Bouenza · Republic of the Congo · 4.18° S · 13.29° E
Solar position in Nkayi
Sun position, daylight and the best solar panel angle for Nkayi — computed for 4.18° S, 13.29° E, 181 m above sea level.
The sun right now
Sun in Nkayi today
Saturday, 24 October 2026 · local time UTC+1
| Event | Time | Direction / height |
|---|---|---|
| Astronomical dawn | 04:33 | sun 18° below horizon |
| Nautical dawn | 04:58 | 12° below |
| Civil dawn | 05:23 | 6° below |
| Sunrise | 05:44 | 102° ESE |
| Golden hour ends | 06:12 | sun 6° up |
| Solar noon | 11:51 | 82.3° high |
| Golden hour starts | 17:29 | sun 6° up |
| Sunset | 17:57 | 258° WSW |
| Civil dusk | 18:19 | 6° below |
| Nautical dusk | 18:43 | 12° below |
| Astronomical dusk | 19:08 | 18° below |
| Day length | 12 h 14 min | |
Sun path diagram for Nkayi
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 62.4° at solar noon in Nkayi; on the December solstice only 70.8°. Sunrise swings from 67° ENE in June to 114° ESE in December — a 47° 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 | 06:08 | 12:18 | 18:27 | 12 h 19 min | 74.3° |
| February | 06:13 | 12:20 | 18:26 | 12 h 13 min | 83.7° |
| March | 06:10 | 12:13 | 18:17 | 12 h 06 min | 85.5° |
| April | 06:05 | 12:05 | 18:05 | 12 h 00 min | 73.9° |
| May | 06:06 | 12:03 | 18:00 | 11 h 55 min | 65.6° |
| June | 06:12 | 12:08 | 18:05 | 11 h 53 min | 62.4° |
| July | 06:16 | 12:13 | 18:10 | 11 h 55 min | 65.4° |
| August | 06:10 | 12:10 | 18:09 | 12 h 00 min | 73.8° |
| September | 05:56 | 11:59 | 18:03 | 12 h 06 min | 85.2° |
| October | 05:44 | 11:51 | 17:58 | 12 h 13 min | 83.4° |
| November | 05:43 | 11:52 | 18:02 | 12 h 19 min | 74.2° |
| December | 05:53 | 12:04 | 18:15 | 12 h 22 min | 70.8° |
A year of daylight in Nkayi
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 Nkayi
Fixed array facing north (azimuth 0°). Energy per kWp from NASA POWER monthly climate, including clouds, temperature and snow reflection.
3°collects the most energy over a year: 1180 kWh per kWp.
7°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 | September kWh/kWp/day | Best ÷ worst month |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0° | 1179 | 100% | 2.67 | 1.5× |
| 3° year-round best | 1180 | 100% | 2.68 | 1.5× |
| 4° = latitude | 1180 | 100% | 2.68 | 1.5× |
| 7° off-grid best | 1178 | 100% | 2.68 | 1.5× |
| 15° | 1161 | 98% | 2.66 | 1.5× |
| 30° | 1085 | 92% | 2.52 | 1.5× |
| 45° | 956 | 81% | 2.26 | 1.7× |
| 60° | 785 | 67% | 1.90 | 2.0× |
| 70° | 664 | 56% | 1.61 | 2.1× |
| 90° | 467 | 40% | 0.98 | 1.9× |
A fixed array in Nkayi produces the most over a year at 3°. The design month for an off-grid system is September: at 7° it makes 2.68 kWh per kWp a day, and costs 0% of the yearly total. Why steep panels win winter.
Off-grid solar in Nkayi at 70°
Daily energy of 1 kWp by month. Bars: panels at 70°. Line: panels at 3° (year-round best).
| Month | Sun hours, flat | Sun hours at 70° | kWh/kWp/day at 70° | at 3° | Mean temp. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 4.65 | 1.57 | 1.24 | 3.66 | 24.8 °C |
| February | 4.70 | 1.90 | 1.52 | 3.72 | 25.1 °C |
| March | 5.05 | 2.58 | 2.09 | 4.03 | 25.1 °C |
| April | 4.66 | 3.11 | 2.54 | 3.75 | 25.0 °C |
| May | 3.93 | 3.08 | 2.51 | 3.17 | 24.9 °C |
| June | 3.42 | 2.85 | 2.33 | 2.76 | 23.9 °C |
| July | 3.41 | 2.76 | 2.25 | 2.75 | 23.6 °C |
| August | 3.40 | 2.44 | 1.98 | 2.73 | 24.5 °C |
| September | 3.38 | 2.02 | 1.61 | 2.68 | 25.9 °C |
| October | 3.72 | 1.73 | 1.37 | 2.94 | 25.7 °C |
| November | 4.28 | 1.52 | 1.20 | 3.37 | 24.6 °C |
| December | 4.20 | 1.50 | 1.19 | 3.30 | 24.5 °C |
| Year | 4.06 avg | 2.26 avg | 664 kWh | 1180 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 990 Wp of panels at 70°, versus 440 Wp at 3°. Here the lower tilt is the better winter choice — the sun stays high enough. Size your own system.
Row spacing in Nkayi
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.
1.8 mrow pitch at 70°
2.1 mrow pitch at 3°
How Nkayi compares in the Republic of the Congo
Against the other 22 places in the Republic of the Congo with climate data, for a fixed array at its best angle.
19thof 23 places in the Republic of the Congo for sunshine: 4.06 peak sun hours a day on flat ground.
−8%solar energy a year compared with the average place in the Republic of the Congo: 1,180 against 1,280 kWh per kWp.
±0 mindaylight on the longest day, compared with Brazzaville: 12 h 22 min against 12 h 22 min.
3°best year-round tilt here; across the Republic of the Congo it runs from 1° in Owando to 5° in Mindouli.
Of the 23 places in the Republic of the Congo, Mindouli and one other place get the most sun (4.91 peak sun hours a day) and Mossendjo the least (3.94); Nkayi ranks 19th. In its darkest month, December, 1 kWp of off-grid panels at 70° makes 1.19 kWh a day here, against 1.15 kWh on average in the Republic of the Congo. The shortest day lasts 11 h 53 min, ±0 min compared with Brazzaville.
Solar forecast for Nkayi, 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 Nkayi
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A free, live card for Nkayi: 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.