Limpopo · South Africa · 24.96° S · 27.27° E
Solar position in Northam
Sun position, daylight and the best solar panel angle for Northam — computed for 24.96° S, 27.27° E, 1016 m above sea level.
The sun right now
Sun in Northam today
Saturday, 24 October 2026 · local time UTC+2
| Event | Time | Direction / height |
|---|---|---|
| Astronomical dawn | 04:09 | sun 18° below horizon |
| Nautical dawn | 04:37 | 12° below |
| Civil dawn | 05:05 | 6° below |
| Sunrise | 05:29 | 103° ESE |
| Golden hour ends | 06:00 | sun 6° up |
| Solar noon | 11:55 | 76.9° high |
| Golden hour starts | 17:50 | sun 6° up |
| Sunset | 18:21 | 256° WSW |
| Civil dusk | 18:45 | 6° below |
| Nautical dusk | 19:12 | 12° below |
| Astronomical dusk | 19:41 | 18° below |
| Day length | 12 h 52 min | |
Sun path diagram for Northam
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 41.6° at solar noon in Northam; on the December solstice only 88.5°. Sunrise swings from 64° ENE in June to 116° ESE in December — a 52° 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 | 05:39 | 12:22 | 19:04 | 13 h 25 min | 84.9° |
| February | 06:00 | 12:24 | 18:47 | 12 h 47 min | 75.5° |
| March | 06:14 | 12:17 | 18:20 | 12 h 06 min | 64.7° |
| April | 06:28 | 12:09 | 17:50 | 11 h 22 min | 53.1° |
| May | 06:42 | 12:07 | 17:31 | 10 h 49 min | 44.8° |
| June | 06:55 | 12:12 | 17:30 | 10 h 35 min | 41.6° |
| July | 06:53 | 12:17 | 17:41 | 10 h 48 min | 44.6° |
| August | 06:33 | 12:14 | 17:55 | 11 h 22 min | 53.0° |
| September | 06:01 | 12:04 | 18:06 | 12 h 05 min | 64.4° |
| October | 05:31 | 11:55 | 18:19 | 12 h 48 min | 75.8° |
| November | 05:13 | 11:56 | 18:39 | 13 h 26 min | 85.0° |
| December | 05:18 | 12:08 | 18:59 | 13 h 42 min | 88.5° |
A year of daylight in Northam
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 Northam
Fixed array facing north (azimuth 0°). Energy per kWp from NASA POWER monthly climate, including clouds, temperature and snow reflection.
27°collects the most energy over a year: 1863 kWh per kWp.
26°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° | 1679 | 90% | 5.42 | 1.6× |
| 15° | 1826 | 98% | 5.15 | 1.2× |
| 25° = latitude | 1862 | 100% | 4.81 | 1.2× |
| 26° off-grid best | 1863 | 100% | 4.77 | 1.2× |
| 27° year-round best | 1863 | 100% | 4.73 | 1.2× |
| 30° | 1862 | 100% | 4.59 | 1.2× |
| 45° | 1785 | 96% | 3.80 | 1.5× |
| 60° | 1603 | 86% | 2.83 | 2.1× |
| 70° | 1431 | 77% | 2.15 | 2.6× |
| 90° | 1009 | 54% | 1.13 | 4.3× |
A fixed array in Northam produces the most over a year at 27°. The design month for an off-grid system is December: at 26° it makes 4.77 kWh per kWp a day, and costs 0% of the yearly total. Why steep panels win winter.
Off-grid solar in Northam at 70°
Daily energy of 1 kWp by month. Bars: panels at 70°. Line: panels at 27° (year-round best).
| Month | Sun hours, flat | Sun hours at 70° | kWh/kWp/day at 70° | at 27° | Mean temp. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 6.80 | 2.82 | 2.28 | 4.82 | 25.3 °C |
| February | 6.39 | 3.50 | 2.85 | 4.91 | 25.0 °C |
| March | 5.74 | 4.27 | 3.52 | 4.90 | 23.3 °C |
| April | 4.88 | 4.99 | 4.18 | 4.78 | 20.1 °C |
| May | 4.54 | 6.22 | 5.27 | 5.16 | 16.8 °C |
| June | 4.10 | 6.41 | 5.50 | 5.05 | 13.4 °C |
| July | 4.42 | 6.61 | 5.67 | 5.32 | 13.2 °C |
| August | 5.20 | 6.26 | 5.31 | 5.57 | 16.5 °C |
| September | 6.16 | 5.36 | 4.47 | 5.67 | 20.7 °C |
| October | 6.68 | 4.02 | 3.30 | 5.36 | 23.6 °C |
| November | 6.87 | 3.02 | 2.45 | 4.98 | 24.4 °C |
| December | 6.79 | 2.67 | 2.15 | 4.73 | 25.1 °C |
| Year | 5.71 avg | 4.68 avg | 1431 kWh | 1863 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 550 Wp of panels at 70°, versus 250 Wp at 27°. Here the lower tilt is the better winter choice — the sun stays high enough. Size your own system.
Row spacing in Northam
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.
3.1 mrow pitch at 70°
2.9 mrow pitch at 27°
How Northam compares in South Africa
Against the other 294 places in South Africa with climate data, for a fixed array at its best angle.
52ndof 295 places in South Africa for sunshine, shared: 5.71 peak sun hours a day on flat ground.
+3%solar energy a year compared with the average place in South Africa: 1,864 against 1,806 kWh per kWp.
−6 mindaylight on the longest day, compared with Johannesburg: 13 h 42 min against 13 h 47 min.
27°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); Northam ranks joint 52nd. In its darkest month, December, 1 kWp of off-grid panels at 70° makes 2.15 kWh a day here, against 2.42 kWh on average in South Africa. The shortest day lasts 10 h 35 min, +5 min compared with Johannesburg.
Solar forecast for Northam, 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 Northam
What is the best solar panel angle in Northam?
What time is sunrise and sunset in Northam today?
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Places near Northam
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A free, live card for Northam: 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.