The ecliptic is inclined 23.5 degrees to the celestial equator. Lower angle means less heating. In Austin, we get 10 hr 12 min of daylight. The latitude where the sun never rises on the winter solstice is called the arctic circle . Then days begin to get longer and sun's track across the sky is higher and longer.
Longer days means greater heating.
In Austin, this is about 14 hr 06 min of daylight. Then, days get shorter as we get back to Autumnal equinox. Distance in July is 94,400,000 miles and in January 91,400,000 miles. This doesn't make much of a difference in heating. Students demonstrated annual solar motion in the sky using solar motion demonstrators and hemispheres .