Solarposition.org

KwaZulu-Natal · South Africa · 30.81° S · 30.33° E

Solar position in Ga-Malakhe

Sun position, daylight and the best solar panel angle for Ga-Malakhe — computed for 30.81° S, 30.33° E, 208 m above sea level.

Sunrise today05:10104° ESE
Sunset today18:15256° WSW
Best panel angle31°year-round, facing north
Off-grid angle33°best for the darkest month

The sun right now

Azimuth180.0°
Elevation71.0°
At solar noon, 11:42Open on the sun map

Sun in Ga-Malakhe today

Saturday, 24 October 2026 · local time UTC+2

EventTimeDirection / height
Astronomical dawn03:45sun 18° below horizon
Nautical dawn04:1512° below
Civil dawn04:456° below
Sunrise05:10104° ESE
Golden hour ends05:43sun 6° up
Solar noon11:4271.0° high
Golden hour starts17:43sun 6° up
Sunset18:15256° WSW
Civil dusk18:406° below
Nautical dusk19:1012° below
Astronomical dusk19:4118° below
Day length13 h 05 min

Sun path diagram for Ga-Malakhe

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 solstice8910111213141516EquinoxDecember solstice56789101112131415161718Today
  • June solstice
  • Equinox
  • December solstice
  • Today

On the June solstice the sun reaches 35.8° at solar noon in Ga-Malakhe; on the December solstice only 82.6°. Sunrise swings from 63° ENE in June to 118° ESE in December — a 55° 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
January05:1512:0919:0313 h 48 min79.0°
February05:4212:1218:4112 h 59 min69.7°
March06:0212:0518:0812 h 06 min58.9°
April06:2211:5717:3211 h 10 min47.3°
May06:4111:5517:0810 h 27 min39.0°
June06:5512:0017:0410 h 09 min35.8°
July06:5212:0517:1810 h 26 min38.8°
August06:2712:0217:3611 h 09 min47.2°
September05:4911:5117:5412 h 05 min58.6°
October05:1311:4318:1313 h 00 min70.0°
November04:5011:4418:3813 h 49 min79.1°
December04:5211:5619:0114 h 09 min82.6°

A year of daylight in Ga-Malakhe

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 Ga-Malakhe

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

31°collects the most energy over a year: 1524 kWh per kWp.

33°gives the most in the darkest month — the one an off-grid system is sized for.

30%40%50%60%70%80%90%100%0°10°20°30°40°50°60°70°80°90°Best year-round 31°Best worst-month 33°70°Yearly energyWorst-month energy
  • Yearly energy
  • Worst-month energy
TiltkWh/kWp per yearShare of best yearJune kWh/kWp/dayBest ÷ worst month
0°133788%2.431.9×
15°147497%3.281.4×
30°1524100%3.911.1×
31° year-round best = latitude1524100%3.941.1×
33° off-grid best1523100%4.001.1×
45°148697%4.281.2×
60°136389%4.391.6×
70°123881%4.311.9×
90°91260%3.773.1×

A fixed array in Ga-Malakhe produces the most over a year at 31°. The design month for an off-grid system is June: at 33° it makes 4.00 kWh per kWp a day, 2% more than at 31°, and costs 0% of the yearly total. Why steep panels win winter.

Off-grid solar in Ga-Malakhe at 70°

Daily energy of 1 kWp by month. Bars: panels at 70°. Line: panels at 31° (year-round best).

012345January: 2.45 (70°)2.4JanFebruary: 2.95 (70°)3.0FebMarch: 3.40 (70°)3.4MarApril: 3.73 (70°)3.7AprMay: 4.17 (70°)4.2MayJune: 4.31 (70°)4.3JunJuly: 4.39 (70°)4.4JulAugust: 4.06 (70°)4.1AugSeptember: 3.54 (70°)3.5SepOctober: 2.95 (70°)2.9OctNovember: 2.46 (70°)2.5NovDecember: 2.27 (70°)2.3Dec31°
MonthSun hours, flatSun hours at 70°kWh/kWp/day at 70°at 31°Mean temp.
January5.812.982.454.2821.6 °C
February5.603.572.954.4721.8 °C
March4.924.093.404.3820.9 °C
April4.004.443.734.1018.8 °C
May3.424.924.174.0517.0 °C
June3.035.034.313.9414.7 °C
July3.245.124.394.1014.3 °C
August3.794.764.064.2015.5 °C
September4.464.193.544.2617.0 °C
October4.973.512.954.1818.1 °C
November5.362.972.464.0919.1 °C
December5.632.772.274.0820.6 °C
Year4.51 avg4.03 avg1238 kWh1524 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 520 Wp of panels at 70°, versus 300 Wp at 31°. Here the lower tilt is the better winter choice — the sun stays high enough. Size your own system.

Row spacing in Ga-Malakhe

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.

3.6 mrow pitch at 70°

3.3 mrow pitch at 31°

Row spacing calculator

How Ga-Malakhe compares in South Africa

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

292ndof 295 places in South Africa for sunshine, shared: 4.51 peak sun hours a day on flat ground.

−16%solar energy a year compared with the average place in South Africa: 1,524 against 1,806 kWh per kWp.

+22 mindaylight on the longest day, compared with Johannesburg: 14 h 09 min against 13 h 47 min.

31°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); Ga-Malakhe ranks joint 292nd. In its darkest month, December, 1 kWp of off-grid panels at 70° makes 2.27 kWh a day here, against 2.42 kWh on average in South Africa. The shortest day lasts 10 h 09 min, −21 min compared with Johannesburg.

The sunniest places in South Africa

Solar forecast for Ga-Malakhe, 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 Ga-Malakhe

What is the best solar panel angle in Ga-Malakhe?
For a fixed array facing north, the best year-round tilt in Ga-Malakhe is 31°, worth about 1524 kWh per kWp a year. An off-grid system that has to get through June does better at about 33°.
What time is sunrise and sunset in Ga-Malakhe today?
On 24 October 2026 the sun rises at 05:10 and sets at 18:15 local time (UTC+2), giving 13 h 05 min of daylight. Solar noon is at 11:42.
How many peak sun hours does Ga-Malakhe get?
On a flat surface 4.5 hours a day averaged over the year, from 3.0 in June to 5.8 in January. Panels tilted at 70° receive 2.8 sun hours a day in December.
How high does the sun get in Ga-Malakhe?
At solar noon the sun stands 35.8° above the horizon on the June solstice and 82.6° on the December solstice.
Is Ga-Malakhe a good place for solar panels?
With 4.5 peak sun hours a day on flat ground, Ga-Malakhe ranks joint 292nd of 295 places in South Africa for sunshine. A 1 kWp array at the best angle (31°) makes about 1,524 kWh a year here, 16% less than the average place in South Africa.

Places near Ga-Malakhe

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.