Solarposition.org

Eastern Cape · South Africa · 32.25° S · 24.53° E

Solar position in Graaff Reinet

Sun position, daylight and the best solar panel angle for Graaff Reinet — computed for 32.25° S, 24.53° E, 756 m above sea level.

Sunrise today05:31104° ESE
Sunset today18:40255° WSW
Best panel angle31°year-round, facing north
Off-grid angle45°best for the darkest month

The sun right now

Azimuth180.0°
Elevation69.6°
At solar noon, 12:06Open on the sun map

Sun in Graaff Reinet today

Saturday, 24 October 2026 · local time UTC+2

EventTimeDirection / height
Astronomical dawn04:05sun 18° below horizon
Nautical dawn04:3612° below
Civil dawn05:066° below
Sunrise05:31104° ESE
Golden hour ends06:05sun 6° up
Solar noon12:0669.6° high
Golden hour starts18:07sun 6° up
Sunset18:40255° WSW
Civil dusk19:066° below
Nautical dusk19:3612° below
Astronomical dusk20:0718° below
Day length13 h 09 min

Sun path diagram for Graaff Reinet

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 solstice678910111213141516171819Today
  • June solstice
  • Equinox
  • December solstice
  • Today

On the June solstice the sun reaches 34.3° at solar noon in Graaff Reinet; on the December solstice only 81.2°. Sunrise swings from 63° ENE in June to 119° ESE in December — a 56° 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
January05:3512:3319:3013 h 54 min77.6°
February06:0412:3519:0513 h 02 min68.2°
March06:2512:2818:3112 h 06 min57.4°
April06:4712:2017:5311 h 07 min45.8°
May07:0712:1817:2810 h 21 min37.5°
June07:2212:2317:2410 h 02 min34.3°
July07:1812:2817:3810 h 20 min37.3°
August06:5212:2517:5811 h 06 min45.7°
September06:1212:1518:1712 h 05 min57.1°
October05:3512:0618:3813 h 03 min68.5°
November05:1012:0719:0513 h 55 min77.7°
December05:1112:1919:2814 h 16 min81.2°

A year of daylight in Graaff Reinet

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 Graaff Reinet

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: 1899 kWh per kWp.

45°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 31°Best worst-month 45°70°Yearly energyWorst-month energy
  • Yearly energy
  • Worst-month energy
TiltkWh/kWp per yearShare of best yearJune kWh/kWp/dayBest ÷ worst month
0°165887%2.522.6×
15°183597%3.521.8×
30°1899100%4.281.3×
31° year-round best1899100%4.321.3×
32° = latitude1899100%4.361.3×
45° off-grid best184897%4.761.2×
60°168589%4.931.4×
70°152280%4.871.8×
90°109558%4.323.5×

A fixed array in Graaff Reinet produces the most over a year at 31°. The design month for an off-grid system is June: at 45° it makes 4.76 kWh per kWp a day, 10% more than at 31°, and costs 3% of the yearly total. Why steep panels win winter.

Off-grid solar in Graaff Reinet at 70°

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

0123456January: 2.94 (70°)2.9JanFebruary: 3.58 (70°)3.6FebMarch: 4.28 (70°)4.3MarApril: 4.56 (70°)4.6AprMay: 4.66 (70°)4.7MayJune: 4.87 (70°)4.9JunJuly: 5.08 (70°)5.1JulAugust: 5.10 (70°)5.1AugSeptember: 4.81 (70°)4.8SepOctober: 4.03 (70°)4.0OctNovember: 3.26 (70°)3.3NovDecember: 2.85 (70°)2.8Dec31°
MonthSun hours, flatSun hours at 70°kWh/kWp/day at 70°at 31°Mean temp.
January7.683.582.945.5222.9 °C
February6.894.333.585.5322.6 °C
March5.855.124.285.4020.3 °C
April4.465.374.564.8416.4 °C
May3.505.424.664.4013.3 °C
June3.105.584.874.329.7 °C
July3.385.835.084.609.6 °C
August4.255.895.105.0911.1 °C
September5.555.624.815.6014.3 °C
October6.674.774.035.7417.3 °C
November7.603.913.265.7419.3 °C
December8.103.452.855.6821.7 °C
Year5.58 avg4.91 avg1522 kWh1899 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 410 Wp of panels at 70°, versus 270 Wp at 31°. Here the lower tilt is the better winter choice — the sun stays high enough. Size your own system.

Row spacing in Graaff Reinet

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.

3.8 mrow pitch at 70°

3.4 mrow pitch at 31°

Row spacing calculator

How Graaff Reinet compares in South Africa

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

132ndof 295 places in South Africa for sunshine, shared: 5.58 peak sun hours a day on flat ground.

+5%solar energy a year compared with the average place in South Africa: 1,899 against 1,806 kWh per kWp.

+29 mindaylight on the longest day, compared with Johannesburg: 14 h 16 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); Graaff Reinet ranks joint 132nd. In its darkest month, December, 1 kWp of off-grid panels at 70° makes 2.85 kWh a day here, against 2.42 kWh on average in South Africa. The shortest day lasts 10 h 02 min, −28 min compared with Johannesburg.

The sunniest places in South Africa

Solar forecast for Graaff Reinet, 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 Graaff Reinet

What is the best solar panel angle in Graaff Reinet?
For a fixed array facing north, the best year-round tilt in Graaff Reinet is 31°, worth about 1899 kWh per kWp a year. An off-grid system that has to get through June does better at about 45°.
What time is sunrise and sunset in Graaff Reinet today?
On 24 October 2026 the sun rises at 05:31 and sets at 18:40 local time (UTC+2), giving 13 h 09 min of daylight. Solar noon is at 12:06.
How many peak sun hours does Graaff Reinet get?
On a flat surface 5.6 hours a day averaged over the year, from 3.1 in June to 8.1 in December. Panels tilted at 70° receive 3.5 sun hours a day in December.
How high does the sun get in Graaff Reinet?
At solar noon the sun stands 34.3° above the horizon on the June solstice and 81.2° on the December solstice.
Is Graaff Reinet a good place for solar panels?
With 5.6 peak sun hours a day on flat ground, Graaff Reinet ranks joint 132nd of 295 places in South Africa for sunshine. A 1 kWp array at the best angle (31°) makes about 1,899 kWh a year here, 5% more than the average place in South Africa.

Places near Graaff Reinet

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.