Neighbourly Solar Glare Wars

As rooftop solar panels become increasingly popular, concerns about glare from those panels are coming up more often. Most days, the sun shines as usual. But every now and then, the panels reflect the light in a way that makes your garden feel like a tanning salon. This is because the panels, though built to absorb sunlight, can still reflect a small proportion of the incoming light towards nearby properties. This can sometimes lead to glare or even thermal discomfort in homes close by [1]. Because of this, residents often come up with their own DIY fixes, some of which are truly clever while others are just plain funny. Some people get creative and build something that works, while others just grab whatever is lying around and hope for the best. No matter the approach, the results are always a unique mix of creativity and chaos.

Figure 1: Solar panels on buildings close to each other. [4]

People can start by using stick-on window film to deal with glare. It sounds like a quick and easy solution to deal with reflections. While it can help reduce some glare, the cheaper films often look like bubble wrap, peel off easily, or make your windows look like a funhouse mirror. Before you know it, your neighbour’s garden looks like something from a carnival.

Another common idea is to cover the reflective surface with a matte or shiny layer to scatter the light beam. But this can make things worse by redirecting the glare to new locations, like into your bedroom instead of the kitchen.

Everyday Ingenuity

People have got creative with their attempts to block glare. From tin-foil boards propped against fences to strategically placed parasols and, in some cases, post-it notes stuck to their windows. Old sheets, discarded car windscreens, and even trampoline nets have been repurposed into makeshift glare guards. Even though they screen the glare, it is a temporary fix.

Some neighbours try their hand at installing permanent outdoor umbrellas, awnings, or shade sails in just the right spots to block the glare during certain times of the day. You must keep adjusting or adding more as the sun shifts with the seasons.

Creative but Complicated

Some people get creative and use mirrors to bounce the glare away, sometimes sending it right back at the panels or even up into the sky. It seems clever until the reflection lands in another neighbour’s yard.

Others try hanging garden netting, tarps, or old curtains along their fences. Some DIY fans go further and use motorised mounts or pulleys to move their sun shields as the sun moves. This can help for a while, but it often makes the yard look like a messy campsite or workshop. 

Ideas That Backfired

A reflective coating that was intended to reduce glare ended up bouncing sunlight directly into the neighbour’s conservatory, making their home hotter than ever. 

A row of boards covered in aluminium foil got blown over on a windy day, sending flashes in all directions. 

A mirror setup redirected the glare towards drivers passing by, leading to a heated neighbourhood meeting.

Conclusion

But the “glare wars” of the neighbourhood also serve as a reminder that when the sun shines, suburban residents become backyard inventors. Sometimes they resolve the problem creatively, sometimes they create entirely new ones, but either way, the results are never dull.

While these DIY methods offer short-term relief, professional mitigation, such as anti-glare film, vegetation screening, or careful panel positioning and configurations, is a more long-term, effective and recommended solution [2], [3].

Pager Power can help by accessing the glare impact, modelling reflections, and recommending mitigation strategies to ensure harmony between neighbours.

About Pager Power

Pager Power undertakes technical assessments for developers of renewable energy projects and tall buildings worldwide. 

For more information about what we do, please get in touch.

References

[1] “Analyzing Glare Potential of Solar Photovoltaic Arrays, U.S. Department of the Navy, Renewable Energy Program Office (REPO).” Accessed: Oct. 07, 2025. [Online]. Available at: https://docs.nrel.gov/docs/fy17osti/67250.pdf

[2] “Relieving a Glaring Problem | American Solar Energy Society.” Accessed: Oct. 07, 2025. [Online]. Available at: https://ases.org/relieving-a-glaring-problem/

[3] Mike, “Glint and Glare Mitigation,” PagerPower. Accessed: Oct. 07, 2025. [Online]. Available at: https://www.pagerpower.com/solar/mitigation-of-glint-and-glare/

[4] Mischa Frank (September 2021) from Unsplash.com. Last accessed on 8th October 2025. Available at: https://unsplash.com/photos/white-and-black-wooden-house-under-white-sky-during-daytime-6M9OhcblUHM