Blinded by Solar Panels For a Few Minutes

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There is an amusing situation. In the morning, when I sit at a table I get brilliant light shining into my eyes. As a result I wear sunglasses indoors. This might sound absurd but it’s for a simple reason.

As roofs are covered with solar panels, so roofs that were once made of slate or clay have become mirrors. These mirrors, at the right time of day becoming blinding. You see this when you hike, as well.

You look at the valley below. You see the plastic tarps on fields, but you also see the sun reflecting off of solar panels towards you. It is no longer the reserve of rivers, ponds, and lakes to reflect light. Now, so do these solar panels.

Solar panels reflect light very well.

Years ago a brass chimney was replaced and for several days, until it tarnished, as the wind spun it around I would get flashes of light, as the wind angled the reflected sun in just the right direction for it to hit my eyes.

This is not just a terrestrial problem. In Space satellites have the same bad habit of reflecting light. They had to redesign the solar panels so that they would be less problematic for people to be able to observe the night sky.

In the time it took to write this blg post the sun has angled across enough for the reflection from those solar panels to be almost gone. I can remove the sun glasses soon.