How much does snow reduce solar production in New York (Manhattan) County?

Less than most people expect. A pitched array here sees roughly 3 to 10 days a season with enough cover to stop production — the glass is slick and the array runs warmer than the shingles around it. Cloud cover through November and December costs more production than snow cover does. What snow really drives is the structural spec: design ground snow load here is 20 to 30 psf, and racking must be engineered and stamped for it.

What is the seasonal production curve in New York (Manhattan) County?

Jul is the strongest month and Nov the weakest, by roughly 3 to one. December through February combined account for about 14% of annual output — roughly one month's worth of production spread across three months. A proposal that shows a smooth, near-flat monthly production curve for this county is not modeling this climate.

Is New York (Manhattan) County too far north or too cloudy for solar?

No, but the honest framing is that the climate sets the ceiling and the electricity rate sets the value. A 10 kW array here produces roughly 12,700 kWh a year. That is real output — the question is what a kWh is worth where you live, which is a rate question rather than a weather one.

Does cold weather help or hurt solar panels in New York (Manhattan) County?

Cold helps efficiency — panels produce more per unit of sunlight at low temperature, which is why a clear February day can outperform a hazy July one on a per-hour basis. What hurts is daylight hours and cloud cover, and this climate is short on both between November and February. The two effects do not cancel out; the daylight loss dominates.

New York City · New York City

New York (Manhattan) County weather and solar

What the climate here actually does to a solar array — production by season, the structural spec the snow load forces, and the roof decisions that follow from both.

The climate

New York City

The five boroughs. Best irradiance and highest rates in the state, paired with the most restrictive permitting and interconnection environment. Roof access, fire setbacks, and network distribution are the limiting factors, not weather.

Specific yield

1,200–1,340 kWh / kW-DC / yr

A 10 kW array averages about 12,700 kWh a year here.

Modeled NREL PVWatts v8 · verified Jan 2026

Mean annual snowfall

20–40 inches

No lake-effect exposure.

Modeled NOAA/NWS seasonal snowfall records · verified Jan 2026

Design ground snow load

20–30 psf

Racking and structural review are engineered to this figure. Ask which number your proposal used.

Filed ASCE 7 ground snow load data · verified Jan 2026

Winter quarter share

14% of annual

December, January, and February combined.

Derived NREL PVWatts v8 · verified Jan 2026

Days with snow on the array

3–10 per season

Far fewer than days with snow on the ground — panels shed.

Observed GridReady quote and bill review sample · verified Jan 2026

Seasonality

Production month by month on a 10 kW array

Jul outproduces Nov by roughly 3 to one here. This is the shape a real proposal should show you — if yours is a gentle wave, it is not modeling New York (Manhattan) County.

569

Jan

676

Feb

886

Mar

1,240

Apr

1,476

May

1,535

Jun

1,594

Jul

1,476

Aug

1,240

Sep

945

Oct

531

Nov

533

Dec

kWh per month from a 10 kW-DC array at the midpoint of the New York City yield band. Bar height is relative to the peak month.

Show the arithmetic

10 kW × 1,270 kWh/kW/yr (midpoint of the New York City band) = 12,700 kWh a year, distributed on a northern-temperate seasonal curve anchored so December through February sums to 14% of the total.

A modeled shape, not a measurement of your roof. Orientation, pitch, and shading move individual months more than they move the annual total.

Derived NREL PVWatts v8 · verified Jan 2026

Local weather

What the weather here specifically does

Weather is not the constraint here. Roof area after FDNY access pathways, adjacent-building shading, and Con Edison network export rules are.
Flat roofs dominate, which means ballasted racking and a tilt decision rather than a fixed roof pitch.
Urban heat island effect slightly reduces panel efficiency in summer relative to a suburban roof at the same latitude.

The roof

Consequences for the array itself

FDNY and DOB access-path requirements can remove a third of a small flat roof from usable area.
Parapet and adjacent-building shading is the dominant loss on low-rise rooftops.
NYC's property tax abatement for solar is a distinct, city-only incentive with its own application. Do not confuse it with the state credit.

The one question worth asking every installer here

“What ground snow load is this racking engineered for, and can I see the stamped calculation?” The right answer in New York (Manhattan) County is 20–30 psf. A proposal that cannot answer has not been engineered for this roof.

Questions

New York (Manhattan) County climate FAQ

How much does snow reduce solar production in New York (Manhattan) County?: Less than most people expect. A pitched array here sees roughly 3 to 10 days a season with enough cover to stop production — the glass is slick and the array runs warmer than the shingles around it. Cloud cover through November and December costs more production than snow cover does. What snow really drives is the structural spec: design ground snow load here is 20 to 30 psf, and racking must be engineered and stamped for it.
What is the seasonal production curve in New York (Manhattan) County?: Jul is the strongest month and Nov the weakest, by roughly 3 to one. December through February combined account for about 14% of annual output — roughly one month's worth of production spread across three months. A proposal that shows a smooth, near-flat monthly production curve for this county is not modeling this climate.
Is New York (Manhattan) County too far north or too cloudy for solar?: No, but the honest framing is that the climate sets the ceiling and the electricity rate sets the value. A 10 kW array here produces roughly 12,700 kWh a year. That is real output — the question is what a kWh is worth where you live, which is a rate question rather than a weather one.
Does cold weather help or hurt solar panels in New York (Manhattan) County?: Cold helps efficiency — panels produce more per unit of sunlight at low temperature, which is why a clear February day can outperform a hazy July one on a per-hour basis. What hurts is daylight hours and cloud cover, and this climate is short on both between November and February. The two effects do not cancel out; the daylight loss dominates.

Next step

Turn this into your own numbers

The climate sets what a roof can produce. Your rate sets what that production is worth, and your roof sets how much of the band you actually get.

Badge key:Filed — from a tariff, statute, or government datasetModeled — from a published model or datasetDerived — calculated by us from the inputs shownObserved — from proposals and bills readers send us

How this page is built

This is a generated page: the structure is shared across locations, the numbers are not. Every figure comes from the source cited beside it, with the date we last checked it. Nothing here is a quote, an appraisal, or tax advice, and none of it is specific to your roof.

Rates and incentive programs change. We re-verify utility tariffs and NYSERDA program status on a rolling schedule and stamp the date on each number rather than on the page, so you can see which specific figures are fresh. Full methodology · Program status tracker · About the Local Energy Playbook

Page content last reviewed April 2026.

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