Western Province · Zambia · 15.25° S · 23.13° E
Solar position in Mongu
Sun position, daylight and the best solar panel angle for Mongu — computed for 15.25° S, 23.13° E, 1016 m above sea level.
The sun right now
Sun in Mongu today
Saturday, 24 October 2026 · local time UTC+2
| Event | Time | Direction / height |
|---|---|---|
| Astronomical dawn | 04:41 | sun 18° below horizon |
| Nautical dawn | 05:07 | 12° below |
| Civil dawn | 05:33 | 6° below |
| Sunrise | 05:55 | 102° ESE |
| Golden hour ends | 06:24 | sun 6° up |
| Solar noon | 12:11 | 86.6° high |
| Golden hour starts | 17:59 | sun 6° up |
| Sunset | 18:28 | 257° WSW |
| Civil dusk | 18:50 | 6° below |
| Nautical dusk | 19:16 | 12° below |
| Astronomical dusk | 19:42 | 18° below |
| Day length | 12 h 33 min | |
Sun path diagram for Mongu
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 51.3° at solar noon in Mongu; on the December solstice only 81.8°. 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 | 06:12 | 12:38 | 19:05 | 12 h 53 min | 85.4° |
| February | 06:25 | 12:41 | 18:55 | 12 h 30 min | 85.2° |
| March | 06:31 | 12:34 | 18:37 | 12 h 06 min | 74.4° |
| April | 06:35 | 12:26 | 18:16 | 11 h 41 min | 62.8° |
| May | 06:43 | 12:23 | 18:04 | 11 h 21 min | 54.5° |
| June | 06:52 | 12:29 | 18:05 | 11 h 13 min | 51.3° |
| July | 06:53 | 12:34 | 18:14 | 11 h 21 min | 54.3° |
| August | 06:40 | 12:30 | 18:20 | 11 h 40 min | 62.7° |
| September | 06:18 | 12:20 | 18:23 | 12 h 05 min | 74.1° |
| October | 05:56 | 12:12 | 18:27 | 12 h 31 min | 85.5° |
| November | 05:46 | 12:13 | 18:39 | 12 h 53 min | 85.3° |
| December | 05:54 | 12:25 | 18:56 | 13 h 02 min | 81.8° |
A year of daylight in Mongu
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 Mongu
Fixed array facing north (azimuth 0°). Energy per kWp from NASA POWER monthly climate, including clouds, temperature and snow reflection.
20°collects the most energy over a year: 1801 kWh per kWp.
5°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° | 1708 | 95% | 4.65 | 1.2× |
| 5° off-grid best | 1749 | 97% | 4.56 | 1.1× |
| 15° = latitude | 1795 | 100% | 4.31 | 1.2× |
| 20° year-round best | 1801 | 100% | 4.15 | 1.3× |
| 30° | 1777 | 99% | 3.75 | 1.5× |
| 45° | 1655 | 92% | 3.00 | 2.0× |
| 60° | 1439 | 80% | 2.15 | 2.7× |
| 70° | 1253 | 70% | 1.60 | 3.4× |
| 90° | 861 | 48% | 1.18 | 4.1× |
A fixed array in Mongu produces the most over a year at 20°. The design month for an off-grid system is December: at 5° it makes 4.56 kWh per kWp a day, 10% more than at 20°, and costs 3% of the yearly total. Why steep panels win winter.
Off-grid solar in Mongu at 70°
Daily energy of 1 kWp by month. Bars: panels at 70°. Line: panels at 20° (year-round best).
| Month | Sun hours, flat | Sun hours at 70° | kWh/kWp/day at 70° | at 20° | Mean temp. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 5.82 | 2.10 | 1.69 | 4.21 | 23.9 °C |
| February | 5.73 | 2.63 | 2.14 | 4.37 | 23.7 °C |
| March | 5.70 | 3.48 | 2.86 | 4.62 | 23.7 °C |
| April | 5.91 | 5.00 | 4.14 | 5.27 | 22.8 °C |
| May | 5.64 | 6.26 | 5.22 | 5.53 | 20.8 °C |
| June | 5.22 | 6.50 | 5.47 | 5.37 | 18.7 °C |
| July | 5.40 | 6.39 | 5.38 | 5.46 | 18.5 °C |
| August | 5.91 | 5.66 | 4.70 | 5.50 | 21.8 °C |
| September | 6.41 | 4.46 | 3.64 | 5.37 | 25.8 °C |
| October | 6.57 | 3.14 | 2.52 | 5.00 | 28.7 °C |
| November | 5.95 | 2.20 | 1.75 | 4.31 | 26.9 °C |
| December | 5.81 | 2.00 | 1.60 | 4.15 | 24.6 °C |
| Year | 5.84 avg | 4.16 avg | 1253 kWh | 1801 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 280 Wp at 20°. Here the lower tilt is the better winter choice — the sun stays high enough. Size your own system.
Row spacing in Mongu
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 20°
How Mongu compares in Zambia
Against the other 76 places in Zambia with climate data, for a fixed array at its best angle.
5thof 77 places in Zambia for sunshine, shared: 5.84 peak sun hours a day on flat ground.
+2%solar energy a year compared with the average place in Zambia: 1,801 against 1,761 kWh per kWp.
−1 mindaylight on the longest day, compared with Lusaka: 13 h 02 min against 13 h 03 min.
20°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); Mongu ranks joint 5th. In its darkest month, December, 1 kWp of off-grid panels at 70° makes 1.60 kWh a day here, against 1.53 kWh on average in Zambia. The shortest day lasts 11 h 13 min, +1 min compared with Lusaka.
Solar forecast for Mongu, 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 Mongu
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Places near Mongu
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A free, live card for Mongu: 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.