Northern Cape · South Africa · 28.33° S · 23.07° E
Solar position in Postmasburg
Sun position, daylight and the best solar panel angle for Postmasburg — computed for 28.33° S, 23.07° E, 1305 m above sea level.
The sun right now
Sun in Postmasburg today
Saturday, 24 October 2026 · local time UTC+2
| Event | Time | Direction / height |
|---|---|---|
| Astronomical dawn | 04:19 | sun 18° below horizon |
| Nautical dawn | 04:49 | 12° below |
| Civil dawn | 05:18 | 6° below |
| Sunrise | 05:42 | 104° ESE |
| Golden hour ends | 06:14 | sun 6° up |
| Solar noon | 12:12 | 73.5° high |
| Golden hour starts | 18:10 | sun 6° up |
| Sunset | 18:41 | 256° WSW |
| Civil dusk | 19:06 | 6° below |
| Nautical dusk | 19:35 | 12° below |
| Astronomical dusk | 20:04 | 18° below |
| Day length | 13 h 00 min | |
Sun path diagram for Postmasburg
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 38.2° at solar noon in Postmasburg; on the December solstice only 85.1°. Sunrise swings from 64° ENE in June to 117° 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 | 05:49 | 12:38 | 19:27 | 13 h 38 min | 81.5° |
| February | 06:14 | 12:41 | 19:07 | 12 h 53 min | 72.1° |
| March | 06:31 | 12:34 | 18:37 | 12 h 06 min | 61.3° |
| April | 06:48 | 12:26 | 18:03 | 11 h 15 min | 49.7° |
| May | 07:05 | 12:24 | 17:42 | 10 h 37 min | 41.4° |
| June | 07:19 | 12:29 | 17:39 | 10 h 20 min | 38.2° |
| July | 07:16 | 12:34 | 17:52 | 10 h 36 min | 41.3° |
| August | 06:53 | 12:31 | 18:08 | 11 h 15 min | 49.6° |
| September | 06:18 | 12:20 | 18:23 | 12 h 05 min | 61.1° |
| October | 05:45 | 12:12 | 18:39 | 12 h 55 min | 72.4° |
| November | 05:24 | 12:13 | 19:03 | 13 h 39 min | 81.6° |
| December | 05:27 | 12:25 | 19:24 | 13 h 57 min | 85.1° |
A year of daylight in Postmasburg
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 Postmasburg
Fixed array facing north (azimuth 0°). Energy per kWp from NASA POWER monthly climate, including clouds, temperature and snow reflection.
29°collects the most energy over a year: 2008 kWh per kWp.
34°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° | 1786 | 89% | 3.07 | 2.1× |
| 15° | 1958 | 97% | 4.19 | 1.5× |
| 28° = latitude | 2008 | 100% | 4.93 | 1.2× |
| 29° year-round best | 2008 | 100% | 4.98 | 1.2× |
| 30° | 2008 | 100% | 5.02 | 1.2× |
| 34° off-grid best | 2000 | 100% | 5.19 | 1.2× |
| 45° | 1935 | 96% | 5.52 | 1.3× |
| 60° | 1746 | 87% | 5.66 | 1.8× |
| 70° | 1563 | 78% | 5.55 | 2.3× |
| 90° | 1102 | 55% | 4.84 | 4.9× |
A fixed array in Postmasburg produces the most over a year at 29°. The design month for an off-grid system is June: at 34° it makes 5.19 kWh per kWp a day, 4% more than at 29°, and costs 0% of the yearly total. Why steep panels win winter.
Off-grid solar in Postmasburg at 70°
Daily energy of 1 kWp by month. Bars: panels at 70°. Line: panels at 29° (year-round best).
| Month | Sun hours, flat | Sun hours at 70° | kWh/kWp/day at 70° | at 29° | Mean temp. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 7.80 | 3.24 | 2.62 | 5.44 | 26.3 °C |
| February | 6.96 | 3.99 | 3.26 | 5.39 | 25.4 °C |
| March | 6.19 | 4.97 | 4.10 | 5.46 | 23.2 °C |
| April | 5.01 | 5.65 | 4.76 | 5.20 | 18.6 °C |
| May | 4.22 | 6.26 | 5.34 | 5.10 | 14.6 °C |
| June | 3.76 | 6.40 | 5.55 | 4.98 | 10.6 °C |
| July | 4.09 | 6.67 | 5.79 | 5.30 | 10.3 °C |
| August | 4.99 | 6.51 | 5.60 | 5.70 | 12.5 °C |
| September | 6.18 | 5.81 | 4.92 | 5.97 | 17.0 °C |
| October | 7.24 | 4.68 | 3.90 | 5.98 | 20.8 °C |
| November | 8.09 | 3.63 | 2.98 | 5.87 | 23.2 °C |
| December | 8.29 | 3.08 | 2.49 | 5.62 | 25.5 °C |
| Year | 6.07 avg | 5.08 avg | 1563 kWh | 2008 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 470 Wp of panels at 70°, versus 240 Wp at 29°. Here the lower tilt is the better winter choice — the sun stays high enough. Size your own system.
Row spacing in Postmasburg
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.
3.4 mrow pitch at 70°
3.1 mrow pitch at 29°
How Postmasburg compares in South Africa
Against the other 294 places in South Africa with climate data, for a fixed array at its best angle.
2ndof 295 places in South Africa for sunshine: 6.07 peak sun hours a day on flat ground.
+11%solar energy a year compared with the average place in South Africa: 2,008 against 1,806 kWh per kWp.
+10 mindaylight on the longest day, compared with Johannesburg: 13 h 57 min against 13 h 47 min.
29°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); Postmasburg ranks 2nd. In its darkest month, December, 1 kWp of off-grid panels at 70° makes 2.49 kWh a day here, against 2.42 kWh on average in South Africa. The shortest day lasts 10 h 20 min, −9 min compared with Johannesburg.
Solar forecast for Postmasburg, 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 Postmasburg
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Places near Postmasburg
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A free, live card for Postmasburg: 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.