KwaZulu-Natal · South Africa · 29.21° S · 29.99° E
Solar position in Mooi River
Sun position, daylight and the best solar panel angle for Mooi River — computed for 29.21° S, 29.99° E, 1403 m above sea level.
The sun right now
Sun in Mooi River today
Saturday, 24 October 2026 · local time UTC+2
| Event | Time | Direction / height |
|---|---|---|
| Astronomical dawn | 03:50 | sun 18° below horizon |
| Nautical dawn | 04:20 | 12° below |
| Civil dawn | 04:49 | 6° below |
| Sunrise | 05:13 | 104° ESE |
| Golden hour ends | 05:45 | sun 6° up |
| Solar noon | 11:44 | 72.6° high |
| Golden hour starts | 17:43 | sun 6° up |
| Sunset | 18:15 | 256° WSW |
| Civil dusk | 18:39 | 6° below |
| Nautical dusk | 19:08 | 12° below |
| Astronomical dusk | 19:38 | 18° below |
| Day length | 13 h 02 min | |
Sun path diagram for Mooi River
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 37.4° at solar noon in Mooi River; on the December solstice only 84.2°. Sunrise swings from 63° ENE in June to 118° ESE in December — a 54° 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 | 05:20 | 12:11 | 19:01 | 13 h 42 min | 80.6° |
| February | 05:45 | 12:13 | 18:40 | 12 h 55 min | 71.3° |
| March | 06:03 | 12:07 | 18:09 | 12 h 06 min | 60.5° |
| April | 06:21 | 11:58 | 17:35 | 11 h 13 min | 48.9° |
| May | 06:39 | 11:56 | 17:13 | 10 h 33 min | 40.6° |
| June | 06:53 | 12:01 | 17:10 | 10 h 16 min | 37.4° |
| July | 06:50 | 12:06 | 17:22 | 10 h 32 min | 40.4° |
| August | 06:26 | 12:03 | 17:39 | 11 h 13 min | 48.8° |
| September | 05:51 | 11:53 | 17:55 | 12 h 05 min | 60.2° |
| October | 05:16 | 11:44 | 18:13 | 12 h 57 min | 71.6° |
| November | 04:54 | 11:45 | 18:37 | 13 h 42 min | 80.7° |
| December | 04:57 | 11:58 | 18:58 | 14 h 01 min | 84.2° |
A year of daylight in Mooi River
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 Mooi River
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: 1709 kWh per kWp.
28°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° | 1496 | 88% | 5.07 | 1.8× |
| 15° | 1652 | 97% | 4.90 | 1.3× |
| 28° off-grid best | 1707 | 100% | 4.53 | 1.1× |
| 29° = latitude | 1708 | 100% | 4.50 | 1.1× |
| 30° | 1709 | 100% | 4.46 | 1.1× |
| 31° year-round best | 1709 | 100% | 4.42 | 1.1× |
| 45° | 1665 | 97% | 3.79 | 1.4× |
| 60° | 1524 | 89% | 2.95 | 1.8× |
| 70° | 1382 | 81% | 2.34 | 2.3× |
| 90° | 1013 | 59% | 1.24 | 3.7× |
A fixed array in Mooi River produces the most over a year at 31°. The design month for an off-grid system is December: at 28° it makes 4.53 kWh per kWp a day, 3% more than at 31°, and costs 0% of the yearly total. Why steep panels win winter.
Off-grid solar in Mooi River 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 | 6.15 | 3.00 | 2.48 | 4.48 | 19.9 °C |
| February | 5.89 | 3.60 | 3.00 | 4.67 | 19.5 °C |
| March | 5.28 | 4.25 | 3.58 | 4.70 | 18.1 °C |
| April | 4.38 | 4.80 | 4.10 | 4.54 | 15.1 °C |
| May | 3.86 | 5.62 | 4.84 | 4.71 | 12.5 °C |
| June | 3.49 | 5.89 | 5.14 | 4.69 | 9.7 °C |
| July | 3.75 | 6.07 | 5.29 | 4.93 | 9.5 °C |
| August | 4.35 | 5.56 | 4.80 | 4.96 | 12.0 °C |
| September | 5.13 | 4.80 | 4.09 | 4.96 | 15.2 °C |
| October | 5.51 | 3.72 | 3.14 | 4.60 | 17.1 °C |
| November | 6.03 | 3.10 | 2.59 | 4.52 | 18.2 °C |
| December | 6.20 | 2.84 | 2.34 | 4.42 | 19.5 °C |
| Year | 5.00 avg | 4.44 avg | 1382 kWh | 1709 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 500 Wp of panels at 70°, versus 270 Wp at 31°. Here the lower tilt is the better winter choice — the sun stays high enough. Size your own system.
Row spacing in Mooi River
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.
3.4 mrow pitch at 70°
3.2 mrow pitch at 31°
How Mooi River compares in South Africa
Against the other 294 places in South Africa with climate data, for a fixed array at its best angle.
246thof 295 places in South Africa for sunshine: 5.00 peak sun hours a day on flat ground.
−5%solar energy a year compared with the average place in South Africa: 1,709 against 1,806 kWh per kWp.
+14 mindaylight on the longest day, compared with Johannesburg: 14 h 01 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); Mooi River ranks 246th. In its darkest month, December, 1 kWp of off-grid panels at 70° makes 2.35 kWh a day here, against 2.42 kWh on average in South Africa. The shortest day lasts 10 h 16 min, −13 min compared with Johannesburg.
Solar forecast for Mooi River, 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 Mooi River
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Places near Mooi River
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A free, live card for Mooi River: 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.