Northern Region · Malawi · 11.02° S · 33.86° E
Solar position in Rumphi
Sun position, daylight and the best solar panel angle for Rumphi — computed for 11.02° S, 33.86° E, 1084 m above sea level.
The sun right now
Sun in Rumphi today
Saturday, 24 October 2026 · local time UTC+2
| Event | Time | Direction / height |
|---|---|---|
| Astronomical dawn | 04:03 | sun 18° below horizon |
| Nautical dawn | 04:29 | 12° below |
| Civil dawn | 04:54 | 6° below |
| Sunrise | 05:16 | 102° ESE |
| Golden hour ends | 05:44 | sun 6° up |
| Solar noon | 11:28 | 89.2° high |
| Golden hour starts | 17:13 | sun 6° up |
| Sunset | 17:41 | 258° WSW |
| Civil dusk | 18:03 | 6° below |
| Nautical dusk | 18:28 | 12° below |
| Astronomical dusk | 18:53 | 18° below |
| Day length | 12 h 26 min | |
Sun path diagram for Rumphi
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 55.6° at solar noon in Rumphi; on the December solstice only 77.6°. Sunrise swings from 66° ENE in June to 114° ESE in December — a 48° 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 | 05:35 | 11:55 | 18:15 | 12 h 40 min | 81.2° |
| February | 05:46 | 11:58 | 18:09 | 12 h 23 min | 89.5° |
| March | 05:48 | 11:51 | 17:54 | 12 h 06 min | 78.7° |
| April | 05:49 | 11:43 | 17:37 | 11 h 48 min | 67.1° |
| May | 05:53 | 11:41 | 17:28 | 11 h 34 min | 58.8° |
| June | 06:01 | 11:46 | 17:30 | 11 h 29 min | 55.6° |
| July | 06:04 | 11:51 | 17:38 | 11 h 34 min | 58.6° |
| August | 05:53 | 11:47 | 17:41 | 11 h 48 min | 66.9° |
| September | 05:34 | 11:37 | 17:40 | 12 h 06 min | 78.4° |
| October | 05:17 | 11:29 | 17:41 | 12 h 24 min | 89.7° |
| November | 05:10 | 11:30 | 17:50 | 12 h 40 min | 81.1° |
| December | 05:19 | 11:42 | 18:05 | 12 h 46 min | 77.6° |
A year of daylight in Rumphi
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 Rumphi
Fixed array facing north (azimuth 0°). Energy per kWp from NASA POWER monthly climate, including clouds, temperature and snow reflection.
13°collects the most energy over a year: 1692 kWh per kWp.
2°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 | January kWh/kWp/day | Best ÷ worst month |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0° | 1654 | 98% | 4.13 | 1.3× |
| 2° off-grid best | 1664 | 98% | 4.10 | 1.3× |
| 11° = latitude | 1691 | 100% | 3.94 | 1.4× |
| 13° year-round best | 1692 | 100% | 3.89 | 1.4× |
| 15° | 1692 | 100% | 3.84 | 1.4× |
| 30° | 1633 | 97% | 3.35 | 1.6× |
| 45° | 1483 | 88% | 2.71 | 1.9× |
| 60° | 1252 | 74% | 1.97 | 2.6× |
| 70° | 1067 | 63% | 1.49 | 3.3× |
| 90° | 719 | 42% | 1.16 | 3.7× |
A fixed array in Rumphi produces the most over a year at 13°. The design month for an off-grid system is January: at 2° it makes 4.10 kWh per kWp a day, 5% more than at 13°, and costs 2% of the yearly total. Why steep panels win winter.
Off-grid solar in Rumphi at 70°
Daily energy of 1 kWp by month. Bars: panels at 70°. Line: panels at 13° (year-round best).
| Month | Sun hours, flat | Sun hours at 70° | kWh/kWp/day at 70° | at 13° | Mean temp. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 5.14 | 1.86 | 1.49 | 3.89 | 23.0 °C |
| February | 5.33 | 2.32 | 1.89 | 4.15 | 22.9 °C |
| March | 5.38 | 3.08 | 2.53 | 4.35 | 22.7 °C |
| April | 5.29 | 4.02 | 3.34 | 4.52 | 21.8 °C |
| May | 5.18 | 4.99 | 4.17 | 4.67 | 20.3 °C |
| June | 4.96 | 5.36 | 4.51 | 4.61 | 18.7 °C |
| July | 5.05 | 5.22 | 4.40 | 4.66 | 18.5 °C |
| August | 5.75 | 4.96 | 4.14 | 5.08 | 20.6 °C |
| September | 6.51 | 4.10 | 3.38 | 5.40 | 23.3 °C |
| October | 6.80 | 2.82 | 2.28 | 5.29 | 25.7 °C |
| November | 6.51 | 1.88 | 1.49 | 4.84 | 26.2 °C |
| December | 5.60 | 1.73 | 1.38 | 4.16 | 24.2 °C |
| Year | 5.63 avg | 3.53 avg | 1067 kWh | 1692 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 860 Wp of panels at 70°, versus 300 Wp at 13°. Here the lower tilt is the better winter choice — the sun stays high enough. Size your own system.
Row spacing in Rumphi
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.
2.1 mrow pitch at 70°
2.3 mrow pitch at 13°
How Rumphi compares in Malawi
Against the other 22 places in Malawi with climate data, for a fixed array at its best angle.
7thof 23 places in Malawi for sunshine, shared: 5.63 peak sun hours a day on flat ground.
±0%solar energy a year compared with the average place in Malawi: 1,692 against 1,699 kWh per kWp.
−11 mindaylight on the longest day, compared with Lilongwe: 12 h 46 min against 12 h 57 min.
13°best year-round tilt here; across Malawi it runs from 12° in Karonga to 17° in Blantyre.
Of the 23 places in Malawi, Salima gets the most sun (5.72 peak sun hours a day) and Karonga and one other place the least (5.50); Rumphi ranks joint 7th. In its darkest month, December, 1 kWp of off-grid panels at 70° makes 1.38 kWh a day here, against 1.48 kWh on average in Malawi. The shortest day lasts 11 h 29 min, +11 min compared with Lilongwe.
Solar forecast for Rumphi, 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 Rumphi
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Places near Rumphi
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A free, live card for Rumphi: 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.