Shefa · Vanuatu · 17.74° S · 168.31° E
Solar position in Port-Vila
Sun position, daylight and the best solar panel angle for Port-Vila — computed for 17.74° S, 168.31° E, 10 m above sea level.
The sun right now
Sun in Port-Vila today
Sunday, 25 October 2026 · local time UTC+11
| Event | Time | Direction / height |
|---|---|---|
| Astronomical dawn | 03:56 | sun 18° below horizon |
| Nautical dawn | 04:23 | 12° below |
| Civil dawn | 04:49 | 6° below |
| Sunrise | 05:11 | 103° ESE |
| Golden hour ends | 05:41 | sun 6° up |
| Solar noon | 11:30 | 84.3° high |
| Golden hour starts | 17:20 | sun 6° up |
| Sunset | 17:50 | 257° WSW |
| Civil dusk | 18:12 | 6° below |
| Nautical dusk | 18:38 | 12° below |
| Astronomical dusk | 19:05 | 18° below |
| Day length | 12 h 38 min | |
Sun path diagram for Port-Vila
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 48.8° at solar noon in Port-Vila; on the December solstice only 84.3°. Sunrise swings from 66° ENE in June to 115° ESE in December — a 49° 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 | 05:27 | 11:57 | 18:28 | 13 h 01 min | 87.8° |
| February | 05:42 | 12:00 | 18:17 | 12 h 35 min | 82.9° |
| March | 05:50 | 11:53 | 17:57 | 12 h 06 min | 72.1° |
| April | 05:57 | 11:45 | 17:33 | 11 h 36 min | 60.5° |
| May | 06:06 | 11:43 | 17:20 | 11 h 14 min | 52.1° |
| June | 06:16 | 11:48 | 17:20 | 11 h 04 min | 48.8° |
| July | 06:16 | 11:53 | 17:29 | 11 h 13 min | 51.8° |
| August | 06:02 | 11:50 | 17:37 | 11 h 35 min | 60.1° |
| September | 05:37 | 11:40 | 17:42 | 12 h 05 min | 71.5° |
| October | 05:14 | 11:31 | 17:48 | 12 h 35 min | 82.9° |
| November | 05:02 | 11:32 | 18:02 | 13 h 01 min | 87.9° |
| December | 05:08 | 11:44 | 18:20 | 13 h 12 min | 84.3° |
A year of daylight in Port-Vila
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 Port-Vila
Fixed array facing north (azimuth 0°). Energy per kWp from NASA POWER monthly climate, including clouds, temperature and snow reflection.
15°collects the most energy over a year: 1563 kWh per kWp.
39°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 | June kWh/kWp/day | Best ÷ worst month |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0° | 1519 | 97% | 2.82 | 1.9× |
| 15° year-round best | 1563 | 100% | 3.30 | 1.5× |
| 18° = latitude | 1561 | 100% | 3.38 | 1.4× |
| 30° | 1518 | 97% | 3.60 | 1.3× |
| 39° off-grid best | 1449 | 93% | 3.67 | 1.2× |
| 45° | 1387 | 89% | 3.68 | 1.3× |
| 60° | 1182 | 76% | 3.55 | 1.6× |
| 70° | 1013 | 65% | 3.35 | 2.1× |
| 90° | 678 | 43% | 2.68 | 2.6× |
A fixed array in Port-Vila produces the most over a year at 15°. The design month for an off-grid system is June: at 39° it makes 3.67 kWh per kWp a day, 11% more than at 15°, and costs 7% of the yearly total. Why steep panels win winter.
Off-grid solar in Port-Vila at 70°
Daily energy of 1 kWp by month. Bars: panels at 70°. Line: panels at 15° (year-round best).
| Month | Sun hours, flat | Sun hours at 70° | kWh/kWp/day at 70° | at 15° | Mean temp. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 6.44 | 2.23 | 1.77 | 4.79 | 27.5 °C |
| February | 6.18 | 2.90 | 2.33 | 4.77 | 28.0 °C |
| March | 5.58 | 3.59 | 2.89 | 4.53 | 27.9 °C |
| April | 4.70 | 4.02 | 3.26 | 4.03 | 27.3 °C |
| May | 4.02 | 4.22 | 3.45 | 3.63 | 26.2 °C |
| June | 3.58 | 4.08 | 3.35 | 3.30 | 25.4 °C |
| July | 3.78 | 4.18 | 3.44 | 3.48 | 24.4 °C |
| August | 4.39 | 4.14 | 3.41 | 3.90 | 24.1 °C |
| September | 5.39 | 3.94 | 3.23 | 4.55 | 24.5 °C |
| October | 5.93 | 3.14 | 2.55 | 4.72 | 25.2 °C |
| November | 6.41 | 2.43 | 1.95 | 4.85 | 25.9 °C |
| December | 6.61 | 2.07 | 1.64 | 4.86 | 26.9 °C |
| Year | 5.25 avg | 3.41 avg | 1013 kWh | 1563 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 720 Wp of panels at 70°, versus 360 Wp at 15°. Here the lower tilt is the better winter choice — the sun stays high enough. Size your own system.
Row spacing in Port-Vila
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.
2.5 mrow pitch at 70°
2.4 mrow pitch at 15°
Solar forecast for Port-Vila, 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 Port-Vila
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Places near Port-Vila
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A free, live card for Port-Vila: 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.