Central Region · Malawi · 13.97° S · 33.79° E
Solar position in Lilongwe
Sun position, daylight and the best solar panel angle for Lilongwe — computed for 13.97° S, 33.79° E, 1056 m above sea level.
The sun right now
Sun in Lilongwe today
Sunday, 25 October 2026 · local time UTC+2
| Event | Time | Direction / height |
|---|---|---|
| Astronomical dawn | 03:59 | sun 18° below horizon |
| Nautical dawn | 04:25 | 12° below |
| Civil dawn | 04:51 | 6° below |
| Sunrise | 05:13 | 103° ESE |
| Golden hour ends | 05:42 | sun 6° up |
| Solar noon | 11:28 | 88.2° high |
| Golden hour starts | 17:16 | sun 6° up |
| Sunset | 17:44 | 257° WSW |
| Civil dusk | 18:06 | 6° below |
| Nautical dusk | 18:32 | 12° below |
| Astronomical dusk | 18:58 | 18° below |
| Day length | 12 h 32 min | |
Sun path diagram for Lilongwe
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 52.6° at solar noon in Lilongwe; 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.
| Month | Sunrise | Solar noon | Sunset | Day length | Noon elevation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 05:31 | 11:56 | 18:20 | 12 h 49 min | 84.1° |
| February | 05:44 | 11:58 | 18:12 | 12 h 28 min | 86.5° |
| March | 05:48 | 11:51 | 17:54 | 12 h 06 min | 75.7° |
| April | 05:52 | 11:43 | 17:34 | 11 h 43 min | 64.1° |
| May | 05:58 | 11:41 | 17:24 | 11 h 25 min | 55.8° |
| June | 06:07 | 11:46 | 17:25 | 11 h 18 min | 52.6° |
| July | 06:08 | 11:51 | 17:33 | 11 h 25 min | 55.6° |
| August | 05:56 | 11:48 | 17:39 | 11 h 43 min | 64.0° |
| September | 05:35 | 11:38 | 17:40 | 12 h 05 min | 75.4° |
| October | 05:15 | 11:29 | 17:43 | 12 h 29 min | 86.8° |
| November | 05:06 | 11:30 | 17:55 | 12 h 49 min | 84.0° |
| December | 05:14 | 11:42 | 18:11 | 12 h 57 min | 80.5° |
A year of daylight in Lilongwe
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 Lilongwe
Fixed array facing north (azimuth 0°). Energy per kWp from NASA POWER monthly climate, including clouds, temperature and snow reflection.
16°collects the most energy over a year: 1720 kWh per kWp.
6°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 | January kWh/kWp/day | Best ÷ worst month |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0° | 1662 | 97% | 4.27 | 1.4× |
| 6° off-grid best | 1697 | 99% | 4.19 | 1.3× |
| 14° = latitude | 1719 | 100% | 4.03 | 1.3× |
| 15° | 1720 | 100% | 4.00 | 1.3× |
| 16° year-round best | 1720 | 100% | 3.98 | 1.3× |
| 30° | 1680 | 98% | 3.53 | 1.5× |
| 45° | 1544 | 90% | 2.89 | 1.8× |
| 60° | 1323 | 77% | 2.14 | 2.4× |
| 70° | 1140 | 66% | 1.63 | 3.1× |
| 90° | 773 | 45% | 1.18 | 3.6× |
A fixed array in Lilongwe produces the most over a year at 16°. The design month for an off-grid system is January: at 6° it makes 4.19 kWh per kWp a day, 5% more than at 16°, and costs 1% of the yearly total. Why steep panels win winter.
Off-grid solar in Lilongwe at 70°
Daily energy of 1 kWp by month. Bars: panels at 70°. Line: panels at 16° (year-round best).
| Month | Sun hours, flat | Sun hours at 70° | kWh/kWp/day at 70° | at 16° | Mean temp. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 5.30 | 2.02 | 1.63 | 3.98 | 22.6 °C |
| February | 5.60 | 2.56 | 2.09 | 4.35 | 22.4 °C |
| March | 5.61 | 3.37 | 2.78 | 4.58 | 22.0 °C |
| April | 5.55 | 4.49 | 3.74 | 4.86 | 20.8 °C |
| May | 5.26 | 5.42 | 4.56 | 4.93 | 19.1 °C |
| June | 4.77 | 5.47 | 4.63 | 4.63 | 17.5 °C |
| July | 4.83 | 5.28 | 4.47 | 4.63 | 17.3 °C |
| August | 5.57 | 5.10 | 4.28 | 5.07 | 19.7 °C |
| September | 6.35 | 4.29 | 3.55 | 5.34 | 22.9 °C |
| October | 6.68 | 3.06 | 2.48 | 5.21 | 25.7 °C |
| November | 6.50 | 2.09 | 1.67 | 4.79 | 26.2 °C |
| December | 5.69 | 1.90 | 1.52 | 4.18 | 23.8 °C |
| Year | 5.64 avg | 3.76 avg | 1140 kWh | 1720 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 780 Wp of panels at 70°, versus 300 Wp at 16°. Here the lower tilt is the better winter choice — the sun stays high enough. Size your own system.
Row spacing in Lilongwe
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 16°
How Lilongwe compares in Malawi
Against the other 22 places in Malawi with climate data, for a fixed array at its best angle.
5thof 23 places in Malawi for sunshine: 5.64 peak sun hours a day on flat ground.
+1%solar energy a year compared with the average place in Malawi: 1,720 against 1,699 kWh per kWp.
+1 mindaylight on the longest day, compared with the average place in Malawi: 12 h 57 min against 12 h 56 min.
16°best year-round tilt here; across Malawi it runs from 12° in Karonga to 17° in Blantyre.
Of the 23 places in Malawi, Salima gets the most sun (5.72 peak sun hours a day) and Karonga and one other place the least (5.50); Lilongwe ranks 5th. In its darkest month, December, 1 kWp of off-grid panels at 70° makes 1.52 kWh a day here, against 1.48 kWh on average in Malawi. The shortest day lasts 11 h 18 min, −1 min compared with the average.
Solar forecast for Lilongwe, 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 Lilongwe
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A free, live card for Lilongwe: 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.