Lesotho · 29.52° S · 28.61° E
Solar position in Thaba-Tseka
Sun position, daylight and the best solar panel angle for Thaba-Tseka — computed for 29.52° S, 28.61° E, 2230 m above sea level.
The sun right now
Sun in Thaba-Tseka today
Saturday, 24 October 2026 · local time UTC+2
| Event | Time | Direction / height |
|---|---|---|
| Astronomical dawn | 03:55 | sun 18° below horizon |
| Nautical dawn | 04:25 | 12° below |
| Civil dawn | 04:54 | 6° below |
| Sunrise | 05:18 | 104° ESE |
| Golden hour ends | 05:50 | sun 6° up |
| Solar noon | 11:49 | 72.3° high |
| Golden hour starts | 17:48 | sun 6° up |
| Sunset | 18:21 | 256° WSW |
| Civil dusk | 18:45 | 6° below |
| Nautical dusk | 19:15 | 12° below |
| Astronomical dusk | 19:45 | 18° below |
| Day length | 13 h 02 min | |
Sun path diagram for Thaba-Tseka
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 37.1° at solar noon in Thaba-Tseka; on the December solstice only 83.9°. Sunrise swings from 63° ENE in June to 118° 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 | 05:25 | 12:16 | 19:08 | 13 h 43 min | 80.3° |
| February | 05:50 | 12:19 | 18:46 | 12 h 56 min | 71.0° |
| March | 06:09 | 12:12 | 18:15 | 12 h 06 min | 60.2° |
| April | 06:27 | 12:04 | 17:40 | 11 h 13 min | 48.6° |
| May | 06:46 | 12:02 | 17:18 | 10 h 32 min | 40.3° |
| June | 06:59 | 12:07 | 17:14 | 10 h 15 min | 37.1° |
| July | 06:56 | 12:12 | 17:27 | 10 h 31 min | 40.1° |
| August | 06:32 | 12:08 | 17:45 | 11 h 12 min | 48.5° |
| September | 05:56 | 11:58 | 18:01 | 12 h 05 min | 59.9° |
| October | 05:21 | 11:50 | 18:19 | 12 h 57 min | 71.3° |
| November | 04:59 | 11:51 | 18:43 | 13 h 43 min | 80.4° |
| December | 05:02 | 12:03 | 19:04 | 14 h 03 min | 83.9° |
A year of daylight in Thaba-Tseka
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 Thaba-Tseka
Fixed array facing north (azimuth 0°). Energy per kWp from NASA POWER monthly climate, including clouds, temperature and snow reflection.
31°collects the most energy over a year: 1904 kWh per kWp.
32°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 | April kWh/kWp/day | Best ÷ worst month |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0° | 1665 | 87% | 3.85 | 2.0× |
| 15° | 1840 | 97% | 4.52 | 1.4× |
| 30° = latitude | 1904 | 100% | 4.91 | 1.2× |
| 31° year-round best | 1904 | 100% | 4.92 | 1.2× |
| 32° off-grid best | 1904 | 100% | 4.94 | 1.2× |
| 45° | 1854 | 97% | 5.00 | 1.4× |
| 60° | 1694 | 89% | 4.79 | 1.8× |
| 70° | 1533 | 81% | 4.48 | 2.3× |
| 90° | 1116 | 59% | 3.51 | 3.9× |
A fixed array in Thaba-Tseka produces the most over a year at 31°. The design month for an off-grid system is April: at 32° it makes 4.94 kWh per kWp a day, and costs 0% of the yearly total. Why steep panels win winter.
Off-grid solar in Thaba-Tseka at 70°
Daily energy of 1 kWp by month. Bars: panels at 70°. Line: panels at 31° (year-round best).
| Month | Sun hours, flat | Sun hours at 70° | kWh/kWp/day at 70° | at 31° | Mean temp. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 6.86 | 3.22 | 2.70 | 5.01 | 17.0 °C |
| February | 6.30 | 3.81 | 3.23 | 5.06 | 16.2 °C |
| March | 5.58 | 4.53 | 3.87 | 5.07 | 14.4 °C |
| April | 4.61 | 5.16 | 4.48 | 4.92 | 10.9 °C |
| May | 3.98 | 5.96 | 5.23 | 5.03 | 7.6 °C |
| June | 3.61 | 6.30 | 5.60 | 5.05 | 4.5 °C |
| July | 3.92 | 6.55 | 5.82 | 5.36 | 4.4 °C |
| August | 4.64 | 6.13 | 5.40 | 5.51 | 6.8 °C |
| September | 5.77 | 5.52 | 4.79 | 5.76 | 10.8 °C |
| October | 6.41 | 4.31 | 3.69 | 5.45 | 13.6 °C |
| November | 7.06 | 3.48 | 2.95 | 5.32 | 14.9 °C |
| December | 7.11 | 3.08 | 2.58 | 5.06 | 16.5 °C |
| Year | 5.48 avg | 4.84 avg | 1533 kWh | 1904 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 460 Wp of panels at 70°, versus 240 Wp at 31°. Here the lower tilt is the better winter choice — the sun stays high enough. Size your own system.
Row spacing in Thaba-Tseka
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.
3.5 mrow pitch at 70°
3.2 mrow pitch at 31°
How Thaba-Tseka compares in Lesotho
Against the other 10 places in Lesotho with climate data, for a fixed array at its best angle.
10thof 11 places in Lesotho for sunshine: 5.48 peak sun hours a day on flat ground.
−1%solar energy a year compared with the average place in Lesotho: 1,904 against 1,916 kWh per kWp.
+1 mindaylight on the longest day, compared with Maseru: 14 h 03 min against 14 h 02 min.
31°best year-round tilt here; across Lesotho it runs from 30° in Maseru to 31° in Quthing.
Of the 11 places in Lesotho, Mafeteng and one other place get the most sun (5.68 peak sun hours a day) and Qacha’s Nek the least (5.35); Thaba-Tseka ranks 10th. In its darkest month, December, 1 kWp of off-grid panels at 70° makes 2.59 kWh a day here, against 2.59 kWh on average in Lesotho. The shortest day lasts 10 h 15 min, −1 min compared with Maseru.
Solar forecast for Thaba-Tseka, 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 Thaba-Tseka: 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.