Luapula Province · Zambia · 11.36° S · 29.56° E
Solar position in Samfya
Sun position, daylight and the best solar panel angle for Samfya — computed for 11.36° S, 29.56° E, 1183 m above sea level.
The sun right now
Sun in Samfya today
Saturday, 24 October 2026 · local time UTC+2
| Event | Time | Direction / height |
|---|---|---|
| Astronomical dawn | 04:20 | sun 18° below horizon |
| Nautical dawn | 04:46 | 12° below |
| Civil dawn | 05:11 | 6° below |
| Sunrise | 05:32 | 102° ESE |
| Golden hour ends | 06:01 | sun 6° up |
| Solar noon | 11:45 | 89.5° high |
| Golden hour starts | 17:30 | sun 6° up |
| Sunset | 17:59 | 258° WSW |
| Civil dusk | 18:20 | 6° below |
| Nautical dusk | 18:46 | 12° below |
| Astronomical dusk | 19:11 | 18° below |
| Day length | 12 h 26 min | |
Sun path diagram for Samfya
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 55.2° at solar noon in Samfya; on the December solstice only 77.9°. 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 | 05:52 | 12:13 | 18:33 | 12 h 41 min | 81.5° |
| February | 06:03 | 12:15 | 18:27 | 12 h 24 min | 89.1° |
| March | 06:05 | 12:08 | 18:11 | 12 h 06 min | 78.3° |
| April | 06:06 | 12:00 | 17:54 | 11 h 47 min | 66.7° |
| May | 06:11 | 11:58 | 17:44 | 11 h 33 min | 58.4° |
| June | 06:19 | 12:03 | 17:47 | 11 h 28 min | 55.2° |
| July | 06:21 | 12:08 | 17:54 | 11 h 33 min | 58.2° |
| August | 06:11 | 12:05 | 17:58 | 11 h 47 min | 66.6° |
| September | 05:52 | 11:54 | 17:57 | 12 h 06 min | 78.0° |
| October | 05:34 | 11:46 | 17:58 | 12 h 24 min | 89.4° |
| November | 05:27 | 11:47 | 18:08 | 12 h 41 min | 81.4° |
| December | 05:35 | 11:59 | 18:23 | 12 h 48 min | 77.9° |
A year of daylight in Samfya
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 Samfya
Fixed array facing north (azimuth 0°). Energy per kWp from NASA POWER monthly climate, including clouds, temperature and snow reflection.
16°collects the most energy over a year: 1782 kWh per kWp.
0°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° off-grid best | 1722 | 97% | 4.21 | 1.3× |
| 11° = latitude | 1775 | 100% | 4.02 | 1.4× |
| 15° | 1781 | 100% | 3.93 | 1.4× |
| 16° year-round best | 1782 | 100% | 3.90 | 1.4× |
| 30° | 1738 | 98% | 3.44 | 1.7× |
| 45° | 1594 | 90% | 2.79 | 2.2× |
| 60° | 1363 | 77% | 2.04 | 3.0× |
| 70° | 1172 | 66% | 1.56 | 3.7× |
| 90° | 797 | 45% | 1.20 | 4.2× |
A fixed array in Samfya produces the most over a year at 16°. The design month for an off-grid system is January: at 0° it makes 4.21 kWh per kWp a day, 8% more than at 16°, and costs 3% of the yearly total. Why steep panels win winter.
Off-grid solar in Samfya at 70°
Daily energy of 1 kWp by month. Bars: panels at 70°. Line: panels at 16° (year-round best).
| Month | Sun hours, flat | Sun hours at 70° | kWh/kWp/day at 70° | at 16° | Mean temp. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 5.21 | 1.93 | 1.56 | 3.90 | 21.6 °C |
| February | 5.42 | 2.40 | 1.96 | 4.19 | 21.8 °C |
| March | 5.54 | 3.17 | 2.62 | 4.49 | 21.8 °C |
| April | 5.72 | 4.41 | 3.67 | 4.96 | 21.1 °C |
| May | 5.75 | 5.77 | 4.85 | 5.37 | 19.4 °C |
| June | 5.53 | 6.30 | 5.33 | 5.38 | 17.6 °C |
| July | 5.65 | 6.12 | 5.18 | 5.42 | 17.6 °C |
| August | 6.15 | 5.41 | 4.53 | 5.53 | 20.4 °C |
| September | 6.64 | 4.21 | 3.47 | 5.50 | 23.8 °C |
| October | 6.80 | 2.89 | 2.33 | 5.22 | 26.4 °C |
| November | 6.27 | 1.95 | 1.56 | 4.61 | 25.1 °C |
| December | 5.40 | 1.77 | 1.42 | 3.97 | 22.3 °C |
| Year | 5.84 avg | 3.87 avg | 1172 kWh | 1782 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 830 Wp of panels at 70°, versus 300 Wp at 16°. Here the lower tilt is the better winter choice — the sun stays high enough. Size your own system.
Row spacing in Samfya
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.
2.2 mrow pitch at 70°
2.4 mrow pitch at 16°
How Samfya compares in Zambia
Against the other 76 places in Zambia with climate data, for a fixed array at its best angle.
5thof 77 places in Zambia for sunshine, shared: 5.84 peak sun hours a day on flat ground.
+1%solar energy a year compared with the average place in Zambia: 1,782 against 1,761 kWh per kWp.
−15 mindaylight on the longest day, compared with Lusaka: 12 h 48 min against 13 h 03 min.
16°best year-round tilt here; across Zambia it runs from 13° in Nakonde to 21° in Livingstone.
Of the 77 places in Zambia, Sesheke gets the most sun (5.94 peak sun hours a day) and Mwinilunga the least (5.48); Samfya ranks joint 5th. In its darkest month, December, 1 kWp of off-grid panels at 70° makes 1.42 kWh a day here, against 1.53 kWh on average in Zambia. The shortest day lasts 11 h 28 min, +15 min compared with Lusaka.
Solar forecast for Samfya, 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 Samfya
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Places near Samfya
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A free, live card for Samfya: 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.