Solarposition.org

Bas-Congo · Democratic Republic of the Congo · 5.00° S · 12.95° E

Solar position in Tshela

Sun position, daylight and the best solar panel angle for Tshela — computed for 5.00° S, 12.95° E, 163 m above sea level.

Sunrise today05:44102° ESE
Sunset today18:00258° WSW
Best panel angle4°year-round, facing north
Off-grid angle7°best for the darkest month

The sun right now

Azimuth180.0°
Elevation83.2°
At solar noon, 11:52Open on the sun map

Sun in Tshela today

Saturday, 24 October 2026 · local time UTC+1

EventTimeDirection / height
Astronomical dawn04:34sun 18° below horizon
Nautical dawn04:5812° below
Civil dawn05:236° below
Sunrise05:44102° ESE
Golden hour ends06:12sun 6° up
Solar noon11:5283.2° high
Golden hour starts17:31sun 6° up
Sunset18:00258° WSW
Civil dusk18:216° below
Nautical dusk18:4512° below
Astronomical dusk19:1018° below
Day length12 h 15 min

Sun path diagram for Tshela

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 solstice789101112131415161718Today
  • June solstice
  • Equinox
  • December solstice
  • Today

On the June solstice the sun reaches 61.6° at solar noon in Tshela; on the December solstice only 71.6°. Sunrise swings from 67° ENE in June to 114° ESE in December — a 47° 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
January06:0812:1918:3012 h 22 min75.2°
February06:1412:2118:2812 h 14 min84.5°
March06:1212:1518:1812 h 06 min84.7°
April06:0712:0618:0511 h 58 min73.1°
May06:0812:0418:0011 h 52 min64.8°
June06:1512:1018:0511 h 50 min61.6°
July06:1812:1418:1011 h 52 min64.6°
August06:1212:1118:1011 h 58 min73.0°
September05:5812:0118:0412 h 06 min84.4°
October05:4511:5218:0012 h 14 min84.2°
November05:4311:5418:0412 h 22 min75.0°
December05:5312:0618:1812 h 25 min71.6°

A year of daylight in Tshela

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 Tshela

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

4°collects the most energy over a year: 1180 kWh per kWp.

7°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 4°Best worst-month 7°70°Yearly energyWorst-month energy
  • Yearly energy
  • Worst-month energy
TiltkWh/kWp per yearShare of best yearSeptember kWh/kWp/dayBest ÷ worst month
0°1178100%2.641.5×
4° year-round best1180100%2.651.5×
5° = latitude1180100%2.651.5×
7° off-grid best1179100%2.651.5×
15°116399%2.631.5×
30°108992%2.501.5×
45°96181%2.251.7×
60°79167%1.892.1×
70°66957%1.612.2×
90°46940%0.982.0×

A fixed array in Tshela produces the most over a year at 4°. The design month for an off-grid system is September: at 7° it makes 2.65 kWh per kWp a day, and costs 0% of the yearly total. Why steep panels win winter.

Off-grid solar in Tshela at 70°

Daily energy of 1 kWp by month. Bars: panels at 70°. Line: panels at 4° (year-round best).

012345January: 1.23 (70°)1.2JanFebruary: 1.54 (70°)1.5FebMarch: 2.12 (70°)2.1MarApril: 2.56 (70°)2.6AprMay: 2.51 (70°)2.5MayJune: 2.41 (70°)2.4JunJuly: 2.31 (70°)2.3JulAugust: 1.99 (70°)2.0AugSeptember: 1.61 (70°)1.6SepOctober: 1.34 (70°)1.3OctNovember: 1.19 (70°)1.2NovDecember: 1.16 (70°)1.2Dec4°
MonthSun hours, flatSun hours at 70°kWh/kWp/day at 70°at 4°Mean temp.
January4.661.561.233.6425.4 °C
February4.761.931.543.7525.8 °C
March5.072.632.124.0425.8 °C
April4.653.152.563.7525.6 °C
May3.883.092.513.1425.3 °C
June3.472.952.412.8224.0 °C
July3.432.822.312.7923.5 °C
August3.382.461.992.7224.2 °C
September3.342.011.612.6525.8 °C
October3.601.691.342.8326.1 °C
November4.351.521.193.4125.3 °C
December4.251.481.163.3125.1 °C
Year4.07 avg2.28 avg669 kWh1180 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 1,020 Wp of panels at 70°, versus 450 Wp at 4°. Here the lower tilt is the better winter choice — the sun stays high enough. Size your own system.

Row spacing in Tshela

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.

1.8 mrow pitch at 70°

2.1 mrow pitch at 4°

Row spacing calculator

How Tshela compares in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

Against the other 113 places in the Democratic Republic of the Congo with climate data, for a fixed array at its best angle.

114thof 114 places in the Democratic Republic of the Congo for sunshine: 4.07 peak sun hours a day on flat ground.

−19%solar energy a year compared with the average place in the Democratic Republic of the Congo: 1,180 against 1,465 kWh per kWp.

+2 mindaylight on the longest day, compared with Kinshasa: 12 h 25 min against 12 h 23 min.

4°best year-round tilt here; across the Democratic Republic of the Congo it runs from 0° in Boende to 17° in Lubumbashi.

Tshela gets the least sun of the 114 places in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (4.07 peak sun hours a day); the sunniest is Mokambo with 5.73. In its darkest month, December, 1 kWp of off-grid panels at 70° makes 1.16 kWh a day here, against 1.20 kWh on average in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The shortest day lasts 11 h 50 min, −2 min compared with Kinshasa.

The sunniest places in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

Solar forecast for Tshela, 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 Tshela

What is the best solar panel angle in Tshela?
For a fixed array facing north, the best year-round tilt in Tshela is 4°, worth about 1180 kWh per kWp a year. An off-grid system that has to get through September does better at about 7°.
What time is sunrise and sunset in Tshela today?
On 24 October 2026 the sun rises at 05:44 and sets at 18:00 local time (UTC+1), giving 12 h 15 min of daylight. Solar noon is at 11:52.
How many peak sun hours does Tshela get?
On a flat surface 4.1 hours a day averaged over the year, from 3.3 in September to 5.1 in March. Panels tilted at 70° receive 1.5 sun hours a day in December.
How high does the sun get in Tshela?
At solar noon the sun stands 61.6° above the horizon on the June solstice and 71.6° on the December solstice.
Is Tshela a good place for solar panels?
With 4.1 peak sun hours a day on flat ground, Tshela ranks 114th of 114 places in the Democratic Republic of the Congo for sunshine. A 1 kWp array at the best angle (4°) makes about 1,180 kWh a year here, 19% less than the average place in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Places near Tshela

All places in Democratic Republic of the Congo

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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.