KwaZulu-Natal · South Africa · 29.57° S · 30.19° E
Solar position in Mpophomeni
Sun position, daylight and the best solar panel angle for Mpophomeni — computed for 29.57° S, 30.19° E, 1103 m above sea level.
The sun right now
Sun in Mpophomeni today
Saturday, 24 October 2026 · local time UTC+2
| Event | Time | Direction / height |
|---|---|---|
| Astronomical dawn | 03:48 | sun 18° below horizon |
| Nautical dawn | 04:18 | 12° below |
| Civil dawn | 04:47 | 6° below |
| Sunrise | 05:12 | 104° ESE |
| Golden hour ends | 05:44 | sun 6° up |
| Solar noon | 11:43 | 72.3° high |
| Golden hour starts | 17:42 | sun 6° up |
| Sunset | 18:14 | 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 Mpophomeni
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 37.0° at solar noon in Mpophomeni; on the December solstice only 83.9°. 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 | 05:18 | 12:10 | 19:01 | 13 h 43 min | 80.3° |
| February | 05:44 | 12:12 | 18:40 | 12 h 56 min | 70.9° |
| March | 06:03 | 12:06 | 18:09 | 12 h 06 min | 60.1° |
| April | 06:21 | 11:57 | 17:34 | 11 h 13 min | 48.5° |
| May | 06:39 | 11:55 | 17:11 | 10 h 32 min | 40.2° |
| June | 06:53 | 12:01 | 17:08 | 10 h 15 min | 37.0° |
| July | 06:50 | 12:05 | 17:21 | 10 h 31 min | 40.0° |
| August | 06:26 | 12:02 | 17:38 | 11 h 12 min | 48.4° |
| September | 05:50 | 11:52 | 17:54 | 12 h 05 min | 59.8° |
| October | 05:15 | 11:43 | 18:12 | 12 h 57 min | 71.2° |
| November | 04:53 | 11:45 | 18:37 | 13 h 44 min | 80.4° |
| December | 04:55 | 11:57 | 18:58 | 14 h 03 min | 83.9° |
A year of daylight in Mpophomeni
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 Mpophomeni
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: 1650 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° | 1442 | 87% | 4.84 | 1.8× |
| 15° | 1593 | 97% | 4.69 | 1.3× |
| 28° off-grid best | 1648 | 100% | 4.36 | 1.1× |
| 30° = latitude | 1649 | 100% | 4.29 | 1.1× |
| 31° year-round best | 1650 | 100% | 4.25 | 1.1× |
| 45° | 1609 | 98% | 3.66 | 1.4× |
| 60° | 1475 | 89% | 2.87 | 1.8× |
| 70° | 1340 | 81% | 2.30 | 2.2× |
| 90° | 986 | 60% | 1.24 | 3.6× |
A fixed array in Mpophomeni produces the most over a year at 31°. The design month for an off-grid system is December: at 28° it makes 4.36 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 Mpophomeni 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 | 5.92 | 2.95 | 2.44 | 4.34 | 19.6 °C |
| February | 5.72 | 3.54 | 2.96 | 4.55 | 19.3 °C |
| March | 5.15 | 4.17 | 3.51 | 4.59 | 18.0 °C |
| April | 4.26 | 4.67 | 3.98 | 4.41 | 15.2 °C |
| May | 3.76 | 5.44 | 4.69 | 4.56 | 12.9 °C |
| June | 3.37 | 5.67 | 4.93 | 4.51 | 10.1 °C |
| July | 3.63 | 5.85 | 5.10 | 4.75 | 9.9 °C |
| August | 4.19 | 5.32 | 4.60 | 4.76 | 12.2 °C |
| September | 4.92 | 4.60 | 3.93 | 4.76 | 15.0 °C |
| October | 5.29 | 3.61 | 3.05 | 4.43 | 16.6 °C |
| November | 5.72 | 3.01 | 2.51 | 4.32 | 17.7 °C |
| December | 5.92 | 2.78 | 2.30 | 4.25 | 19.1 °C |
| Year | 4.82 avg | 4.31 avg | 1340 kWh | 1650 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 510 Wp of panels at 70°, versus 280 Wp at 31°. Here the lower tilt is the better winter choice — the sun stays high enough. Size your own system.
Row spacing in Mpophomeni
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.
3.5 mrow pitch at 70°
3.3 mrow pitch at 31°
How Mpophomeni compares in South Africa
Against the other 294 places in South Africa with climate data, for a fixed array at its best angle.
264thof 295 places in South Africa for sunshine, shared: 4.82 peak sun hours a day on flat ground.
−9%solar energy a year compared with the average place in South Africa: 1,650 against 1,806 kWh per kWp.
+16 mindaylight on the longest day, compared with Johannesburg: 14 h 03 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); Mpophomeni ranks joint 264th. In its darkest month, December, 1 kWp of off-grid panels at 70° makes 2.30 kWh a day here, against 2.42 kWh on average in South Africa. The shortest day lasts 10 h 15 min, −15 min compared with Johannesburg.
Solar forecast for Mpophomeni, 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 Mpophomeni
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Places near Mpophomeni
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A free, live card for Mpophomeni: 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.