Kolda · Senegal · 13.15° N · 14.12° W
Solar position in Vélingara
Sun position, daylight and the best solar panel angle for Vélingara — computed for 13.15° N, 14.12° W, 50 m above sea level.
The sun right now
Sun in Vélingara today
Saturday, 24 October 2026 · local time UTC
| Event | Time | Direction / height |
|---|---|---|
| Astronomical dawn | 05:36 | sun 18° below horizon |
| Nautical dawn | 06:01 | 12° below |
| Civil dawn | 06:26 | 6° below |
| Sunrise | 06:48 | 102° ESE |
| Golden hour ends | 07:17 | sun 6° up |
| Solar noon | 12:40 | 65.0° high |
| Golden hour starts | 18:03 | sun 6° up |
| Sunset | 18:32 | 258° WSW |
| Civil dusk | 18:54 | 6° below |
| Nautical dusk | 19:19 | 12° below |
| Astronomical dusk | 19:44 | 18° below |
| Day length | 11 h 44 min | |
Sun path diagram for Vélingara
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 79.7° at solar noon in Vélingara; on the December solstice only 53.4°. Sunrise swings from 66° ENE in June to 114° ESE in December — a 48° 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 | 07:23 | 13:07 | 18:52 | 11 h 29 min | 57.0° |
| February | 07:16 | 13:10 | 19:03 | 11 h 47 min | 66.4° |
| March | 07:00 | 13:03 | 19:07 | 12 h 07 min | 77.2° |
| April | 06:40 | 12:55 | 19:10 | 12 h 30 min | 88.8° |
| May | 06:29 | 12:53 | 19:16 | 12 h 47 min | 82.9° |
| June | 06:31 | 12:58 | 19:25 | 12 h 54 min | 79.7° |
| July | 06:39 | 13:02 | 19:26 | 12 h 47 min | 82.8° |
| August | 06:44 | 12:59 | 19:14 | 12 h 30 min | 88.8° |
| September | 06:45 | 12:49 | 18:53 | 12 h 08 min | 77.4° |
| October | 06:47 | 12:40 | 18:34 | 11 h 46 min | 66.0° |
| November | 06:58 | 12:42 | 18:26 | 11 h 28 min | 56.9° |
| December | 07:13 | 12:54 | 18:35 | 11 h 21 min | 53.4° |
A year of daylight in Vélingara
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 Vélingara
Fixed array facing south (azimuth 180°). Energy per kWp from NASA POWER monthly climate, including clouds, temperature and snow reflection.
14°collects the most energy over a year: 1705 kWh per kWp.
2°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 | August kWh/kWp/day | Best ÷ worst month |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0° | 1665 | 98% | 4.15 | 1.3× |
| 2° off-grid best | 1676 | 98% | 4.14 | 1.3× |
| 13° = latitude | 1705 | 100% | 4.03 | 1.3× |
| 14° year-round best | 1705 | 100% | 4.01 | 1.3× |
| 15° | 1704 | 100% | 3.99 | 1.3× |
| 30° | 1649 | 97% | 3.63 | 1.5× |
| 45° | 1503 | 88% | 3.08 | 1.8× |
| 60° | 1278 | 75% | 2.38 | 2.4× |
| 70° | 1095 | 64% | 1.86 | 3.0× |
| 90° | 746 | 44% | 1.11 | 3.2× |
A fixed array in Vélingara produces the most over a year at 14°. The design month for an off-grid system is August: at 2° it makes 4.14 kWh per kWp a day, 3% more than at 14°, and costs 2% of the yearly total. Why steep panels win winter.
Off-grid solar in Vélingara at 70°
Daily energy of 1 kWp by month. Bars: panels at 70°. Line: panels at 14° (year-round best).
| Month | Sun hours, flat | Sun hours at 70° | kWh/kWp/day at 70° | at 14° | Mean temp. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 5.33 | 5.45 | 4.47 | 4.77 | 25.2 °C |
| February | 5.96 | 5.02 | 4.06 | 5.06 | 28.2 °C |
| March | 6.66 | 4.33 | 3.46 | 5.34 | 31.0 °C |
| April | 6.93 | 3.16 | 2.49 | 5.23 | 33.0 °C |
| May | 6.65 | 2.27 | 1.77 | 4.83 | 33.4 °C |
| June | 6.05 | 1.97 | 1.54 | 4.39 | 30.8 °C |
| July | 5.49 | 1.96 | 1.55 | 4.07 | 27.7 °C |
| August | 5.23 | 2.33 | 1.86 | 4.01 | 26.6 °C |
| September | 5.37 | 3.16 | 2.55 | 4.29 | 26.6 °C |
| October | 5.57 | 4.25 | 3.46 | 4.65 | 27.1 °C |
| November | 5.37 | 5.21 | 4.26 | 4.75 | 25.9 °C |
| December | 5.13 | 5.57 | 4.58 | 4.68 | 24.4 °C |
| Year | 5.81 avg | 3.72 avg | 1095 kWh | 1705 kWh |
Sizing example. To run a 1 kWh-per-day load through June on LiFePO4 batteries (charge controller, battery and inverter losses included) you need about 770 Wp of panels at 70°, versus 290 Wp at 14°. Here the lower tilt is the better winter choice — the sun stays high enough. Size your own system.
Row spacing in Vélingara
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.
2.2 mrow pitch at 70°
2.3 mrow pitch at 14°
How Vélingara compares in Senegal
Against the other 64 places in Senegal with climate data, for a fixed array at its best angle.
57thof 65 places in Senegal for sunshine: 5.81 peak sun hours a day on flat ground.
−3%solar energy a year compared with the average place in Senegal: 1,705 against 1,758 kWh per kWp.
−6 mindaylight on the longest day, compared with Dakar: 12 h 54 min against 13 h 00 min.
14°best year-round tilt here; across Senegal it runs from 14° in Kaolack to 16° in Richard-Toll.
Of the 65 places in Senegal, Ndioum gets the most sun (6.17 peak sun hours a day) and Ziguinchor the least (5.63); Vélingara ranks 57th. In its darkest month, June, 1 kWp of off-grid panels at 70° makes 1.54 kWh a day here, against 1.69 kWh on average in Senegal. The shortest day lasts 11 h 21 min, +6 min compared with Dakar.
Solar forecast for Vélingara, 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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Questions about the sun in Vélingara
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Places near Vélingara
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A free, live card for Vélingara: 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.