How much do solar panels produce in Santa Clarita?
Cali Energy measured 11 solar systems it installed in nine Santa Clarita-area ZIP codes, which also take in Stevenson Ranch and Castaic: in 2023–2025 their panels produced a median of 1,514 kWh per kilowatt a year. That is 8% more than the 116 systems it monitors in the San Fernando Valley and Burbank, at 1,397 (95% interval for the gap: 1% to 14%, nearly reaching zero). The comparison describes these installations; it does not isolate the effect of location. For illustration, that median applied to a 7.6 kW system, the typical size among the 11, gives about 11,500 kWh a year.
Month by month
Median kWh per kW of panels in each month, 2023–2025: 29 Santa Clarita system-years, 253 in the San Fernando Valley and Burbank.
| Month | Santa Clarita, kWh per kW | San Fernando Valley and Burbank | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 84.8 | 79.7 | +6% |
| February | 94.2 | 86.9 | +8% |
| March | 123.8 | 120.3 | +3% |
| April | 149.8 | 143.0 | +5% |
| May | 152.7 | 140.6 | +9% |
| June | 159.6 | 146.4 | +9% |
| July | 166.1 | 158.9 | +4% |
| August | 152.2 | 144.9 | +5% |
| September | 125.0 | 115.8 | +8% |
| October | 116.8 | 108.4 | +8% |
| November | 84.6 | 77.9 | +9% |
| December | 81.1 | 70.4 | +15% |
The monitored Santa Clarita systems made more in every month. The gap was widest in December, 15%, and narrowest in March, 3%. July was the best month at 166 kWh per kW; December, at 81, gave 49% of July.
Seasonal shares were nearly the same: May to July brought 32.5% of a Santa Clarita system’s year and December to February 17.5%, against 32.3% and 17.1% in the San Fernando Valley.
The gap persists among Enphase and newer systems
| Group | Santa Clarita: systems · kWh per kW | San Fernando Valley: systems · kWh per kW | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Enphase systems | 8 · 1,526 | 69 · 1,383 | +10% |
| Installed in 2021 or later | 10 · 1,526 | 79 · 1,383 | +10% |
| Enphase systems in both groups carry the same ratio of panel to inverter capacity, 1.28. | |||
These checks do not establish why the two groups differ: roof orientation, tilt and shading are not in the monitoring data.
Year by year
kWh per kW of panels, systems with a full year. Each year counts only the systems with a full year, so the yearly medians and the all-years median above come from different sets of systems.
| Year | Santa Clarita: systems · middle half · median | San Fernando Valley and Burbank: systems · median |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 9 · 1,416–1,568 · 1,514 | 70 · 1,409 |
| 2024 | 10 · 1,410–1,543 · 1,485 | 89 · 1,379 |
| 2025 | 10 · 1,441–1,587 · 1,507 | 94 · 1,403 |
Santa Clarita and the San Fernando Valley
San Fernando Valley places with five or more Cali Energy systems with full years, 2023–2025, and Santa Clarita for comparison.
| Place | Monitored systems | Median kWh per kW a year |
|---|---|---|
| Porter Ranch | 19 | 1,524 |
| Santa Clarita | 11 | 1,514 |
| Northridge | 10 | 1,425 |
| Woodland Hills | 8 | 1,412 |
| Winnetka | 5 | 1,382 |
| Chatsworth | 6 | 1,350 |
| North Hills | 6 | 1,297 |
| North Hollywood | 10 | 1,294 |
| Tarzana | 5 | 1,290 |
| Valley Glen | 5 | 1,282 |
| Encino | 5 | 1,223 |
| Each row is the median of Cali Energy’s own installations in that place: not a random sample, not adjusted for roof direction, tilt or shade, and not a ranking of places. The 95% intervals on these pages are computed for each place separately, without adjustment for multiple comparisons. Solar production by area. | ||
For a Santa Clarita homeowner
Annual energy-equivalent size. Dividing a year’s electricity use by about 1,510 gives the kilowatts of panels whose 2023–2025 output would have matched it on these systems: 10,000 kWh a year comes to about 6.6 kW. The roof, future load and the tariff decide the actual size.
Checking your own system. Compare your system’s median full year over 2023–2025 with the middle half of the monitored Santa Clarita systems, 1,435–1,567 kWh per kW. For a single year, use that year’s range: 1,416–1,568 in 2023, 1,410–1,543 in 2024, 1,441–1,587 in 2025. A figure below the range is a prompt to look at shade, soiling and monitoring, not a diagnosis. See monthly production in Los Angeles.
The utility. Santa Clarita is served by Southern California Edison, so its rooftop systems connect to SCE. Solar with SCE.
Installations here. Our Santa Clarita projects.
Methodology
- Sample
- Solar systems in ZIP codes 91321, 91350, 91351, 91354, 91355, 91381, 91384, 91387 and 91390 installed and monitored by Cali Energy, on SolarEdge or Enphase monitoring: 11 systems, installed from 2020 to 2024, 6.4 to 10.3 kW DC in the middle half. The sample is drawn by ZIP code, not by the city boundary, and the ZIP codes also take in unincorporated communities such as Stevenson Ranch and Castaic.
- Comparison
- The San Fernando Valley figure covers Cali Energy systems in the Valley and Burbank ZIP codes, 116 systems; Santa Clarita is not part of it.
- Years
- Full calendar years 2023–2025 with all twelve months reporting, under the rules of the platform comparison.
- Downtime
- Each system’s benchmark is the median of its full years 2019–2025; a 2023–2025 year below 75% of it counts as downtime and is left out. None of the Santa Clarita years were, and 3 of 256 in the San Fernando Valley; without the rule the medians are 1,514 and 1,397.
- Output
- kWh per kW of DC panel capacity. Each system’s figure is the median of its full years; a place’s figure is the median across its systems. Across all 257 systems on real-world solar production in Los Angeles the same method gives 1,382; that page’s headline 1,386 is the median of their 569 system-years. Months are medians of all system-months.
- Interval
- 95% interval of the gap from 4,000 bootstrap resamples of systems, each system keeping its years together. Each place’s interval is computed on its own, without adjustment for comparing several places.
- Threshold
- Figures for fewer than five systems are not published.
https://cali-energy.com/research/cities/santa-clarita. Aggregated data are free to use under CC BY 4.0 with a link to this page.Frequently asked questions
How much electricity do solar panels produce in Santa Clarita?
On the 11 Santa Clarita systems Cali Energy monitors, a median of 1,514 kWh per kW of panels a year in 2023–2025. For illustration, that median applied to a 7.6 kW system, the typical size among them, gives about 11,500 kWh a year.
Did the monitored Santa Clarita systems outperform the San Fernando Valley?
Yes, in this sample. In 2023–2025 the 11 Santa Clarita systems Cali Energy monitors produced a median 8% more per kW than its 116 systems in the San Fernando Valley and Burbank (95% interval 1%–14%, nearly reaching zero). It is an observational comparison, not proof that location alone made the difference.
What is the best month for solar in Santa Clarita?
On the monitored Santa Clarita systems, July, at a median of 166 kWh per kW; December was the lowest at 81, 49% of July.
Who measured these systems?
Cali Energy, a licensed solar contractor based in Northridge (CSLB #1032379), which installed and monitors them; the method is set out above.
More research
Next steps
Planning solar in Santa Clarita?
Prepared by Cali Energy, October 20, 2026. Figures describe systems in our monitoring fleet and are not a guarantee of what any specific roof will produce; orientation, tilt, shade, equipment and weather change results. Not engineering, financial or utility advice. See our Content Disclaimer.