Solarposition.org

Limpopo · South Africa · 22.95° S · 30.48° E

Solar position in Thohoyandou

Sun position, daylight and the best solar panel angle for Thohoyandou — computed for 22.95° S, 30.48° E, 724 m above sea level.

Sunrise today05:18103° ESE
Sunset today18:06257° WSW
Best panel angle24°year-round, facing north
Off-grid angle23°best for the darkest month

The sun right now

Azimuth180.0°
Elevation78.9°
At solar noon, 11:42Open on the sun map

Sun in Thohoyandou today

Saturday, 24 October 2026 · local time UTC+2

EventTimeDirection / height
Astronomical dawn04:00sun 18° below horizon
Nautical dawn04:2812° below
Civil dawn04:556° below
Sunrise05:18103° ESE
Golden hour ends05:48sun 6° up
Solar noon11:4278.9° high
Golden hour starts17:36sun 6° up
Sunset18:06257° WSW
Civil dusk18:296° below
Nautical dusk18:5612° below
Astronomical dusk19:2418° below
Day length12 h 48 min

Sun path diagram for Thohoyandou

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 solstice7891011121314151617EquinoxDecember solstice6789101112131415161718Today
  • June solstice
  • Equinox
  • December solstice
  • Today

On the June solstice the sun reaches 43.6° at solar noon in Thohoyandou; on the December solstice only 89.5°. 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.

MonthSunriseSolar noonSunsetDay lengthNoon elevation
January05:3012:0918:4813 h 18 min86.9°
February05:4912:1118:3312 h 43 min77.5°
March06:0212:0518:0812 h 06 min66.7°
April06:1311:5617:3911 h 26 min55.1°
May06:2611:5417:2210 h 56 min46.8°
June06:3811:5917:2110 h 43 min43.6°
July06:3612:0417:3210 h 55 min46.6°
August06:1812:0117:4411 h 26 min55.0°
September05:4811:5117:5312 h 05 min66.4°
October05:2011:4218:0412 h 44 min77.8°
November05:0411:4318:2313 h 19 min87.0°
December05:0911:5618:4213 h 33 min89.5°

A year of daylight in Thohoyandou

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 Thohoyandou

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: 1682 kWh per kWp.

23°gives the most in the darkest month — the one an off-grid system is sized for.

20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%100%0°10°20°30°40°50°60°70°80°90°Best year-round 24°Best worst-month 23°70°Yearly energyWorst-month energy
  • Yearly energy
  • Worst-month energy
TiltkWh/kWp per yearShare of best yearDecember kWh/kWp/dayBest ÷ worst month
0°155192%4.921.6×
15°166299%4.661.2×
23° off-grid best = latitude1681100%4.411.1×
24° year-round best1682100%4.371.1×
30°1675100%4.141.2×
45°158995%3.401.5×
60°141284%2.532.0×
70°125174%1.922.5×
90°87552%1.103.8×

A fixed array in Thohoyandou produces the most over a year at 24°. The design month for an off-grid system is December: at 23° it makes 4.41 kWh per kWp a day, and costs 0% of the yearly total. Why steep panels win winter.

Off-grid solar in Thohoyandou at 70°

Daily energy of 1 kWp by month. Bars: panels at 70°. Line: panels at 24° (year-round best).

0123456January: 2.11 (70°)2.1JanFebruary: 2.65 (70°)2.6FebMarch: 3.23 (70°)3.2MarApril: 3.77 (70°)3.8AprMay: 4.72 (70°)4.7MayJune: 4.73 (70°)4.7JunJuly: 4.73 (70°)4.7JulAugust: 4.50 (70°)4.5AugSeptember: 3.77 (70°)3.8SepOctober: 2.82 (70°)2.8OctNovember: 2.15 (70°)2.1NovDecember: 1.92 (70°)1.9Dec24°
MonthSun hours, flatSun hours at 70°kWh/kWp/day at 70°at 24°Mean temp.
January6.292.632.114.5425.7 °C
February6.083.262.654.6925.5 °C
March5.513.933.234.6224.4 °C
April4.714.543.774.4122.2 °C
May4.435.634.724.7019.6 °C
June3.935.584.734.4217.0 °C
July4.115.574.734.5416.5 °C
August4.815.364.504.8519.1 °C
September5.514.543.774.9322.0 °C
October5.883.442.824.7024.2 °C
November6.152.662.154.5125.4 °C
December6.172.391.924.3725.9 °C
Year5.29 avg4.13 avg1251 kWh1682 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 270 Wp at 24°. Here the lower tilt is the better winter choice — the sun stays high enough. Size your own system.

Row spacing in Thohoyandou

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.

2.9 mrow pitch at 70°

2.8 mrow pitch at 24°

Row spacing calculator

How Thohoyandou compares in South Africa

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

193rdof 295 places in South Africa for sunshine, shared: 5.30 peak sun hours a day on flat ground.

−7%solar energy a year compared with the average place in South Africa: 1,682 against 1,806 kWh per kWp.

−14 mindaylight on the longest day, compared with Johannesburg: 13 h 33 min against 13 h 47 min.

24°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); Thohoyandou ranks joint 193rd. In its darkest month, December, 1 kWp of off-grid panels at 70° makes 1.92 kWh a day here, against 2.42 kWh on average in South Africa. The shortest day lasts 10 h 43 min, +14 min compared with Johannesburg.

The sunniest places in South Africa

Solar forecast for Thohoyandou, 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 Thohoyandou

What is the best solar panel angle in Thohoyandou?
For a fixed array facing north, the best year-round tilt in Thohoyandou is 24°, worth about 1682 kWh per kWp a year. An off-grid system that has to get through December does better at about 23°.
What time is sunrise and sunset in Thohoyandou today?
On 24 October 2026 the sun rises at 05:18 and sets at 18:06 local time (UTC+2), giving 12 h 48 min of daylight. Solar noon is at 11:42.
How many peak sun hours does Thohoyandou get?
On a flat surface 5.3 hours a day averaged over the year, from 3.9 in June to 6.3 in January. Panels tilted at 70° receive 2.4 sun hours a day in December.
How high does the sun get in Thohoyandou?
At solar noon the sun stands 43.6° above the horizon on the June solstice and 89.5° on the December solstice.
Is Thohoyandou a good place for solar panels?
With 5.3 peak sun hours a day on flat ground, Thohoyandou ranks joint 193rd of 295 places in South Africa for sunshine. A 1 kWp array at the best angle (24°) makes about 1,682 kWh a year here, 7% less than the average place in South Africa.

Places near Thohoyandou

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.