Leribe · Lesotho · 28.87° S · 28.05° E
Solar position in Hlotse
Sun position, daylight and the best solar panel angle for Hlotse — computed for 28.87° S, 28.05° E, 1645 m above sea level.
The sun right now
Sun in Hlotse today
Saturday, 24 October 2026 · local time UTC+2
| Event | Time | Direction / height |
|---|---|---|
| Astronomical dawn | 03:58 | sun 18° below horizon |
| Nautical dawn | 04:28 | 12° below |
| Civil dawn | 04:57 | 6° below |
| Sunrise | 05:21 | 104° ESE |
| Golden hour ends | 05:53 | sun 6° up |
| Solar noon | 11:52 | 73.0° high |
| Golden hour starts | 17:50 | sun 6° up |
| Sunset | 18:22 | 256° WSW |
| Civil dusk | 18:47 | 6° below |
| Nautical dusk | 19:16 | 12° below |
| Astronomical dusk | 19:45 | 18° below |
| Day length | 13 h 01 min | |
Sun path diagram for Hlotse
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 37.7° at solar noon in Hlotse; on the December solstice only 84.6°. Sunrise swings from 63° ENE in June to 118° ESE in December — a 54° 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 | 05:28 | 12:19 | 19:09 | 13 h 40 min | 81.0° |
| February | 05:53 | 12:21 | 18:48 | 12 h 55 min | 71.6° |
| March | 06:11 | 12:14 | 18:17 | 12 h 06 min | 60.8° |
| April | 06:29 | 12:06 | 17:43 | 11 h 14 min | 49.2° |
| May | 06:47 | 12:04 | 17:21 | 10 h 34 min | 40.9° |
| June | 07:00 | 12:09 | 17:18 | 10 h 18 min | 37.7° |
| July | 06:57 | 12:14 | 17:31 | 10 h 34 min | 40.7° |
| August | 06:34 | 12:11 | 17:48 | 11 h 14 min | 49.1° |
| September | 05:58 | 12:01 | 18:03 | 12 h 05 min | 60.5° |
| October | 05:24 | 11:52 | 18:20 | 12 h 56 min | 71.9° |
| November | 05:03 | 11:53 | 18:44 | 13 h 41 min | 81.1° |
| December | 05:06 | 12:05 | 19:05 | 13 h 59 min | 84.6° |
A year of daylight in Hlotse
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 Hlotse
Fixed array facing north (azimuth 0°). Energy per kWp from NASA POWER monthly climate, including clouds, temperature and snow reflection.
30°collects the most energy over a year: 1923 kWh per kWp.
33°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 | April kWh/kWp/day | Best ÷ worst month |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0° | 1691 | 88% | 3.88 | 2.0× |
| 15° | 1864 | 97% | 4.55 | 1.4× |
| 29° = latitude | 1922 | 100% | 4.93 | 1.2× |
| 30° year-round best | 1923 | 100% | 4.94 | 1.2× |
| 33° off-grid best | 1920 | 100% | 4.98 | 1.2× |
| 45° | 1866 | 97% | 5.03 | 1.4× |
| 60° | 1698 | 88% | 4.81 | 1.8× |
| 70° | 1532 | 80% | 4.49 | 2.3× |
| 90° | 1104 | 57% | 3.50 | 4.1× |
A fixed array in Hlotse produces the most over a year at 30°. The design month for an off-grid system is April: at 33° it makes 4.98 kWh per kWp a day, and costs 0% of the yearly total. Why steep panels win winter.
Off-grid solar in Hlotse at 70°
Daily energy of 1 kWp by month. Bars: panels at 70°. Line: panels at 30° (year-round best).
| Month | Sun hours, flat | Sun hours at 70° | kWh/kWp/day at 70° | at 30° | Mean temp. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 7.09 | 3.22 | 2.67 | 5.12 | 19.9 °C |
| February | 6.48 | 3.86 | 3.22 | 5.15 | 19.2 °C |
| March | 5.71 | 4.59 | 3.88 | 5.13 | 17.3 °C |
| April | 4.70 | 5.23 | 4.49 | 4.94 | 13.5 °C |
| May | 4.07 | 6.03 | 5.25 | 5.04 | 10.0 °C |
| June | 3.66 | 6.28 | 5.53 | 4.99 | 6.5 °C |
| July | 4.02 | 6.64 | 5.85 | 5.37 | 6.4 °C |
| August | 4.79 | 6.26 | 5.47 | 5.58 | 9.1 °C |
| September | 5.89 | 5.58 | 4.79 | 5.80 | 13.4 °C |
| October | 6.56 | 4.34 | 3.68 | 5.52 | 16.3 °C |
| November | 7.25 | 3.48 | 2.91 | 5.41 | 17.7 °C |
| December | 7.29 | 3.07 | 2.54 | 5.15 | 19.3 °C |
| Year | 5.62 avg | 4.89 avg | 1532 kWh | 1923 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 240 Wp at 30°. Here the lower tilt is the better winter choice — the sun stays high enough. Size your own system.
Row spacing in Hlotse
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.
3.4 mrow pitch at 70°
3.2 mrow pitch at 30°
How Hlotse compares in Lesotho
Against the other 10 places in Lesotho with climate data, for a fixed array at its best angle.
6thof 11 places in Lesotho for sunshine: 5.62 peak sun hours a day on flat ground.
±0%solar energy a year compared with the average place in Lesotho: 1,923 against 1,916 kWh per kWp.
−2 mindaylight on the longest day, compared with Maseru: 13 h 59 min against 14 h 02 min.
30°best year-round tilt here; across Lesotho it runs from 30° in Maseru to 31° in Quthing.
Of the 11 places in Lesotho, Mafeteng and one other place get the most sun (5.68 peak sun hours a day) and Qacha’s Nek the least (5.35); Hlotse ranks 6th. In its darkest month, December, 1 kWp of off-grid panels at 70° makes 2.54 kWh a day here, against 2.59 kWh on average in Lesotho. The shortest day lasts 10 h 18 min, +2 min compared with Maseru.
Solar forecast for Hlotse, 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 Hlotse
What is the best solar panel angle in Hlotse?
What time is sunrise and sunset in Hlotse today?
How many peak sun hours does Hlotse get?
How high does the sun get in Hlotse?
Is Hlotse a good place for solar panels?
Places near Hlotse
Put this on your site
A free, live card for Hlotse: 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.