Southern Province · Zambia · 15.86° S · 27.75° E
Solar position in Mazabuka
Sun position, daylight and the best solar panel angle for Mazabuka — computed for 15.86° S, 27.75° E, 1050 m above sea level.
The sun right now
Sun in Mazabuka today
Saturday, 24 October 2026 · local time UTC+2
| Event | Time | Direction / height |
|---|---|---|
| Astronomical dawn | 04:22 | sun 18° below horizon |
| Nautical dawn | 04:48 | 12° below |
| Civil dawn | 05:14 | 6° below |
| Sunrise | 05:36 | 102° ESE |
| Golden hour ends | 06:05 | sun 6° up |
| Solar noon | 11:53 | 86.0° high |
| Golden hour starts | 17:41 | sun 6° up |
| Sunset | 18:10 | 257° WSW |
| Civil dusk | 18:32 | 6° below |
| Nautical dusk | 18:58 | 12° below |
| Astronomical dusk | 19:24 | 18° below |
| Day length | 12 h 34 min | |
Sun path diagram for Mazabuka
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 50.7° at solar noon in Mazabuka; on the December solstice only 82.4°. Sunrise swings from 66° ENE in June to 115° ESE in December — a 49° 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 | 05:52 | 12:20 | 18:47 | 12 h 55 min | 86.0° |
| February | 06:06 | 12:22 | 18:38 | 12 h 31 min | 84.6° |
| March | 06:13 | 12:16 | 18:19 | 12 h 06 min | 73.8° |
| April | 06:17 | 12:07 | 17:57 | 11 h 39 min | 62.2° |
| May | 06:25 | 12:05 | 17:45 | 11 h 19 min | 53.9° |
| June | 06:35 | 12:10 | 17:46 | 11 h 11 min | 50.7° |
| July | 06:36 | 12:15 | 17:54 | 11 h 19 min | 53.7° |
| August | 06:22 | 12:12 | 18:01 | 11 h 39 min | 62.1° |
| September | 05:59 | 12:02 | 18:04 | 12 h 05 min | 73.5° |
| October | 05:37 | 11:53 | 18:09 | 12 h 32 min | 84.9° |
| November | 05:27 | 11:54 | 18:22 | 12 h 55 min | 85.9° |
| December | 05:34 | 12:07 | 18:39 | 13 h 04 min | 82.4° |
A year of daylight in Mazabuka
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 Mazabuka
Fixed array facing north (azimuth 0°). Energy per kWp from NASA POWER monthly climate, including clouds, temperature and snow reflection.
19°collects the most energy over a year: 1787 kWh per kWp.
8°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 | December kWh/kWp/day | Best ÷ worst month |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0° | 1699 | 95% | 4.64 | 1.4× |
| 8° off-grid best | 1757 | 98% | 4.50 | 1.2× |
| 15° | 1783 | 100% | 4.31 | 1.3× |
| 16° = latitude | 1785 | 100% | 4.28 | 1.3× |
| 19° year-round best | 1787 | 100% | 4.19 | 1.3× |
| 30° | 1761 | 99% | 3.76 | 1.5× |
| 45° | 1638 | 92% | 3.01 | 1.9× |
| 60° | 1422 | 80% | 2.16 | 2.5× |
| 70° | 1237 | 69% | 1.61 | 3.2× |
| 90° | 847 | 47% | 1.17 | 4.0× |
A fixed array in Mazabuka produces the most over a year at 19°. The design month for an off-grid system is December: at 8° it makes 4.50 kWh per kWp a day, 7% more than at 19°, and costs 2% of the yearly total. Why steep panels win winter.
Off-grid solar in Mazabuka at 70°
Daily energy of 1 kWp by month. Bars: panels at 70°. Line: panels at 19° (year-round best).
| Month | Sun hours, flat | Sun hours at 70° | kWh/kWp/day at 70° | at 19° | Mean temp. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 5.73 | 2.16 | 1.74 | 4.21 | 23.3 °C |
| February | 5.74 | 2.71 | 2.21 | 4.43 | 22.9 °C |
| March | 5.67 | 3.52 | 2.90 | 4.64 | 22.8 °C |
| April | 5.60 | 4.74 | 3.94 | 4.98 | 22.0 °C |
| May | 5.41 | 5.96 | 4.98 | 5.26 | 20.4 °C |
| June | 4.93 | 6.08 | 5.13 | 5.01 | 18.3 °C |
| July | 5.11 | 6.03 | 5.09 | 5.13 | 17.9 °C |
| August | 5.90 | 5.73 | 4.79 | 5.51 | 20.8 °C |
| September | 6.52 | 4.59 | 3.78 | 5.51 | 24.4 °C |
| October | 6.85 | 3.26 | 2.63 | 5.28 | 27.3 °C |
| November | 6.29 | 2.23 | 1.78 | 4.58 | 26.6 °C |
| December | 5.80 | 2.01 | 1.61 | 4.19 | 24.1 °C |
| Year | 5.79 avg | 4.09 avg | 1237 kWh | 1787 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 730 Wp of panels at 70°, versus 280 Wp at 19°. Here the lower tilt is the better winter choice — the sun stays high enough. Size your own system.
Row spacing in Mazabuka
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.
2.4 mrow pitch at 70°
2.5 mrow pitch at 19°
How Mazabuka compares in Zambia
Against the other 76 places in Zambia with climate data, for a fixed array at its best angle.
18thof 77 places in Zambia for sunshine: 5.80 peak sun hours a day on flat ground.
+1%solar energy a year compared with the average place in Zambia: 1,787 against 1,761 kWh per kWp.
+2 mindaylight on the longest day, compared with Lusaka: 13 h 04 min against 13 h 03 min.
19°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); Mazabuka ranks 18th. In its darkest month, December, 1 kWp of off-grid panels at 70° makes 1.61 kWh a day here, against 1.53 kWh on average in Zambia. The shortest day lasts 11 h 11 min, −2 min compared with Lusaka.
Solar forecast for Mazabuka, 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 Mazabuka
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Places near Mazabuka
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A free, live card for Mazabuka: 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.