Sud-Ouest · Burkina Faso · 10.33° N · 3.18° W
Solar position in Gaoua
Sun position, daylight and the best solar panel angle for Gaoua — computed for 10.33° N, 3.18° W, 337 m above sea level.
The sun right now
Sun in Gaoua today
Saturday, 24 October 2026 · local time UTC
| Event | Time | Direction / height |
|---|---|---|
| Astronomical dawn | 04:51 | sun 18° below horizon |
| Nautical dawn | 05:15 | 12° below |
| Civil dawn | 05:40 | 6° below |
| Sunrise | 06:02 | 102° ESE |
| Golden hour ends | 06:30 | sun 6° up |
| Solar noon | 11:56 | 67.8° high |
| Golden hour starts | 17:23 | sun 6° up |
| Sunset | 17:51 | 258° WSW |
| Civil dusk | 18:12 | 6° below |
| Nautical dusk | 18:37 | 12° below |
| Astronomical dusk | 19:02 | 18° below |
| Day length | 11 h 49 min | |
Sun path diagram for Gaoua
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 76.9° at solar noon in Gaoua; on the December solstice only 56.2°. Sunrise swings from 66° ENE in June to 114° ESE in December — a 48° 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 | 06:35 | 12:24 | 18:12 | 11 h 37 min | 59.8° |
| February | 06:30 | 12:26 | 18:22 | 11 h 51 min | 69.2° |
| March | 06:16 | 12:19 | 18:23 | 12 h 07 min | 80.0° |
| April | 05:59 | 12:11 | 18:23 | 12 h 25 min | 88.4° |
| May | 05:50 | 12:09 | 18:28 | 12 h 38 min | 80.1° |
| June | 05:52 | 12:14 | 18:36 | 12 h 44 min | 76.9° |
| July | 05:59 | 12:19 | 18:38 | 12 h 38 min | 79.9° |
| August | 06:03 | 12:15 | 18:28 | 12 h 25 min | 88.3° |
| September | 06:02 | 12:05 | 18:09 | 12 h 07 min | 80.3° |
| October | 06:01 | 11:57 | 17:52 | 11 h 51 min | 68.9° |
| November | 06:10 | 11:58 | 17:47 | 11 h 37 min | 59.7° |
| December | 06:25 | 12:10 | 17:56 | 11 h 31 min | 56.2° |
A year of daylight in Gaoua
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 Gaoua
Fixed array facing south (azimuth 180°). Energy per kWp from NASA POWER monthly climate, including clouds, temperature and snow reflection.
12°collects the most energy over a year: 1613 kWh per kWp.
0°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 | August kWh/kWp/day | Best ÷ worst month |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0° off-grid best | 1584 | 98% | 3.77 | 1.2× |
| 10° = latitude | 1612 | 100% | 3.68 | 1.3× |
| 12° year-round best | 1613 | 100% | 3.65 | 1.3× |
| 15° | 1611 | 100% | 3.60 | 1.4× |
| 30° | 1549 | 96% | 3.25 | 1.6× |
| 45° | 1404 | 87% | 2.74 | 2.0× |
| 60° | 1187 | 74% | 2.11 | 2.7× |
| 70° | 1015 | 63% | 1.64 | 3.4× |
| 90° | 700 | 43% | 1.07 | 3.3× |
A fixed array in Gaoua produces the most over a year at 12°. The design month for an off-grid system is August: at 0° it makes 3.77 kWh per kWp a day, 3% more than at 12°, and costs 2% of the yearly total. Why steep panels win winter.
Off-grid solar in Gaoua at 70°
Daily energy of 1 kWp by month. Bars: panels at 70°. Line: panels at 12° (year-round best).
| Month | Sun hours, flat | Sun hours at 70° | kWh/kWp/day at 70° | at 12° | Mean temp. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 5.55 | 5.37 | 4.40 | 4.85 | 25.2 °C |
| February | 5.72 | 4.52 | 3.66 | 4.75 | 28.4 °C |
| March | 5.89 | 3.66 | 2.93 | 4.68 | 30.6 °C |
| April | 5.96 | 2.69 | 2.13 | 4.55 | 30.5 °C |
| May | 5.91 | 1.98 | 1.55 | 4.40 | 29.2 °C |
| June | 5.45 | 1.72 | 1.34 | 4.03 | 27.4 °C |
| July | 5.05 | 1.73 | 1.37 | 3.79 | 25.9 °C |
| August | 4.74 | 2.06 | 1.64 | 3.65 | 25.3 °C |
| September | 5.12 | 2.86 | 2.32 | 4.08 | 25.5 °C |
| October | 5.63 | 4.09 | 3.33 | 4.66 | 26.5 °C |
| November | 5.54 | 5.11 | 4.16 | 4.78 | 26.5 °C |
| December | 5.41 | 5.59 | 4.59 | 4.81 | 24.9 °C |
| Year | 5.49 avg | 3.44 avg | 1015 kWh | 1613 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 880 Wp of panels at 70°, versus 320 Wp at 12°. Here the lower tilt is the better winter choice — the sun stays high enough. Size your own system.
Row spacing in Gaoua
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.
2.1 mrow pitch at 70°
2.3 mrow pitch at 12°
How Gaoua compares in Burkina Faso
Against the other 73 places in Burkina Faso with climate data, for a fixed array at its best angle.
73rdof 74 places in Burkina Faso for sunshine: 5.50 peak sun hours a day on flat ground.
−6%solar energy a year compared with the average place in Burkina Faso: 1,613 against 1,709 kWh per kWp.
−7 mindaylight on the longest day, compared with Ouagadougou: 12 h 44 min against 12 h 51 min.
12°best year-round tilt here; across Burkina Faso it runs from 11° in Batié to 15° in Ouahigouya.
Of the 74 places in Burkina Faso, Aribinda and one other place get the most sun (6.07 peak sun hours a day) and Batié the least (5.34); Gaoua ranks 73rd. In its darkest month, June, 1 kWp of off-grid panels at 70° makes 1.35 kWh a day here, against 1.47 kWh on average in Burkina Faso. The shortest day lasts 11 h 31 min, +7 min compared with Ouagadougou.
Solar forecast for Gaoua, 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 Gaoua
What is the best solar panel angle in Gaoua?
What time is sunrise and sunset in Gaoua today?
How many peak sun hours does Gaoua get?
How high does the sun get in Gaoua?
Is Gaoua a good place for solar panels?
Places near Gaoua
Put this on your site
A free, live card for Gaoua: 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.