Solarposition.org

Western Cape · South Africa · 34.08° S · 18.82° E

Solar position in Somerset West

Sun position, daylight and the best solar panel angle for Somerset West — computed for 34.08° S, 18.82° E, 13 m above sea level.

Sunrise today05:52105° ESE
Sunset today19:05255° WSW
Best panel angle30°year-round, facing north
Off-grid angle60°best for the darkest month

The sun right now

Azimuth180.0°
Elevation67.8°
At solar noon, 12:29Open on the sun map

Sun in Somerset West today

Saturday, 24 October 2026 · local time UTC+2

EventTimeDirection / height
Astronomical dawn04:23sun 18° below horizon
Nautical dawn04:5512° below
Civil dawn05:266° below
Sunrise05:52105° ESE
Golden hour ends06:26sun 6° up
Solar noon12:2967.8° high
Golden hour starts18:32sun 6° up
Sunset19:05255° WSW
Civil dusk19:326° below
Nautical dusk20:0312° below
Astronomical dusk20:3518° below
Day length13 h 13 min

Sun path diagram for Somerset West

Where the sun stands in the sky: the centre is straight overhead, the outer ring is the horizon. Numbers mark local clock hours.

15°30°45°60°75°N30°60°E120°150°S210°240°W300°330°June solstice891011121314151617EquinoxDecember solstice678910111213141516171819Today
  • June solstice
  • Equinox
  • December solstice
  • Today

On the June solstice the sun reaches 32.5° at solar noon in Somerset West; on the December solstice only 79.4°. Sunrise swings from 62° ENE in June to 119° ESE in December — a 57° 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.

MonthSunriseSolar noonSunsetDay lengthNoon elevation
January05:5412:5519:5614 h 02 min75.8°
February06:2512:5819:3013 h 06 min66.4°
March06:4812:5118:5412 h 06 min55.6°
April07:1212:4318:1411 h 02 min44.0°
May07:3412:4117:4710 h 13 min35.7°
June07:5012:4617:429 h 53 min32.5°
July07:4512:5117:5710 h 12 min35.5°
August07:1712:4818:1911 h 02 min43.9°
September06:3512:3718:4012 h 05 min55.3°
October05:5512:2919:0313 h 07 min66.7°
November05:2912:3019:3214 h 03 min75.9°
December05:2912:4219:5514 h 26 min79.4°

A year of daylight in Somerset West

Each column is one day of 2026. Bright: sun above the horizon; soft: civil twilight; line: solar noon. Steps are daylight saving time changes.

00:0003:0006:0009:0012:0015:0018:0021:0000:00JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec

Best solar panel angle in Somerset West

Fixed array facing north (azimuth 0°). Energy per kWp from NASA POWER monthly climate, including clouds, temperature and snow reflection.

30°collects the most energy over a year: 1802 kWh per kWp.

60°gives the most in the darkest month — the one an off-grid system is sized for.

30%40%50%60%70%80%90%100%0°10°20°30°40°50°60°70°80°90°Best year-round 30°Best worst-month 60°70°Yearly energyWorst-month energy
  • Yearly energy
  • Worst-month energy
TiltkWh/kWp per yearShare of best yearJune kWh/kWp/dayBest ÷ worst month
0°159188%2.003.3×
15°175097%2.772.4×
30° year-round best1802100%3.361.8×
34° = latitude1798100%3.481.7×
45°174697%3.731.5×
60° off-grid best158788%3.861.3×
70°142979%3.811.5×
90°102157%3.392.5×

A fixed array in Somerset West produces the most over a year at 30°. The design month for an off-grid system is June: at 60° it makes 3.86 kWh per kWp a day, 15% more than at 30°, and costs 12% of the yearly total. Why steep panels win winter.

Off-grid solar in Somerset West at 70°

Daily energy of 1 kWp by month. Bars: panels at 70°. Line: panels at 30° (year-round best).

01234567January: 3.26 (70°)3.3JanFebruary: 3.92 (70°)3.9FebMarch: 4.43 (70°)4.4MarApril: 4.51 (70°)4.5AprMay: 3.94 (70°)3.9MayJune: 3.81 (70°)3.8JunJuly: 4.08 (70°)4.1JulAugust: 4.17 (70°)4.2AugSeptember: 4.29 (70°)4.3SepOctober: 4.04 (70°)4.0OctNovember: 3.45 (70°)3.4NovDecember: 3.09 (70°)3.1Dec30°
MonthSun hours, flatSun hours at 70°kWh/kWp/day at 70°at 30°Mean temp.
January8.093.933.265.9920.8 °C
February7.234.723.925.9421.1 °C
March5.825.304.435.4819.8 °C
April4.265.344.514.6717.7 °C
May3.004.633.943.6815.8 °C
June2.524.443.813.3613.7 °C
July2.804.744.083.6613.1 °C
August3.574.854.174.1413.0 °C
September4.895.024.294.9314.2 °C
October6.384.764.045.6116.0 °C
November7.584.103.455.9017.6 °C
December8.213.713.095.9619.6 °C
Year5.35 avg4.63 avg1429 kWh1802 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 380 Wp of panels at 70°, versus 350 Wp at 30°. Here the lower tilt is the better winter choice — the sun stays high enough. Size your own system.

Row spacing in Somerset West

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.

4.0 mrow pitch at 70°

3.5 mrow pitch at 30°

Row spacing calculator

How Somerset West compares in South Africa

Against the other 294 places in South Africa with climate data, for a fixed array at its best angle.

182ndof 295 places in South Africa for sunshine, shared: 5.35 peak sun hours a day on flat ground.

±0%solar energy a year compared with the average place in South Africa: 1,802 against 1,806 kWh per kWp.

+39 mindaylight on the longest day, compared with Johannesburg: 14 h 26 min against 13 h 47 min.

30°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); Somerset West ranks joint 182nd. In its darkest month, December, 1 kWp of off-grid panels at 70° makes 3.09 kWh a day here, against 2.42 kWh on average in South Africa. The shortest day lasts 9 h 53 min, −37 min compared with Johannesburg.

The sunniest places in South Africa

Solar forecast for Somerset West, next 48 hours

Expected output of 1 kWp at 70°, computed from the ICON-EU weather model of the Deutscher Wetterdienst (DWD), Europe.

Loading the latest forecast…

Questions about the sun in Somerset West

What is the best solar panel angle in Somerset West?
For a fixed array facing north, the best year-round tilt in Somerset West is 30°, worth about 1802 kWh per kWp a year. An off-grid system that has to get through June does better at about 60°.
What time is sunrise and sunset in Somerset West today?
On 24 October 2026 the sun rises at 05:52 and sets at 19:05 local time (UTC+2), giving 13 h 13 min of daylight. Solar noon is at 12:29.
How many peak sun hours does Somerset West get?
On a flat surface 5.4 hours a day averaged over the year, from 2.5 in June to 8.2 in December. Panels tilted at 70° receive 3.7 sun hours a day in December.
How high does the sun get in Somerset West?
At solar noon the sun stands 32.5° above the horizon on the June solstice and 79.4° on the December solstice.
Is Somerset West a good place for solar panels?
With 5.4 peak sun hours a day on flat ground, Somerset West ranks joint 182nd of 295 places in South Africa for sunshine. A 1 kWp array at the best angle (30°) makes about 1,802 kWh a year here, as much as the average place in South Africa.

Places near Somerset West

All places in South Africa

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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.