Solarposition.org

Central · Botswana · 23.10° S · 26.81° E

Solar position in Mahalapye

Sun position, daylight and the best solar panel angle for Mahalapye — computed for 23.10° S, 26.81° E, 1025 m above sea level.

Sunrise today05:32103° ESE
Sunset today18:21257° WSW
Best panel angle25°year-round, facing north
Off-grid angle21°best for the darkest month

The sun right now

Azimuth180.0°
Elevation78.7°
At solar noon, 11:57Open on the sun map

Sun in Mahalapye today

Saturday, 24 October 2026 · local time UTC+2

EventTimeDirection / height
Astronomical dawn04:14sun 18° below horizon
Nautical dawn04:4212° below
Civil dawn05:096° below
Sunrise05:32103° ESE
Golden hour ends06:03sun 6° up
Solar noon11:5778.7° high
Golden hour starts17:50sun 6° up
Sunset18:21257° WSW
Civil dusk18:446° below
Nautical dusk19:1112° below
Astronomical dusk19:3918° below
Day length12 h 48 min

Sun path diagram for Mahalapye

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 solstice6789101112131415161718Today
  • June solstice
  • Equinox
  • December solstice
  • Today

On the June solstice the sun reaches 43.5° at solar noon in Mahalapye; on the December solstice only 89.7°. Sunrise swings from 65° ENE in June to 116° ESE in December — a 51° 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
January05:4412:2419:0313 h 19 min86.7°
February06:0412:2618:4712 h 44 min77.4°
March06:1612:1918:2212 h 06 min66.6°
April06:2812:1117:5411 h 26 min55.0°
May06:4112:0917:3610 h 55 min46.7°
June06:5312:1417:3510 h 43 min43.5°
July06:5112:1917:4610 h 55 min46.5°
August06:3312:1617:5811 h 26 min54.9°
September06:0312:0518:0812 h 05 min66.3°
October05:3511:5718:1912 h 45 min77.7°
November05:1911:5818:3813 h 19 min86.9°
December05:2312:1018:5713 h 34 min89.7°

A year of daylight in Mahalapye

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 Mahalapye

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

25°collects the most energy over a year: 1862 kWh per kWp.

21°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 25°Best worst-month 21°70°Yearly energyWorst-month energy
  • Yearly energy
  • Worst-month energy
TiltkWh/kWp per yearShare of best yearDecember kWh/kWp/dayBest ÷ worst month
0°170391%5.341.6×
15°183699%5.031.2×
21° off-grid best1858100%4.831.2×
23° = latitude1861100%4.751.2×
25° year-round best1862100%4.671.2×
30°1856100%4.451.3×
45°176695%3.631.6×
60°157184%2.652.2×
70°139175%1.982.8×
90°96952%1.094.4×

A fixed array in Mahalapye produces the most over a year at 25°. The design month for an off-grid system is December: at 21° it makes 4.83 kWh per kWp a day, 3% more than at 25°, and costs 0% of the yearly total. Why steep panels win winter.

Off-grid solar in Mahalapye at 70°

Daily energy of 1 kWp by month. Bars: panels at 70°. Line: panels at 25° (year-round best).

0123456January: 2.14 (70°)2.1JanFebruary: 2.73 (70°)2.7FebMarch: 3.45 (70°)3.5MarApril: 4.21 (70°)4.2AprMay: 5.28 (70°)5.3MayJune: 5.42 (70°)5.4JunJuly: 5.50 (70°)5.5JulAugust: 5.20 (70°)5.2AugSeptember: 4.31 (70°)4.3SepOctober: 3.16 (70°)3.2OctNovember: 2.29 (70°)2.3NovDecember: 1.98 (70°)2.0Dec25°
MonthSun hours, flatSun hours at 70°kWh/kWp/day at 70°at 25°Mean temp.
January6.922.662.144.8926.2 °C
February6.473.362.734.9425.8 °C
March5.894.213.454.9624.4 °C
April5.105.074.214.8821.6 °C
May4.766.275.285.2018.3 °C
June4.276.365.425.0015.1 °C
July4.546.445.505.2114.6 °C
August5.346.175.205.5317.9 °C
September6.225.194.315.6121.9 °C
October6.753.863.165.3625.0 °C
November6.832.832.294.9425.9 °C
December6.712.471.984.6726.3 °C
Year5.81 avg4.58 avg1391 kWh1862 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 600 Wp of panels at 70°, versus 250 Wp at 25°. Here the lower tilt is the better winter choice — the sun stays high enough. Size your own system.

Row spacing in Mahalapye

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.

2.9 mrow pitch at 70°

2.8 mrow pitch at 25°

Row spacing calculator

How Mahalapye compares in Botswana

Against the other 24 places in Botswana with climate data, for a fixed array at its best angle.

22ndof 25 places in Botswana for sunshine: 5.81 peak sun hours a day on flat ground.

−1%solar energy a year compared with the average place in Botswana: 1,862 against 1,888 kWh per kWp.

−7 mindaylight on the longest day, compared with Gaborone: 13 h 34 min against 13 h 40 min.

25°best year-round tilt here; across Botswana it runs from 23° in Maun to 27° in Gaborone.

Of the 25 places in Botswana, Letlhakane gets the most sun (6.18 peak sun hours a day) and Bobonong the least (5.67); Mahalapye ranks 22nd. In its darkest month, December, 1 kWp of off-grid panels at 70° makes 1.98 kWh a day here, against 2.02 kWh on average in Botswana. The shortest day lasts 10 h 43 min, +6 min compared with Gaborone.

The sunniest places in Botswana

Solar forecast for Mahalapye, 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 Mahalapye

What is the best solar panel angle in Mahalapye?
For a fixed array facing north, the best year-round tilt in Mahalapye is 25°, worth about 1862 kWh per kWp a year. An off-grid system that has to get through December does better at about 21°.
What time is sunrise and sunset in Mahalapye today?
On 24 October 2026 the sun rises at 05:32 and sets at 18:21 local time (UTC+2), giving 12 h 48 min of daylight. Solar noon is at 11:57.
How many peak sun hours does Mahalapye get?
On a flat surface 5.8 hours a day averaged over the year, from 4.3 in June to 6.9 in January. Panels tilted at 70° receive 2.5 sun hours a day in December.
How high does the sun get in Mahalapye?
At solar noon the sun stands 43.5° above the horizon on the June solstice and 89.7° on the December solstice.
Is Mahalapye a good place for solar panels?
With 5.8 peak sun hours a day on flat ground, Mahalapye ranks 22nd of 25 places in Botswana for sunshine. A 1 kWp array at the best angle (25°) makes about 1,862 kWh a year here, 1% less than the average place in Botswana.

Places near Mahalapye

All places in Botswana

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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.