Solarposition.org

Mpumalanga · South Africa · 25.79° S · 31.05° E

Solar position in Barberton

Sun position, daylight and the best solar panel angle for Barberton — computed for 25.79° S, 31.05° E, 853 m above sea level.

Sunrise today05:13103° ESE
Sunset today18:07256° WSW
Best panel angle28°year-round, facing north
Off-grid angle25°best for the darkest month

The sun right now

Azimuth180.0°
Elevation76.0°
At solar noon, 11:40Open on the sun map

Sun in Barberton today

Saturday, 24 October 2026 · local time UTC+2

EventTimeDirection / height
Astronomical dawn03:52sun 18° below horizon
Nautical dawn04:2112° below
Civil dawn04:496° below
Sunrise05:13103° ESE
Golden hour ends05:44sun 6° up
Solar noon11:4076.0° high
Golden hour starts17:36sun 6° up
Sunset18:07256° WSW
Civil dusk18:306° below
Nautical dusk18:5812° below
Astronomical dusk19:2718° below
Day length12 h 54 min

Sun path diagram for Barberton

Where the sun stands in the sky: the centre is straight overhead, the outer ring is the horizon. Numbers mark local clock hours.

15°30°45°60°75°N30°60°E120°150°S210°240°W300°330°June solstice7891011121314151617EquinoxDecember solstice6789101112131415161718Today
  • June solstice
  • Equinox
  • December solstice
  • Today

On the June solstice the sun reaches 40.8° at solar noon in Barberton; on the December solstice only 87.6°. Sunrise swings from 64° ENE in June to 117° ESE in December — a 52° arc along the horizon.

Sunrise, sunset and sun height by month

Values for the 21st of each month, local clock time including daylight saving time.

MonthSunriseSolar noonSunsetDay lengthNoon elevation
January05:2212:0718:5113 h 29 min84.1°
February05:4412:0918:3312 h 49 min74.7°
March05:5912:0218:0512 h 06 min63.9°
April06:1411:5417:3411 h 21 min52.3°
May06:2911:5217:1510 h 46 min44.0°
June06:4111:5717:1310 h 32 min40.8°
July06:3912:0217:2410 h 45 min43.8°
August06:1911:5917:3911 h 20 min52.2°
September05:4611:4917:5112 h 05 min63.6°
October05:1511:4018:0512 h 50 min75.0°
November04:5711:4118:2613 h 29 min84.2°
December05:0111:5318:4613 h 45 min87.6°

A year of daylight in Barberton

Each column is one day of 2026. Bright: sun above the horizon; soft: civil twilight; line: solar noon. Steps are daylight saving time changes.

00:0003:0006:0009:0012:0015:0018:0021:0000:00JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec

Best solar panel angle in Barberton

Fixed array facing north (azimuth 0°). Energy per kWp from NASA POWER monthly climate, including clouds, temperature and snow reflection.

28°collects the most energy over a year: 1683 kWh per kWp.

25°gives the most in the darkest month — the one an off-grid system is sized for.

20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%100%0°10°20°30°40°50°60°70°80°90°Best year-round 28°Best worst-month 25°70°Yearly energyWorst-month energy
  • Yearly energy
  • Worst-month energy
TiltkWh/kWp per yearShare of best yearDecember kWh/kWp/dayBest ÷ worst month
0°151090%4.871.6×
15°164598%4.671.2×
25° off-grid best1681100%4.391.1×
26° = latitude1682100%4.361.1×
28° year-round best1683100%4.291.2×
30°1682100%4.221.2×
45°162196%3.551.5×
60°146587%2.722.0×
70°131678%2.132.4×
90°94556%1.183.7×

A fixed array in Barberton produces the most over a year at 28°. The design month for an off-grid system is December: at 25° it makes 4.39 kWh per kWp a day, 2% more than at 28°, and costs 0% of the yearly total. Why steep panels win winter.

Off-grid solar in Barberton at 70°

Daily energy of 1 kWp by month. Bars: panels at 70°. Line: panels at 28° (year-round best).

0123456January: 2.28 (70°)2.3JanFebruary: 2.82 (70°)2.8FebMarch: 3.37 (70°)3.4MarApril: 3.87 (70°)3.9AprMay: 4.83 (70°)4.8MayJune: 5.06 (70°)5.1JunJuly: 5.14 (70°)5.1JulAugust: 4.69 (70°)4.7AugSeptember: 3.87 (70°)3.9SepOctober: 2.85 (70°)2.8OctNovember: 2.30 (70°)2.3NovDecember: 2.13 (70°)2.1Dec28°
MonthSun hours, flatSun hours at 70°kWh/kWp/day at 70°at 28°Mean temp.
January6.122.792.284.4222.6 °C
February6.023.432.824.6922.5 °C
March5.384.063.374.6321.5 °C
April4.524.603.874.4319.0 °C
May4.205.694.834.7716.5 °C
June3.805.915.064.6913.9 °C
July4.045.995.144.8713.7 °C
August4.645.514.694.9616.3 °C
September5.294.623.874.8919.2 °C
October5.443.432.854.4220.8 °C
November5.792.802.304.2921.8 °C
December6.032.622.134.2922.6 °C
Year5.10 avg4.29 avg1316 kWh1683 kWh

Sizing example. To run a 1 kWh-per-day load through December on LiFePO4 batteries (charge controller, battery and inverter losses included) you need about 550 Wp of panels at 70°, versus 280 Wp at 28°. Here the lower tilt is the better winter choice — the sun stays high enough. Size your own system.

Row spacing in Barberton

Distance between rows of 2 m long panels (slope length) so that no row shades the next between 10:00 and 14:00 solar time on the winter solstice.

3.1 mrow pitch at 70°

3.0 mrow pitch at 28°

Row spacing calculator

How Barberton compares in South Africa

Against the other 294 places in South Africa with climate data, for a fixed array at its best angle.

234thof 295 places in South Africa for sunshine, shared: 5.10 peak sun hours a day on flat ground.

−7%solar energy a year compared with the average place in South Africa: 1,683 against 1,806 kWh per kWp.

−2 mindaylight on the longest day, compared with Johannesburg: 13 h 45 min against 13 h 47 min.

28°best year-round tilt here; across South Africa it runs from 24° in Thohoyandou to 32° in East London.

Of the 295 places in South Africa, Upington gets the most sun (6.28 peak sun hours a day) and Port Shepstone the least (4.46); Barberton ranks joint 234th. In its darkest month, December, 1 kWp of off-grid panels at 70° makes 2.13 kWh a day here, against 2.42 kWh on average in South Africa. The shortest day lasts 10 h 32 min, +2 min compared with Johannesburg.

The sunniest places in South Africa

Solar forecast for Barberton, next 48 hours

Expected output of 1 kWp at 70°, computed from the ICON-EU weather model of the Deutscher Wetterdienst (DWD), Europe.

Loading the latest forecast…

Questions about the sun in Barberton

What is the best solar panel angle in Barberton?
For a fixed array facing north, the best year-round tilt in Barberton is 28°, worth about 1683 kWh per kWp a year. An off-grid system that has to get through December does better at about 25°.
What time is sunrise and sunset in Barberton today?
On 24 October 2026 the sun rises at 05:13 and sets at 18:07 local time (UTC+2), giving 12 h 54 min of daylight. Solar noon is at 11:40.
How many peak sun hours does Barberton get?
On a flat surface 5.1 hours a day averaged over the year, from 3.8 in June to 6.1 in January. Panels tilted at 70° receive 2.6 sun hours a day in December.
How high does the sun get in Barberton?
At solar noon the sun stands 40.8° above the horizon on the June solstice and 87.6° on the December solstice.
Is Barberton a good place for solar panels?
With 5.1 peak sun hours a day on flat ground, Barberton ranks joint 234th of 295 places in South Africa for sunshine. A 1 kWp array at the best angle (28°) makes about 1,683 kWh a year here, 7% less than the average place in South Africa.

Places near Barberton

All places in South Africa

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Sun positions: NREL Solar Position Algorithm. Climate: NASA POWER monthly climatology (NASA Langley Research Center). Forecast: Deutscher Wetterdienst, ICON-EU (CC BY 4.0), processed. Places: GeoNames (CC BY 4.0). Time zones: IANA. Sources and licences.