Solarposition.org

North West · South Africa · 25.62° S · 27.99° E

Solar position in Ga-Rankuwa

Sun position, daylight and the best solar panel angle for Ga-Rankuwa — computed for 25.62° S, 27.99° E, 1246 m above sea level.

Sunrise today05:25103° ESE
Sunset today18:19256° WSW
Best panel angle28°year-round, facing north
Off-grid angle27°best for the darkest month

The sun right now

Azimuth180.0°
Elevation76.2°
At solar noon, 11:52Open on the sun map

Sun in Ga-Rankuwa today

Saturday, 24 October 2026 · local time UTC+2

EventTimeDirection / height
Astronomical dawn04:05sun 18° below horizon
Nautical dawn04:3412° below
Civil dawn05:016° below
Sunrise05:25103° ESE
Golden hour ends05:56sun 6° up
Solar noon11:5276.2° high
Golden hour starts17:48sun 6° up
Sunset18:19256° WSW
Civil dusk18:426° below
Nautical dusk19:1012° below
Astronomical dusk19:3918° below
Day length12 h 54 min

Sun path diagram for Ga-Rankuwa

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 solstice891011121314151617EquinoxDecember solstice6789101112131415161718Today
  • June solstice
  • Equinox
  • December solstice
  • Today

On the June solstice the sun reaches 41.0° at solar noon in Ga-Rankuwa; on the December solstice only 87.8°. 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
January05:3512:1919:0313 h 28 min84.2°
February05:5712:2118:4512 h 48 min74.9°
March06:1112:1518:1712 h 06 min64.1°
April06:2612:0617:4711 h 21 min52.5°
May06:4112:0417:2710 h 47 min44.2°
June06:5312:0917:2510 h 32 min41.0°
July06:5112:1417:3710 h 46 min44.0°
August06:3112:1117:5111 h 21 min52.4°
September05:5812:0118:0312 h 05 min63.8°
October05:2811:5218:1712 h 49 min75.2°
November05:0911:5318:3813 h 28 min84.3°
December05:1312:0618:5813 h 44 min87.8°

A year of daylight in Ga-Rankuwa

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-Rankuwa

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: 1873 kWh per kWp.

27°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 27°70°Yearly energyWorst-month energy
  • Yearly energy
  • Worst-month energy
TiltkWh/kWp per yearShare of best yearDecember kWh/kWp/dayBest ÷ worst month
0°167790%5.461.7×
15°183198%5.201.3×
26° = latitude1872100%4.821.2×
27° off-grid best1873100%4.781.2×
28° year-round best1873100%4.741.2×
30°1872100%4.651.2×
45°180196%3.861.5×
60°162487%2.902.1×
70°145478%2.222.6×
90°103355%1.164.3×

A fixed array in Ga-Rankuwa produces the most over a year at 28°. The design month for an off-grid system is December: at 27° it makes 4.78 kWh per kWp a day, and costs 0% of the yearly total. Why steep panels win winter.

Off-grid solar in Ga-Rankuwa at 70°

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

01234567January: 2.34 (70°)2.3JanFebruary: 2.92 (70°)2.9FebMarch: 3.56 (70°)3.6MarApril: 4.22 (70°)4.2AprMay: 5.30 (70°)5.3MayJune: 5.60 (70°)5.6JunJuly: 5.79 (70°)5.8JulAugust: 5.37 (70°)5.4AugSeptember: 4.55 (70°)4.5SepOctober: 3.35 (70°)3.4OctNovember: 2.51 (70°)2.5NovDecember: 2.22 (70°)2.2Dec28°
MonthSun hours, flatSun hours at 70°kWh/kWp/day at 70°at 28°Mean temp.
January6.742.882.344.8023.7 °C
February6.393.562.924.9423.4 °C
March5.704.293.564.9121.8 °C
April4.845.014.224.7918.6 °C
May4.466.215.305.1815.2 °C
June4.076.495.605.1311.9 °C
July4.396.715.795.4211.7 °C
August5.156.295.375.6215.1 °C
September6.145.424.555.7219.3 °C
October6.624.053.355.3522.0 °C
November6.853.072.514.9822.9 °C
December6.792.732.224.7423.6 °C
Year5.67 avg4.73 avg1454 kWh1873 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 530 Wp of panels at 70°, versus 250 Wp at 28°. Here the lower tilt is the better winter choice — the sun stays high enough. Size your own system.

Row spacing in Ga-Rankuwa

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 Ga-Rankuwa compares in South Africa

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

70thof 295 places in South Africa for sunshine, shared: 5.67 peak sun hours a day on flat ground.

+4%solar energy a year compared with the average place in South Africa: 1,873 against 1,806 kWh per kWp.

−3 mindaylight on the longest day, compared with Johannesburg: 13 h 44 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); Ga-Rankuwa ranks joint 70th. In its darkest month, December, 1 kWp of off-grid panels at 70° makes 2.22 kWh a day here, against 2.42 kWh on average in South Africa. The shortest day lasts 10 h 32 min, +3 min compared with Johannesburg.

The sunniest places in South Africa

Solar forecast for Ga-Rankuwa, 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-Rankuwa

What is the best solar panel angle in Ga-Rankuwa?
For a fixed array facing north, the best year-round tilt in Ga-Rankuwa is 28°, worth about 1873 kWh per kWp a year. An off-grid system that has to get through December does better at about 27°.
What time is sunrise and sunset in Ga-Rankuwa today?
On 24 October 2026 the sun rises at 05:25 and sets at 18:19 local time (UTC+2), giving 12 h 54 min of daylight. Solar noon is at 11:52.
How many peak sun hours does Ga-Rankuwa get?
On a flat surface 5.7 hours a day averaged over the year, from 4.1 in June to 6.8 in November. Panels tilted at 70° receive 2.7 sun hours a day in December.
How high does the sun get in Ga-Rankuwa?
At solar noon the sun stands 41.0° above the horizon on the June solstice and 87.8° on the December solstice.
Is Ga-Rankuwa a good place for solar panels?
With 5.7 peak sun hours a day on flat ground, Ga-Rankuwa ranks joint 70th of 295 places in South Africa for sunshine. A 1 kWp array at the best angle (28°) makes about 1,873 kWh a year here, 4% more than the average place in South Africa.

Places near Ga-Rankuwa

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.