Solarposition.org

Central Province · Zambia · 13.97° S · 28.67° E

Solar position in Kapiri Mposhi

Sun position, daylight and the best solar panel angle for Kapiri Mposhi — computed for 13.97° S, 28.67° E, 1265 m above sea level.

Sunrise today05:34102° ESE
Sunset today18:05258° WSW
Best panel angle18°year-round, facing north
Off-grid angle3°best for the darkest month

The sun right now

Azimuth180.0°
Elevation87.9°
At solar noon, 11:49Open on the sun map

Sun in Kapiri Mposhi today

Saturday, 24 October 2026 · local time UTC+2

EventTimeDirection / height
Astronomical dawn04:21sun 18° below horizon
Nautical dawn04:4612° below
Civil dawn05:126° below
Sunrise05:34102° ESE
Golden hour ends06:02sun 6° up
Solar noon11:4987.9° high
Golden hour starts17:36sun 6° up
Sunset18:05258° WSW
Civil dusk18:266° below
Nautical dusk18:5212° below
Astronomical dusk19:1818° below
Day length12 h 31 min

Sun path diagram for Kapiri Mposhi

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 solstice7891011121314151617EquinoxDecember solstice6789101112131415161718Today
  • June solstice
  • Equinox
  • December solstice
  • Today

On the June solstice the sun reaches 52.6° at solar noon in Kapiri Mposhi; on the December solstice only 80.5°. 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.

MonthSunriseSolar noonSunsetDay lengthNoon elevation
January05:5212:1618:4012 h 49 min84.1°
February06:0412:1818:3212 h 28 min86.5°
March06:0912:1218:1512 h 06 min75.7°
April06:1212:0317:5511 h 43 min64.1°
May06:1912:0117:4411 h 25 min55.8°
June06:2812:0717:4611 h 18 min52.6°
July06:2912:1117:5411 h 25 min55.6°
August06:1712:0817:5911 h 43 min64.0°
September05:5511:5818:0112 h 05 min75.4°
October05:3511:4918:0412 h 29 min86.8°
November05:2611:5118:1512 h 49 min84.0°
December05:3412:0318:3212 h 57 min80.5°

A year of daylight in Kapiri Mposhi

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 Kapiri Mposhi

Fixed array facing north (azimuth 0°). Energy per kWp from NASA POWER monthly climate, including clouds, temperature and snow reflection.

18°collects the most energy over a year: 1768 kWh per kWp.

3°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 18°Best worst-month 3°70°Yearly energyWorst-month energy
  • Yearly energy
  • Worst-month energy
TiltkWh/kWp per yearShare of best yearJanuary kWh/kWp/dayBest ÷ worst month
0°169496%4.351.3×
3° off-grid best171797%4.311.2×
14° = latitude1764100%4.111.3×
15°1766100%4.091.3×
18° year-round best1768100%4.011.4×
30°173698%3.611.5×
45°160791%2.971.9×
60°138879%2.212.6×
70°120468%1.713.2×
90°82447%1.243.8×

A fixed array in Kapiri Mposhi produces the most over a year at 18°. The design month for an off-grid system is January: at 3° it makes 4.31 kWh per kWp a day, 8% more than at 18°, and costs 3% of the yearly total. Why steep panels win winter.

Off-grid solar in Kapiri Mposhi at 70°

Daily energy of 1 kWp by month. Bars: panels at 70°. Line: panels at 18° (year-round best).

0123456January: 1.71 (70°)1.7JanFebruary: 2.12 (70°)2.1FebMarch: 2.80 (70°)2.8MarApril: 3.80 (70°)3.8AprMay: 4.87 (70°)4.9MayJune: 5.13 (70°)5.1JunJuly: 5.03 (70°)5.0JulAugust: 4.58 (70°)4.6AugSeptember: 3.64 (70°)3.6SepOctober: 2.50 (70°)2.5OctNovember: 1.72 (70°)1.7NovDecember: 1.58 (70°)1.6Dec18°
MonthSun hours, flatSun hours at 70°kWh/kWp/day at 70°at 18°Mean temp.
January5.392.111.714.0121.9 °C
February5.512.592.124.2621.8 °C
March5.603.382.804.5621.5 °C
April5.604.543.804.9420.3 °C
May5.495.784.875.2618.7 °C
June5.116.065.135.1216.9 °C
July5.255.935.035.1816.8 °C
August5.905.474.585.4319.8 °C
September6.544.413.645.4923.5 °C
October6.783.092.505.2226.4 °C
November6.212.151.724.5525.4 °C
December5.571.971.584.0722.7 °C
Year5.75 avg3.96 avg1204 kWh1768 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 740 Wp of panels at 70°, versus 290 Wp at 18°. Here the lower tilt is the better winter choice — the sun stays high enough. Size your own system.

Row spacing in Kapiri Mposhi

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.

2.3 mrow pitch at 70°

2.4 mrow pitch at 18°

Row spacing calculator

How Kapiri Mposhi compares in Zambia

Against the other 76 places in Zambia with climate data, for a fixed array at its best angle.

36thof 77 places in Zambia for sunshine, shared: 5.75 peak sun hours a day on flat ground.

±0%solar energy a year compared with the average place in Zambia: 1,768 against 1,761 kWh per kWp.

−5 mindaylight on the longest day, compared with Lusaka: 12 h 57 min against 13 h 03 min.

18°best year-round tilt here; across Zambia it runs from 13° in Nakonde to 21° in Livingstone.

Of the 77 places in Zambia, Sesheke gets the most sun (5.94 peak sun hours a day) and Mwinilunga the least (5.48); Kapiri Mposhi ranks joint 36th. In its darkest month, December, 1 kWp of off-grid panels at 70° makes 1.59 kWh a day here, against 1.53 kWh on average in Zambia. The shortest day lasts 11 h 18 min, +5 min compared with Lusaka.

The sunniest places in Zambia

Solar forecast for Kapiri Mposhi, 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 Kapiri Mposhi

What is the best solar panel angle in Kapiri Mposhi?
For a fixed array facing north, the best year-round tilt in Kapiri Mposhi is 18°, worth about 1768 kWh per kWp a year. An off-grid system that has to get through January does better at about 3°.
What time is sunrise and sunset in Kapiri Mposhi today?
On 24 October 2026 the sun rises at 05:34 and sets at 18:05 local time (UTC+2), giving 12 h 31 min of daylight. Solar noon is at 11:49.
How many peak sun hours does Kapiri Mposhi get?
On a flat surface 5.7 hours a day averaged over the year, from 5.1 in June to 6.8 in October. Panels tilted at 70° receive 2.0 sun hours a day in December.
How high does the sun get in Kapiri Mposhi?
At solar noon the sun stands 52.6° above the horizon on the June solstice and 80.5° on the December solstice.
Is Kapiri Mposhi a good place for solar panels?
With 5.7 peak sun hours a day on flat ground, Kapiri Mposhi ranks joint 36th of 77 places in Zambia for sunshine. A 1 kWp array at the best angle (18°) makes about 1,768 kWh a year here, as much as the average place in Zambia.

Places near Kapiri Mposhi

All places in Zambia

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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.