.30°, zenith 72.70°, geometric daylight 7.970 hours, and vertical-object noon shadow ratio 3.211.

Harth computed the Vancouver fingerprint for latitude 49.2497° with the Cooper declination approximation, 90° - |latitude - declination| at solar noon, centre-to-centre sunrise hour angle and 1 / tan(altitude) shadow ratio. Longitude -123.1193° 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: Richmond, Canada
• Sun Path: Burnaby, Canada
• Sun Path: Newton, Canada
• Sun Path: Surrey, Canada
• All solar & daylight data guidance for Canada
• Climate Design Data: Vancouver, Canada

Sources and method

Location data from the GeoNames CA dump (CC BY 4.0, snapshot 2026-08-31, GeoNames ID 6173331). Regulatory starting point: Codes Canada and the applicable provincial or territorial 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

• nrc.canada.ca

• gml.noaa.gov