Selibe Phikwe · Botswana · 21.98° S · 27.84° E
Solar position in Selebi-Phikwe
Sun position, daylight and the best solar panel angle for Selebi-Phikwe — computed for 21.98° S, 27.84° E, 870 m above sea level.
The sun right now
Sun in Selebi-Phikwe today
Sunday, 25 October 2026 · local time UTC+2
| Event | Time | Direction / height |
|---|---|---|
| Astronomical dawn | 04:11 | sun 18° below horizon |
| Nautical dawn | 04:39 | 12° below |
| Civil dawn | 05:06 | 6° below |
| Sunrise | 05:29 | 103° ESE |
| Golden hour ends | 05:59 | sun 6° up |
| Solar noon | 11:52 | 80.2° high |
| Golden hour starts | 17:46 | sun 6° up |
| Sunset | 18:16 | 256° WSW |
| Civil dusk | 18:39 | 6° below |
| Nautical dusk | 19:06 | 12° below |
| Astronomical dusk | 19:34 | 18° below |
| Day length | 12 h 47 min | |
Sun path diagram for Selebi-Phikwe
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 44.6° at solar noon in Selebi-Phikwe; on the December solstice only 88.5°. 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.
| Month | Sunrise | Solar noon | Sunset | Day length | Noon elevation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 05:42 | 12:19 | 18:57 | 13 h 15 min | 87.9° |
| February | 06:01 | 12:22 | 18:42 | 12 h 41 min | 78.5° |
| March | 06:12 | 12:15 | 18:18 | 12 h 06 min | 67.7° |
| April | 06:23 | 12:07 | 17:51 | 11 h 28 min | 56.1° |
| May | 06:35 | 12:05 | 17:34 | 10 h 59 min | 47.8° |
| June | 06:46 | 12:10 | 17:34 | 10 h 47 min | 44.6° |
| July | 06:45 | 12:15 | 17:44 | 10 h 59 min | 47.6° |
| August | 06:28 | 12:11 | 17:55 | 11 h 28 min | 56.0° |
| September | 05:59 | 12:01 | 18:04 | 12 h 05 min | 67.4° |
| October | 05:32 | 11:53 | 18:14 | 12 h 42 min | 78.8° |
| November | 05:16 | 11:54 | 18:32 | 13 h 15 min | 88.0° |
| December | 05:22 | 12:06 | 18:51 | 13 h 29 min | 88.5° |
A year of daylight in Selebi-Phikwe
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 Selebi-Phikwe
Fixed array facing north (azimuth 0°). Energy per kWp from NASA POWER monthly climate, including clouds, temperature and snow reflection.
24°collects the most energy over a year: 1814 kWh per kWp.
20°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 | December kWh/kWp/day | Best ÷ worst month |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0° | 1675 | 92% | 5.14 | 1.6× |
| 15° | 1794 | 99% | 4.84 | 1.2× |
| 20° off-grid best | 1810 | 100% | 4.67 | 1.2× |
| 22° = latitude | 1813 | 100% | 4.60 | 1.2× |
| 24° year-round best | 1814 | 100% | 4.52 | 1.2× |
| 30° | 1805 | 100% | 4.27 | 1.3× |
| 45° | 1708 | 94% | 3.47 | 1.6× |
| 60° | 1511 | 83% | 2.53 | 2.1× |
| 70° | 1332 | 73% | 1.89 | 2.7× |
| 90° | 922 | 51% | 1.09 | 4.3× |
A fixed array in Selebi-Phikwe produces the most over a year at 24°. The design month for an off-grid system is December: at 20° it makes 4.67 kWh per kWp a day, 3% more than at 24°, and costs 0% of the yearly total. Why steep panels win winter.
Off-grid solar in Selebi-Phikwe at 70°
Daily energy of 1 kWp by month. Bars: panels at 70°. Line: panels at 24° (year-round best).
| Month | Sun hours, flat | Sun hours at 70° | kWh/kWp/day at 70° | at 24° | Mean temp. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 6.80 | 2.56 | 2.06 | 4.82 | 26.1 °C |
| February | 6.40 | 3.25 | 2.64 | 4.89 | 25.6 °C |
| March | 5.87 | 4.10 | 3.36 | 4.92 | 24.5 °C |
| April | 5.14 | 4.98 | 4.14 | 4.85 | 22.1 °C |
| May | 4.80 | 6.13 | 5.15 | 5.13 | 18.9 °C |
| June | 4.25 | 6.07 | 5.16 | 4.82 | 16.1 °C |
| July | 4.46 | 6.05 | 5.16 | 4.96 | 15.5 °C |
| August | 5.27 | 5.87 | 4.93 | 5.33 | 18.7 °C |
| September | 6.07 | 4.93 | 4.08 | 5.41 | 22.5 °C |
| October | 6.56 | 3.66 | 2.99 | 5.18 | 25.3 °C |
| November | 6.61 | 2.70 | 2.17 | 4.79 | 26.2 °C |
| December | 6.46 | 2.36 | 1.89 | 4.52 | 26.4 °C |
| Year | 5.72 avg | 4.39 avg | 1332 kWh | 1814 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 620 Wp of panels at 70°, versus 260 Wp at 24°. Here the lower tilt is the better winter choice — the sun stays high enough. Size your own system.
Row spacing in Selebi-Phikwe
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.
2.8 mrow pitch at 70°
2.7 mrow pitch at 24°
How Selebi-Phikwe compares in Botswana
Against the other 24 places in Botswana with climate data, for a fixed array at its best angle.
24thof 25 places in Botswana for sunshine: 5.72 peak sun hours a day on flat ground.
−4%solar energy a year compared with the average place in Botswana: 1,814 against 1,888 kWh per kWp.
−11 mindaylight on the longest day, compared with Gaborone: 13 h 29 min against 13 h 40 min.
24°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); Selebi-Phikwe ranks 24th. In its darkest month, December, 1 kWp of off-grid panels at 70° makes 1.89 kWh a day here, against 2.02 kWh on average in Botswana. The shortest day lasts 10 h 47 min, +11 min compared with Gaborone.
Solar forecast for Selebi-Phikwe, 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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A free, live card for Selebi-Phikwe: 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.