Solarposition.org

Central · Botswana · 22.55° S · 27.13° E

Solar position in Palapye

Sun position, daylight and the best solar panel angle for Palapye — computed for 22.55° S, 27.13° E, 926 m above sea level.

Sunrise today05:32103° ESE
Sunset today18:19257° WSW
Best panel angle25°year-round, facing north
Off-grid angle21°best for the darkest month

The sun right now

Azimuth180.0°
Elevation79.3°
At solar noon, 11:55Open on the sun map

Sun in Palapye today

Saturday, 24 October 2026 · local time UTC+2

EventTimeDirection / height
Astronomical dawn04:14sun 18° below horizon
Nautical dawn04:4212° below
Civil dawn05:096° below
Sunrise05:32103° ESE
Golden hour ends06:02sun 6° up
Solar noon11:5579.3° high
Golden hour starts17:49sun 6° up
Sunset18:19257° WSW
Civil dusk18:426° below
Nautical dusk19:0912° below
Astronomical dusk19:3718° below
Day length12 h 47 min

Sun path diagram for Palapye

Where the sun stands in the sky: the centre is straight overhead, the outer ring is the horizon. Numbers mark local clock hours.

15°30°45°60°75°N30°60°E120°150°S210°240°W300°330°June solstice7891011121314151617EquinoxDecember solstice6789101112131415161718Today
  • June solstice
  • Equinox
  • December solstice
  • Today

On the June solstice the sun reaches 44.0° at solar noon in Palapye; on the December solstice only 89.1°. Sunrise swings from 65° ENE in June to 116° ESE in December — a 51° 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.

MonthSunriseSolar noonSunsetDay lengthNoon elevation
January05:4412:2219:0113 h 17 min87.3°
February06:0312:2518:4612 h 43 min77.9°
March06:1512:1818:2112 h 06 min67.1°
April06:2612:1017:5311 h 27 min55.5°
May06:3912:0717:3610 h 57 min47.2°
June06:5012:1317:3510 h 45 min44.0°
July06:4912:1817:4610 h 57 min47.0°
August06:3112:1417:5811 h 27 min55.4°
September06:0212:0418:0712 h 05 min66.8°
October05:3411:5618:1812 h 44 min78.2°
November05:1811:5718:3613 h 17 min87.4°
December05:2312:0918:5513 h 31 min89.1°

A year of daylight in Palapye

Each column is one day of 2026. Bright: sun above the horizon; soft: civil twilight; line: solar noon. Steps are daylight saving time changes.

00:0003:0006:0009:0012:0015:0018:0021:0000:00JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec

Best solar panel angle in Palapye

Fixed array facing north (azimuth 0°). Energy per kWp from NASA POWER monthly climate, including clouds, temperature and snow reflection.

25°collects the most energy over a year: 1836 kWh per kWp.

21°gives the most in the darkest month — the one an off-grid system is sized for.

20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%100%0°10°20°30°40°50°60°70°80°90°Best year-round 25°Best worst-month 21°70°Yearly energyWorst-month energy
  • Yearly energy
  • Worst-month energy
TiltkWh/kWp per yearShare of best yearDecember kWh/kWp/dayBest ÷ worst month
0°168792%5.231.6×
15°181399%4.921.2×
21° off-grid best1833100%4.721.2×
23° = latitude1835100%4.651.2×
25° year-round best1836100%4.571.2×
30°1829100%4.351.3×
45°173594%3.541.6×
60°153984%2.592.1×
70°136174%1.932.7×
90°94551%1.094.3×

A fixed array in Palapye produces the most over a year at 25°. The design month for an off-grid system is December: at 21° it makes 4.72 kWh per kWp a day, 3% more than at 25°, and costs 0% of the yearly total. Why steep panels win winter.

Off-grid solar in Palapye at 70°

Daily energy of 1 kWp by month. Bars: panels at 70°. Line: panels at 25° (year-round best).

0123456January: 2.10 (70°)2.1JanFebruary: 2.68 (70°)2.7FebMarch: 3.40 (70°)3.4MarApril: 4.16 (70°)4.2AprMay: 5.22 (70°)5.2MayJune: 5.29 (70°)5.3JunJuly: 5.32 (70°)5.3JulAugust: 5.06 (70°)5.1AugSeptember: 4.20 (70°)4.2SepOctober: 3.07 (70°)3.1OctNovember: 2.24 (70°)2.2NovDecember: 1.93 (70°)1.9Dec25°
MonthSun hours, flatSun hours at 70°kWh/kWp/day at 70°at 25°Mean temp.
January6.842.612.104.8325.8 °C
February6.413.292.684.8925.3 °C
March5.854.133.404.9124.1 °C
April5.104.994.164.8621.5 °C
May4.786.205.225.1918.3 °C
June4.266.215.294.9415.2 °C
July4.496.225.325.1014.7 °C
August5.306.005.065.4418.0 °C
September6.145.054.205.5121.8 °C
October6.643.753.075.2524.7 °C
November6.722.772.244.8525.7 °C
December6.562.411.934.5726.0 °C
Year5.75 avg4.48 avg1361 kWh1836 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 610 Wp of panels at 70°, versus 260 Wp at 25°. Here the lower tilt is the better winter choice — the sun stays high enough. Size your own system.

Row spacing in Palapye

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.

2.9 mrow pitch at 70°

2.8 mrow pitch at 25°

Row spacing calculator

How Palapye compares in Botswana

Against the other 24 places in Botswana with climate data, for a fixed array at its best angle.

23rdof 25 places in Botswana for sunshine: 5.75 peak sun hours a day on flat ground.

−3%solar energy a year compared with the average place in Botswana: 1,836 against 1,888 kWh per kWp.

−9 mindaylight on the longest day, compared with Gaborone: 13 h 31 min against 13 h 40 min.

25°best year-round tilt here; across Botswana it runs from 23° in Maun to 27° in Gaborone.

Of the 25 places in Botswana, Letlhakane gets the most sun (6.18 peak sun hours a day) and Bobonong the least (5.67); Palapye ranks 23rd. In its darkest month, December, 1 kWp of off-grid panels at 70° makes 1.94 kWh a day here, against 2.02 kWh on average in Botswana. The shortest day lasts 10 h 45 min, +9 min compared with Gaborone.

The sunniest places in Botswana

Solar forecast for Palapye, next 48 hours

Expected output of 1 kWp at 70°, computed from the ICON-EU weather model of the Deutscher Wetterdienst (DWD), Europe.

Loading the latest forecast…

Questions about the sun in Palapye

What is the best solar panel angle in Palapye?
For a fixed array facing north, the best year-round tilt in Palapye is 25°, worth about 1836 kWh per kWp a year. An off-grid system that has to get through December does better at about 21°.
What time is sunrise and sunset in Palapye today?
On 24 October 2026 the sun rises at 05:32 and sets at 18:19 local time (UTC+2), giving 12 h 47 min of daylight. Solar noon is at 11:55.
How many peak sun hours does Palapye get?
On a flat surface 5.8 hours a day averaged over the year, from 4.3 in June to 6.8 in January. Panels tilted at 70° receive 2.4 sun hours a day in December.
How high does the sun get in Palapye?
At solar noon the sun stands 44.0° above the horizon on the June solstice and 89.1° on the December solstice.
Is Palapye a good place for solar panels?
With 5.8 peak sun hours a day on flat ground, Palapye ranks 23rd of 25 places in Botswana for sunshine. A 1 kWp array at the best angle (25°) makes about 1,836 kWh a year here, 3% less than the average place in Botswana.

Places near Palapye

All places in Botswana

Put this on your site

A free, live card for Palapye: 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.

Theme

Paste it into any page, blog or CMS that accepts HTML. Auto follows the visitor's light or dark system setting. Free to use with its link.

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.