Senegal · 14.69° N · 17.44° W
Solar position in Dakar
Sun position, daylight and the best solar panel angle for Dakar — computed for 14.69° N, 17.44° W, 12 m above sea level.
The sun right now
Sun in Dakar today
Saturday, 24 October 2026 · local time UTC
| Event | Time | Direction / height |
|---|---|---|
| Astronomical dawn | 05:50 | sun 18° below horizon |
| Nautical dawn | 06:16 | 12° below |
| Civil dawn | 06:41 | 6° below |
| Sunrise | 07:03 | 102° ESE |
| Golden hour ends | 07:32 | sun 6° up |
| Solar noon | 12:53 | 63.4° high |
| Golden hour starts | 18:15 | sun 6° up |
| Sunset | 18:44 | 258° WSW |
| Civil dusk | 19:06 | 6° below |
| Nautical dusk | 19:31 | 12° below |
| Astronomical dusk | 19:56 | 18° below |
| Day length | 11 h 42 min | |
Sun path diagram for Dakar
Where the sun stands in the sky: the centre is straight overhead, the outer ring is the horizon. Numbers mark local clock hours.
- June solstice
- Equinox
- December solstice
- Today
On the June solstice the sun reaches 81.3° at solar noon in Dakar; on the December solstice only 51.9°. Sunrise swings from 65° ENE in June to 114° ESE in December — a 49° 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.
| Month | Sunrise | Solar noon | Sunset | Day length | Noon elevation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 07:39 | 13:21 | 19:03 | 11 h 24 min | 55.5° |
| February | 07:31 | 13:23 | 19:15 | 11 h 45 min | 64.9° |
| March | 07:13 | 13:16 | 19:20 | 12 h 07 min | 75.7° |
| April | 06:52 | 13:08 | 19:24 | 12 h 32 min | 87.3° |
| May | 06:40 | 13:06 | 19:32 | 12 h 52 min | 84.4° |
| June | 06:41 | 13:11 | 19:41 | 13 h 00 min | 81.3° |
| July | 06:50 | 13:16 | 19:42 | 12 h 52 min | 84.3° |
| August | 06:56 | 13:12 | 19:29 | 12 h 32 min | 87.3° |
| September | 06:58 | 13:02 | 19:06 | 12 h 08 min | 75.9° |
| October | 07:02 | 12:54 | 18:46 | 11 h 44 min | 64.5° |
| November | 07:13 | 12:55 | 18:37 | 11 h 24 min | 55.3° |
| December | 07:30 | 13:07 | 18:45 | 11 h 16 min | 51.9° |
A year of daylight in Dakar
Each column is one day of 2026. Bright: sun above the horizon; soft: civil twilight; line: solar noon. Steps are daylight saving time changes.
Best solar panel angle in Dakar
Fixed array facing south (azimuth 180°). Energy per kWp from NASA POWER monthly climate, including clouds, temperature and snow reflection.
15°collects the most energy over a year: 1744 kWh per kWp.
12°gives the most in the darkest month — the one an off-grid system is sized for.
- Yearly energy
- Worst-month energy
| Tilt | kWh/kWp per year | Share of best year | July kWh/kWp/day | Best ÷ worst month |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0° | 1698 | 97% | 4.57 | 1.5× |
| 12° off-grid best | 1742 | 100% | 4.36 | 1.3× |
| 15° year-round best = latitude | 1744 | 100% | 4.29 | 1.3× |
| 30° | 1692 | 97% | 3.78 | 1.4× |
| 45° | 1547 | 89% | 3.09 | 1.6× |
| 60° | 1319 | 76% | 2.27 | 2.1× |
| 70° | 1133 | 65% | 1.71 | 2.6× |
| 90° | 770 | 44% | 1.22 | 3.0× |
A fixed array in Dakar produces the most over a year at 15°. The design month for an off-grid system is July: at 12° it makes 4.36 kWh per kWp a day, 2% more than at 15°, and costs 0% of the yearly total. Why steep panels win winter.
Off-grid solar in Dakar at 70°
Daily energy of 1 kWp by month. Bars: panels at 70°. Line: panels at 15° (year-round best).
| Month | Sun hours, flat | Sun hours at 70° | kWh/kWp/day at 70° | at 15° | Mean temp. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 5.11 | 5.38 | 4.47 | 4.71 | 21.8 °C |
| February | 5.72 | 4.96 | 4.14 | 5.06 | 20.6 °C |
| March | 6.58 | 4.41 | 3.68 | 5.55 | 20.7 °C |
| April | 6.88 | 3.26 | 2.69 | 5.48 | 21.0 °C |
| May | 6.74 | 2.40 | 1.95 | 5.12 | 22.5 °C |
| June | 6.23 | 2.12 | 1.69 | 4.62 | 25.0 °C |
| July | 5.76 | 2.16 | 1.71 | 4.29 | 26.6 °C |
| August | 5.63 | 2.55 | 2.04 | 4.31 | 27.3 °C |
| September | 5.48 | 3.31 | 2.67 | 4.37 | 27.8 °C |
| October | 5.65 | 4.46 | 3.61 | 4.75 | 28.2 °C |
| November | 5.18 | 5.17 | 4.21 | 4.62 | 26.8 °C |
| December | 4.85 | 5.38 | 4.43 | 4.48 | 24.2 °C |
| Year | 5.82 avg | 3.79 avg | 1133 kWh | 1744 kWh |
Sizing example. To run a 1 kWh-per-day load through June on LiFePO4 batteries (charge controller, battery and inverter losses included) you need about 700 Wp of panels at 70°, versus 280 Wp at 15°. Here the lower tilt is the better winter choice — the sun stays high enough. Size your own system.
Row spacing in Dakar
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.
2.3 mrow pitch at 70°
2.4 mrow pitch at 15°
How Dakar compares in Senegal
Against the other 64 places in Senegal with climate data, for a fixed array at its best angle.
56thof 65 places in Senegal for sunshine: 5.82 peak sun hours a day on flat ground.
−1%solar energy a year compared with the average place in Senegal: 1,744 against 1,758 kWh per kWp.
+1 mindaylight on the longest day, compared with the average place in Senegal: 13 h 00 min against 12 h 59 min.
15°best year-round tilt here; across Senegal it runs from 14° in Kaolack to 16° in Richard-Toll.
Of the 65 places in Senegal, Ndioum gets the most sun (6.17 peak sun hours a day) and Ziguinchor the least (5.63); Dakar ranks 56th. In its darkest month, June, 1 kWp of off-grid panels at 70° makes 1.69 kWh a day here, against 1.69 kWh on average in Senegal. The shortest day lasts 11 h 16 min, ±0 min compared with the average.
Solar forecast for Dakar, next 48 hours
Expected output of 1 kWp at 70°, computed from the ICON-EU weather model of the Deutscher Wetterdienst (DWD), Europe.
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Questions about the sun in Dakar
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Places near Dakar
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A free, live card for Dakar: where the sun is right now on today's path, a countdown to sunset or sunrise, the daylight change, the moon phase at night and the best panel angle.
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.