Eastern Cape · South Africa · 32.94° S · 28.01° E
Solar position in Gonubie
Sun position, daylight and the best solar panel angle for Gonubie — computed for 32.94° S, 28.01° E, 30 m above sea level.
The sun right now
Sun in Gonubie today
Saturday, 24 October 2026 · local time UTC+2
| Event | Time | Direction / height |
|---|---|---|
| Astronomical dawn | 03:49 | sun 18° below horizon |
| Nautical dawn | 04:21 | 12° below |
| Civil dawn | 04:51 | 6° below |
| Sunrise | 05:17 | 105° ESE |
| Golden hour ends | 05:50 | sun 6° up |
| Solar noon | 11:52 | 68.9° high |
| Golden hour starts | 17:54 | sun 6° up |
| Sunset | 18:27 | 255° WSW |
| Civil dusk | 18:53 | 6° below |
| Nautical dusk | 19:23 | 12° below |
| Astronomical dusk | 19:55 | 18° below |
| Day length | 13 h 10 min | |
Sun path diagram for Gonubie
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 33.6° at solar noon in Gonubie; on the December solstice only 80.5°. Sunrise swings from 62° ENE in June to 119° ESE in December — a 57° 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 | 05:20 | 12:19 | 19:17 | 13 h 57 min | 76.9° |
| February | 05:49 | 12:21 | 18:52 | 13 h 03 min | 67.5° |
| March | 06:11 | 12:14 | 18:17 | 12 h 06 min | 56.7° |
| April | 06:33 | 12:06 | 17:38 | 11 h 05 min | 45.1° |
| May | 06:55 | 12:04 | 17:13 | 10 h 18 min | 36.8° |
| June | 07:10 | 12:09 | 17:09 | 9 h 59 min | 33.6° |
| July | 07:06 | 12:14 | 17:23 | 10 h 17 min | 36.7° |
| August | 06:39 | 12:11 | 17:43 | 11 h 05 min | 45.0° |
| September | 05:59 | 12:01 | 18:03 | 12 h 05 min | 56.4° |
| October | 05:20 | 11:52 | 18:25 | 13 h 05 min | 67.8° |
| November | 04:55 | 11:53 | 18:52 | 13 h 58 min | 77.0° |
| December | 04:56 | 12:05 | 19:15 | 14 h 20 min | 80.5° |
A year of daylight in Gonubie
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 Gonubie
Fixed array facing north (azimuth 0°). Energy per kWp from NASA POWER monthly climate, including clouds, temperature and snow reflection.
32°collects the most energy over a year: 1595 kWh per kWp.
45°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 | June kWh/kWp/day | Best ÷ worst month |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0° | 1389 | 87% | 2.23 | 2.3× |
| 15° | 1537 | 96% | 3.07 | 1.7× |
| 30° | 1595 | 100% | 3.71 | 1.3× |
| 32° year-round best | 1595 | 100% | 3.78 | 1.2× |
| 33° = latitude | 1595 | 100% | 3.81 | 1.2× |
| 45° off-grid best | 1558 | 98% | 4.11 | 1.1× |
| 60° | 1432 | 90% | 4.25 | 1.4× |
| 70° | 1302 | 82% | 4.19 | 1.7× |
| 90° | 960 | 60% | 3.72 | 2.8× |
A fixed array in Gonubie produces the most over a year at 32°. The design month for an off-grid system is June: at 45° it makes 4.11 kWh per kWp a day, 9% more than at 32°, and costs 2% of the yearly total. Why steep panels win winter.
Off-grid solar in Gonubie at 70°
Daily energy of 1 kWp by month. Bars: panels at 70°. Line: panels at 32° (year-round best).
| Month | Sun hours, flat | Sun hours at 70° | kWh/kWp/day at 70° | at 32° | Mean temp. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 6.31 | 3.30 | 2.72 | 4.67 | 21.8 °C |
| February | 5.81 | 3.84 | 3.17 | 4.69 | 22.1 °C |
| March | 5.00 | 4.34 | 3.61 | 4.54 | 21.3 °C |
| April | 3.92 | 4.57 | 3.84 | 4.13 | 19.4 °C |
| May | 3.15 | 4.69 | 3.96 | 3.81 | 17.7 °C |
| June | 2.81 | 4.92 | 4.19 | 3.78 | 15.6 °C |
| July | 3.03 | 5.06 | 4.32 | 3.97 | 15.2 °C |
| August | 3.74 | 4.97 | 4.23 | 4.29 | 15.8 °C |
| September | 4.69 | 4.64 | 3.93 | 4.60 | 16.9 °C |
| October | 5.42 | 3.98 | 3.34 | 4.63 | 18.0 °C |
| November | 6.16 | 3.47 | 2.89 | 4.72 | 19.1 °C |
| December | 6.39 | 3.14 | 2.59 | 4.64 | 20.6 °C |
| Year | 4.70 avg | 4.24 avg | 1302 kWh | 1595 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 460 Wp of panels at 70°, versus 310 Wp at 32°. Here the lower tilt is the better winter choice — the sun stays high enough. Size your own system.
Row spacing in Gonubie
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.
3.9 mrow pitch at 70°
3.5 mrow pitch at 32°
How Gonubie compares in South Africa
Against the other 294 places in South Africa with climate data, for a fixed array at its best angle.
280thof 295 places in South Africa for sunshine, shared: 4.70 peak sun hours a day on flat ground.
−12%solar energy a year compared with the average place in South Africa: 1,595 against 1,806 kWh per kWp.
+33 mindaylight on the longest day, compared with Johannesburg: 14 h 20 min against 13 h 47 min.
32°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); Gonubie ranks joint 280th. In its darkest month, December, 1 kWp of off-grid panels at 70° makes 2.59 kWh a day here, against 2.42 kWh on average in South Africa. The shortest day lasts 9 h 59 min, −31 min compared with Johannesburg.
Solar forecast for Gonubie, 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 Gonubie
What is the best solar panel angle in Gonubie?
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Places near Gonubie
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A free, live card for Gonubie: 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.