Wildfire smoke can do more than turn a clear horizon hazy.
One Washington homeowner says it also took a significant bite out of their solar panel production, even though both measurements came on sunny, cloudless days with similar temperatures.
Here's what to know
In a post to Reddit's r/SolarDIY community, the homeowner, who lives about 40 miles north of Seattle, shared their August 4 and 5 production data from an 11.5-kilowatt bifacial ground array after smoke from Eastern Washington fires moved into the area.
The original poster said that both days were relatively cloudless and had similar temperatures, and the numbers were collected with an Emporia Vue 3.
The results were staggering, showing roughly a 20% drop in total generation on the smokier day.
Smoke does not need to fully block the sun to hurt solar generation. Airborne particles can scatter and weaken sunlight before reaching panels, reducing the amount of energy a system can produce.
The homeowner also added that the system is grid-tied and does not use batteries, a setup that can make daily swings in production easier to spot.
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More background
The post put a concrete number on something many solar owners wonder about during wildfire season: How much output can slip when the sky still looks bright, but the air is full of smoke?
For households using solar to cut utility bills, a 20% decline can mean less day-to-day savings and more electricity pulled from the grid. That can be especially frustrating when panels appear to have ideal conditions from a weather standpoint.
Climate-related disruptions can affect clean energy in complicated ways. Solar remains highly effective, but localized smoke, ash, and poor air quality can temporarily reduce performance even without clouds or rain moving in.
Homeowners who want a better sense of what solar might cost where they live can use EnergySage's solar map, which shows the average cost of a home solar panel system on a state-by-state level, as well as details on solar panel incentives for each state.
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