Monthly Solar Production in Los Angeles: What Is Normal Each Month
Measured on 257 rooftop systems in 2023–2025, solar panels in the Los Angeles area produced a median 158 kWh per kW in July and 69 in December — about 5.1 and 2.2 kWh per kW a day. On a clear day the same roofs made 5.6 kWh per kW in April, the best month for a clear day, and 2.6 in December. For a 6 kW system that is roughly 940 kWh in July and 410 in December.
Solar production by month, measured
Median and middle half of system-years for each calendar month, 2023–2025, both platforms.
| Month | Median | Middle half | Typical range (p10–p90) | Average day, kWh/kW | Clear day, kWh/kW | Share of year | 6 kW system, kWh |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 80 | 69–91 | 59–102 | 2.6 | 2.9 | 5.8% | 480 |
| February | 87 | 79–97 | 70–105 | 3.1 | 4.0 | 6.3% | 520 |
| March | 120 | 111–129 | 103–135 | 3.9 | 4.9 | 8.7% | 720 |
| April | 142 | 132–151 | 123–160 | 4.7 | 5.6 | 10.2% | 850 |
| May | 138 | 129–147 | 120–157 | 4.4 | 5.5 | 9.9% | 830 |
| June | 145 | 132–155 | 121–166 | 4.8 | 5.4 | 10.5% | 870 |
| July | 158 | 148–168 | 139–176 | 5.1 | 5.3 | 11.4% | 940 |
| August | 145 | 134–155 | 124–164 | 4.7 | 4.9 | 10.5% | 870 |
| September | 116 | 105–124 | 96–133 | 3.9 | 4.3 | 8.4% | 690 |
| October | 108 | 92–121 | 78–135 | 3.5 | 3.7 | 7.8% | 640 |
| November | 78 | 67–90 | 55–102 | 2.6 | 3.0 | 5.6% | 470 |
| December | 69 | 58–81 | 47–91 | 2.2 | 2.6 | 5.0% | 410 |
| Each month: 569 system-months, 2023–2025. Clear day: median of each Enphase system’s clear days that month (201 systems). 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, look up the same dates in the daily solar index to see whether every roof was low, and look at the daily graph in your app for flat or zero days.
A clear day, month by month
What a roof should make when the sky is clear: the ceiling for each month.
The brightest clear days come in April, not July. A clear July day made a median 5.3 kWh per kW against 5.6 in April; one reason is heat, since panels lose efficiency as they warm and valley afternoons in July are hot. July still wins the month because it has far more clear days. In December a clear day gave 2.6 kWh per kW — the low sun, not clouds, sets the winter ceiling. If your clear-day output in a month sits well below the middle half here, look for shade or an offline panel; how much cloud and rain take off a day is in solar on cloudy and rainy days.
Why one month can differ from these numbers
The weather year
2023 was the least sunny year since 2001, and in 2024–2025 output stayed below what the sunshine predicts. Compare years 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; a silent app can hide them. See solar app says offline.
Methodology
- Systems
- 83 SolarEdge and 174 Enphase rooftop systems in our monitoring fleet with complete calendar years in 2023–2025: 569 system-years. Same rules as the production benchmark.
- Monthly values
- Each month’s energy divided by the system’s DC capacity (kWh per kW); medians and percentiles across system-months.
- Clear days
- Enphase daily data for 201 systems with a known DC capacity; days with ERA5 sky at 90% of clear or more at the nearest of four weather points; each system’s median clear day per month, then the median across systems.
- Years
- 2023–2025 were dimmer than average (NASA POWER); in a year of average sunshine monthly totals run about 3% higher.
- Limits
- Roof direction, tilt and shade are not adjusted for. The fleet is weighted toward the San Fernando Valley.
Frequently asked questions
How much does solar produce in December in Los Angeles?
A median of 69 kWh per kW of panels in 2023–2025 (middle half 58–81), about 2.2 kWh per kW a day; a clear December day gives about 2.6. A 6 kW system makes roughly 410 kWh in December.
What is the best month for solar production in LA?
July for the month as a whole, with a median of 158 kWh per kW. For a single clear day, April is best: about 5.6 kWh per kW.
How many kWh per day should my solar system produce?
On an average day about 2.2 kWh per kW in December and 5.1 in July; on a clear day about 2.6 and 5.3. Multiply by your system size in kW.
Why does my solar produce less in August than July?
Across our fleet August (145 kWh per kW) is lower than July (158): the days are shorter and hot panels lose efficiency.
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; then check the daily index for that month.
More research
Next steps
A month came in low, or the app shows zeros?
Prepared by Cali Energy, October 15, 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.