Monthly Solar Production in Los Angeles: What Is Normal Each Month
Measured on 89 rooftop systems over 385 complete system-years, solar panels in the Los Angeles area produce a median 163 kWh per kW in July and 68 in December — about 5.2 vs 2.2 kWh per kW a day. For a 6 kW system that is roughly 978 kWh in July and 408 in December. Below: the normal range for every month and a quick check of your own numbers.
Solar production by month, measured
Median and middle half for each calendar month.
| Month | Median | Middle half | Typical range (p10–p90) | kWh/kW a day | Share of year | 6 kW system, kWh |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 81 | 69–95 | 57–105 | 2.6 | 5.6% | 486 |
| February | 96 | 85–112 | 74–125 | 3.4 | 6.7% | 576 |
| March | 126 | 116–140 | 105–155 | 4.1 | 8.8% | 756 |
| April | 147 | 137–157 | 126–167 | 4.9 | 10.2% | 882 |
| May | 148 | 135–169 | 125–185 | 4.8 | 10.5% | 888 |
| June | 153 | 137–167 | 124–178 | 5.1 | 10.5% | 918 |
| July | 163 | 151–174 | 139–183 | 5.2 | 11.2% | 978 |
| August | 149 | 136–158 | 126–169 | 4.8 | 10.2% | 894 |
| September | 122 | 109–131 | 98–141 | 4.0 | 8.3% | 732 |
| October | 110 | 96–124 | 82–135 | 3.5 | 7.5% | 660 |
| November | 84 | 70–98 | 59–110 | 2.8 | 5.8% | 504 |
| December | 68 | 56–80 | 46–88 | 2.2 | 4.7% | 408 |
| Each month: n = 385 system-months. 6 kW column = median × 6, a planning estimate. | ||||||
https://cali-energy.com/research/monthly-solar-production-los-angeles. Aggregated data are free to use under CC BY 4.0 with a link to this page.Is my solar production normal this month?
Enter your system size and one month from your monitoring app.
This is a screening check against measured systems, not a diagnosis of your equipment. A single month says less than a full year: clouds, a dusty spell or a few days of an inverter restart can push one month to the low side while the system is fine. If a month lands below the typical range, compare it with the same month last year and look at the daily graph in your app for flat or zero days. Two low months in a row with normal weather are worth a call.
Why one month can differ from these numbers
The weather year
On the same systems, January–June 2023 ran well below 2021–2022, while July–December 2023 stayed close to them. See the yearly comparison on the production benchmark.
Seasonal shade
A tree or a neighbor’s roof that is harmless in June can shade panels in December, when the sun is low. See the winter study.
Roof direction
West-facing panels shift output to the afternoon and lose more in winter than south-facing ones; see east-west vs south-facing solar.
Downtime
A tripped breaker or an inverter fault can zero out days. Monitoring alerts help; see solar not producing.
Methodology
- Data source
- Monthly AC energy recorded by SolarEdge inverters in Cali Energy’s monitoring fleet. These are readings from the monitoring system, not from utility revenue meters.
- Systems
- 96 monitored systems; 4 excluded (1 customer system we service but did not install, 1 expanded mid-period, 2 whose output does not match the capacity recorded in the monitoring account). 89 systems have at least one complete system-year.
- Complete system-year
- One system over one calendar year, 2019–2025, with production recorded in all 12 months. Years below 75% of the same system’s own median were treated as downtime and kept out of the benchmark (3 of 388). Result: 385 complete system-years. 2026 is incomplete and not used.
- Unit
- kWh per kW: yearly or monthly energy divided by the system’s DC nameplate rating (kW) as recorded in the monitoring account. It removes system size, so a 4 kW and a 12 kW system can be compared.
- Statistics
- Medians and percentiles (p10, p25, p75, p90), not averages, so a few unusual systems do not move the result. “Middle half” means p25–p75.
- Geography
- Assigned by ZIP code: 49 systems in the San Fernando Valley and Burbank, 21 elsewhere in Los Angeles County, 4 in the Santa Clarita Valley, 4 in Ventura County and 11 elsewhere in Southern California.
- Limits
- Not a random sample of Los Angeles roofs: these are systems we monitor, weighted toward the San Fernando Valley. Roof direction, tilt and shade vary from system to system and are not adjusted for. Customer names and addresses are never published; only aggregates are.
Frequently asked questions
How much does solar produce in December in Los Angeles?
A median of 68 kWh per kW of panels in our measured fleet (middle half 56–80), about 2.2 kWh per kW a day. A 6 kW system makes roughly 408 kWh in December.
What is the best month for solar production in LA?
July, with a median of 163 kWh per kW, followed by June (153), August (149) and May (148).
How many kWh per day does a solar system produce in LA?
About 2.2 kWh per kW a day in December and 5.2 in July. Multiply by your system size: a 6 kW system makes about 13 kWh a day in December and 32 in July.
Why does my solar produce less in August than July?
Across our fleet August (149 kWh per kW) is lower than July (163), unlike the PVWatts model. Heat in inland valleys lowers panel efficiency, which is one likely reason.
How do I know if my monthly solar production is too low?
Divide the month’s kWh by your system size in kW and compare with the typical range in the table. Below the p10 value means lower than 9 in 10 measured months.
More research
Next steps
A month came in low, or the app shows zeros?
Prepared by Cali Energy, October 7, 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.