Matabeleland South Province · Zimbabwe · 20.94° S · 29.01° E
Solar position in Gwanda
Sun position, daylight and the best solar panel angle for Gwanda — computed for 20.94° S, 29.01° E, 986 m above sea level.
The sun right now
Sun in Gwanda today
Sunday, 25 October 2026 · local time UTC+2
| Event | Time | Direction / height |
|---|---|---|
| Astronomical dawn | 04:08 | sun 18° below horizon |
| Nautical dawn | 04:36 | 12° below |
| Civil dawn | 05:02 | 6° below |
| Sunrise | 05:25 | 103° ESE |
| Golden hour ends | 05:55 | sun 6° up |
| Solar noon | 11:48 | 81.2° high |
| Golden hour starts | 17:40 | sun 6° up |
| Sunset | 18:10 | 257° WSW |
| Civil dusk | 18:33 | 6° below |
| Nautical dusk | 19:00 | 12° below |
| Astronomical dusk | 19:27 | 18° below |
| Day length | 12 h 45 min | |
Sun path diagram for Gwanda
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 45.6° at solar noon in Gwanda; on the December solstice only 87.5°. Sunrise swings from 65° ENE in June to 116° ESE in December — a 50° 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 | 05:39 | 12:15 | 18:50 | 13 h 11 min | 88.9° |
| February | 05:57 | 12:17 | 18:37 | 12 h 40 min | 79.5° |
| March | 06:07 | 12:11 | 18:13 | 12 h 06 min | 68.7° |
| April | 06:17 | 12:02 | 17:47 | 11 h 30 min | 57.1° |
| May | 06:29 | 12:00 | 17:31 | 11 h 03 min | 48.8° |
| June | 06:39 | 12:05 | 17:31 | 10 h 52 min | 45.6° |
| July | 06:39 | 12:10 | 17:41 | 11 h 02 min | 48.7° |
| August | 06:22 | 12:07 | 17:52 | 11 h 30 min | 57.0° |
| September | 05:54 | 11:57 | 17:59 | 12 h 05 min | 68.5° |
| October | 05:28 | 11:48 | 18:09 | 12 h 41 min | 79.8° |
| November | 05:14 | 11:49 | 18:25 | 13 h 12 min | 89.0° |
| December | 05:19 | 12:01 | 18:44 | 13 h 25 min | 87.5° |
A year of daylight in Gwanda
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 Gwanda
Fixed array facing north (azimuth 0°). Energy per kWp from NASA POWER monthly climate, including clouds, temperature and snow reflection.
23°collects the most energy over a year: 1793 kWh per kWp.
19°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 | December kWh/kWp/day | Best ÷ worst month |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0° | 1667 | 93% | 5.01 | 1.5× |
| 15° | 1778 | 99% | 4.71 | 1.2× |
| 19° off-grid best | 1789 | 100% | 4.58 | 1.2× |
| 21° = latitude | 1792 | 100% | 4.51 | 1.2× |
| 23° year-round best | 1793 | 100% | 4.44 | 1.2× |
| 30° | 1782 | 99% | 4.14 | 1.3× |
| 45° | 1680 | 94% | 3.37 | 1.6× |
| 60° | 1481 | 83% | 2.45 | 2.2× |
| 70° | 1303 | 73% | 1.83 | 2.8× |
| 90° | 900 | 50% | 1.11 | 4.1× |
A fixed array in Gwanda produces the most over a year at 23°. The design month for an off-grid system is December: at 19° it makes 4.58 kWh per kWp a day, 3% more than at 23°, and costs 0% of the yearly total. Why steep panels win winter.
Off-grid solar in Gwanda at 70°
Daily energy of 1 kWp by month. Bars: panels at 70°. Line: panels at 23° (year-round best).
| Month | Sun hours, flat | Sun hours at 70° | kWh/kWp/day at 70° | at 23° | Mean temp. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 6.66 | 2.52 | 2.04 | 4.78 | 24.9 °C |
| February | 6.33 | 3.18 | 2.59 | 4.86 | 24.4 °C |
| March | 5.76 | 3.94 | 3.25 | 4.81 | 23.3 °C |
| April | 5.20 | 4.91 | 4.10 | 4.86 | 21.1 °C |
| May | 4.88 | 6.06 | 5.11 | 5.13 | 18.3 °C |
| June | 4.28 | 5.92 | 5.04 | 4.75 | 15.7 °C |
| July | 4.45 | 5.84 | 4.99 | 4.84 | 15.2 °C |
| August | 5.33 | 5.80 | 4.88 | 5.32 | 18.5 °C |
| September | 6.06 | 4.80 | 3.98 | 5.36 | 22.1 °C |
| October | 6.49 | 3.53 | 2.88 | 5.12 | 24.7 °C |
| November | 6.41 | 2.58 | 2.08 | 4.67 | 25.4 °C |
| December | 6.27 | 2.28 | 1.83 | 4.44 | 25.1 °C |
| Year | 5.67 avg | 4.29 avg | 1303 kWh | 1793 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 640 Wp of panels at 70°, versus 270 Wp at 23°. Here the lower tilt is the better winter choice — the sun stays high enough. Size your own system.
Row spacing in Gwanda
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.
2.7 mrow pitch at 70°
2.7 mrow pitch at 23°
How Gwanda compares in Zimbabwe
Against the other 28 places in Zimbabwe with climate data, for a fixed array at its best angle.
24thof 29 places in Zimbabwe for sunshine, shared: 5.67 peak sun hours a day on flat ground.
−1%solar energy a year compared with the average place in Zimbabwe: 1,793 against 1,814 kWh per kWp.
+12 mindaylight on the longest day, compared with Harare: 13 h 25 min against 13 h 12 min.
23°best year-round tilt here; across Zimbabwe it runs from 19° in Kariba to 24° in Beitbridge.
Of the 29 places in Zimbabwe, Gokwe gets the most sun (5.95 peak sun hours a day) and Chiredzi the least (5.45); Gwanda ranks joint 24th. In its darkest month, December, 1 kWp of off-grid panels at 70° makes 1.83 kWh a day here, against 1.75 kWh on average in Zimbabwe. The shortest day lasts 10 h 52 min, −12 min compared with Harare.
Solar forecast for Gwanda, 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 Gwanda
What is the best solar panel angle in Gwanda?
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Places near Gwanda
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A free, live card for Gwanda: 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.