KwaZulu-Natal · South Africa · 30.86° S · 30.37° E
Solar position in Margate
Sun position, daylight and the best solar panel angle for Margate — computed for 30.86° S, 30.37° E, 20 m above sea level.
The sun right now
Sun in Margate today
Saturday, 24 October 2026 · local time UTC+2
| Event | Time | Direction / height |
|---|---|---|
| Astronomical dawn | 03:45 | sun 18° below horizon |
| Nautical dawn | 04:15 | 12° below |
| Civil dawn | 04:45 | 6° below |
| Sunrise | 05:10 | 104° ESE |
| Golden hour ends | 05:42 | sun 6° up |
| Solar noon | 11:42 | 71.0° high |
| Golden hour starts | 17:43 | sun 6° up |
| Sunset | 18:15 | 256° WSW |
| Civil dusk | 18:40 | 6° below |
| Nautical dusk | 19:10 | 12° below |
| Astronomical dusk | 19:41 | 18° below |
| Day length | 13 h 05 min | |
Sun path diagram for Margate
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 35.7° at solar noon in Margate; on the December solstice only 82.6°. Sunrise swings from 63° ENE in June to 118° ESE in December — a 55° 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 | 05:15 | 12:09 | 19:03 | 13 h 48 min | 79.0° |
| February | 05:42 | 12:11 | 18:41 | 12 h 59 min | 69.6° |
| March | 06:02 | 12:05 | 18:08 | 12 h 06 min | 58.8° |
| April | 06:22 | 11:57 | 17:31 | 11 h 10 min | 47.2° |
| May | 06:41 | 11:54 | 17:08 | 10 h 27 min | 38.9° |
| June | 06:55 | 12:00 | 17:04 | 10 h 09 min | 35.7° |
| July | 06:52 | 12:05 | 17:17 | 10 h 26 min | 38.7° |
| August | 06:27 | 12:01 | 17:36 | 11 h 09 min | 47.1° |
| September | 05:49 | 11:51 | 17:54 | 12 h 05 min | 58.5° |
| October | 05:13 | 11:43 | 18:13 | 13 h 00 min | 69.9° |
| November | 04:50 | 11:44 | 18:38 | 13 h 49 min | 79.1° |
| December | 04:51 | 11:56 | 19:01 | 14 h 09 min | 82.6° |
A year of daylight in Margate
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 Margate
Fixed array facing north (azimuth 0°). Energy per kWp from NASA POWER monthly climate, including clouds, temperature and snow reflection.
31°collects the most energy over a year: 1517 kWh per kWp.
34°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 | June kWh/kWp/day | Best ÷ worst month |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0° | 1332 | 88% | 2.41 | 2.0× |
| 15° | 1467 | 97% | 3.25 | 1.4× |
| 30° | 1517 | 100% | 3.87 | 1.2× |
| 31° year-round best = latitude | 1517 | 100% | 3.91 | 1.1× |
| 34° off-grid best | 1516 | 100% | 4.00 | 1.1× |
| 45° | 1479 | 97% | 4.25 | 1.2× |
| 60° | 1356 | 89% | 4.35 | 1.6× |
| 70° | 1232 | 81% | 4.27 | 1.9× |
| 90° | 908 | 60% | 3.74 | 3.0× |
A fixed array in Margate produces the most over a year at 31°. The design month for an off-grid system is June: at 34° it makes 4.00 kWh per kWp a day, 2% more than at 31°, and costs 0% of the yearly total. Why steep panels win winter.
Off-grid solar in Margate at 70°
Daily energy of 1 kWp by month. Bars: panels at 70°. Line: panels at 31° (year-round best).
| Month | Sun hours, flat | Sun hours at 70° | kWh/kWp/day at 70° | at 31° | Mean temp. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 5.81 | 2.99 | 2.45 | 4.28 | 21.8 °C |
| February | 5.61 | 3.58 | 2.95 | 4.47 | 22.1 °C |
| March | 4.91 | 4.08 | 3.39 | 4.37 | 21.2 °C |
| April | 3.98 | 4.42 | 3.71 | 4.07 | 19.2 °C |
| May | 3.39 | 4.88 | 4.13 | 4.01 | 17.4 °C |
| June | 3.01 | 5.00 | 4.27 | 3.91 | 15.2 °C |
| July | 3.22 | 5.09 | 4.35 | 4.06 | 14.8 °C |
| August | 3.77 | 4.73 | 4.02 | 4.17 | 15.8 °C |
| September | 4.43 | 4.16 | 3.52 | 4.23 | 17.2 °C |
| October | 4.96 | 3.51 | 2.94 | 4.16 | 18.3 °C |
| November | 5.35 | 2.97 | 2.46 | 4.08 | 19.3 °C |
| December | 5.63 | 2.77 | 2.28 | 4.09 | 20.8 °C |
| Year | 4.50 avg | 4.02 avg | 1232 kWh | 1517 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 520 Wp of panels at 70°, versus 300 Wp at 31°. Here the lower tilt is the better winter choice — the sun stays high enough. Size your own system.
Row spacing in Margate
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.
3.6 mrow pitch at 70°
3.3 mrow pitch at 31°
How Margate compares in South Africa
Against the other 294 places in South Africa with climate data, for a fixed array at its best angle.
294thof 295 places in South Africa for sunshine: 4.50 peak sun hours a day on flat ground.
−16%solar energy a year compared with the average place in South Africa: 1,517 against 1,806 kWh per kWp.
+22 mindaylight on the longest day, compared with Johannesburg: 14 h 09 min against 13 h 47 min.
31°best year-round tilt here; across South Africa it runs from 24° in Thohoyandou to 32° in East London.
Of the 295 places in South Africa, Upington gets the most sun (6.28 peak sun hours a day) and Port Shepstone the least (4.46); Margate ranks 294th. In its darkest month, December, 1 kWp of off-grid panels at 70° makes 2.28 kWh a day here, against 2.42 kWh on average in South Africa. The shortest day lasts 10 h 09 min, −21 min compared with Johannesburg.
Solar forecast for Margate, 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 Margate
What is the best solar panel angle in Margate?
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Places near Margate
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A free, live card for Margate: 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.