Tesla solar roof (1 Viewer)

[Otis]

Anyone else considering this?

https://www.tesla.com/solarroof

I've always liked the idea of solar, but the old panels-on-the-roof thing is pretty terrible.  Love that these look exactly like a normal roof.  

It seems that, between the tax credits and energy cost savings, and based on my location and roof size, it ends up paying for itself and then some.  So it's basically free.  But better yet, after doing some reading the following two added benefits dawned on me:

1. Infinity warranty.  Seriously, for the lifetime of your house, or for infinity, there is a warranty.  I pay probably $400 per year for the annual maintenance of our slate roof, so I can consider that additional cost savings too.

2. Power backup.  Living in the northeast, we get hit every few years with a storm that knocks out power for a day, or two, or a week.  It's not the end of the world, but a PIA when you have small kids etc.  I had for some time been on the market for a backup generator for these instances, which is something like a $10k investment.  Turns out the solar roof has this added benefit of playing the part of a backup generator -- the power pak stores up enough electricity for you to keep running as normal.  I don't know how long a power outage this will cover, but it sounds like an awesome added benefit.

Looks like it's $1k down payment now to sign up and get on the list.  The slate roof are still to be released, but that's the one I'll likely go with, as it looks like a direct replacement for our current roof and probably fits our home best.  The website says they're starting to roll out installations in California and then will spread from there.  I'm very close to ordering.

Anyone else looking at this?  Anything else I'm missing here?

TIA

 

[Baloney Sandwich]

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[Sinn Fein]

 

[Ned]

Power warranty
30 years

Weatherization warranty
30 years

 

 

[Otis]

Power warranty
30 years

Weatherization warranty
30 years

 

Fair.  The "infinite warranty" is for the tiles themselves from breaking/functioning.  But it's not the last time anyone will ever have to put a roof on your home for all time.

For me it's basically forever.  At 40+ years old, if I do this roof in the next few years, that'll be it for me.  It'll be someone else's problem one day...

 

[BroncoFreak_2K3]

Power warranty
30 years

Weatherization warranty
30 years

 

To infinity and beyond......

 

[Ned]

Fair.  The "infinite warranty" is for the tiles themselves from breaking/functioning.  But it's not the last time anyone will ever have to put a roof on your home for all time.

For me it's basically forever.  At 40+ years old, if I do this roof in the next few years, that'll be it for me.  It'll be someone else's problem one day...

It's hard to tell from just skimming, but does this require the Powerwall?

 

[=Smackdown=]

Put up solar about a year - zero regrets and/or downside.

I don't get the people that don't like the look of the panels on your roof. It's your roof?!  Could care less if there was an "Eat at Joe's" neon sign on my roof if it saves $$$. Again - it's your roof.

Plus all my solar panels are on the backside of the house - can't see anything from the curb.

 

[arrow1]

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[glvsav37]

I'd love it and i'm re-roofing my whole house very soon, but I cant swing the cost. I'm re-roofing along with an extension and that cost is just not in the budget. Shame though b/c once I re-roof, getting these will be out of the question. 

 

[jb1020]

It's hard to tell from just skimming, but does this require the Powerwall?

I believe it does.   Probably 2-3 for most typical homes.  2000-2500 sq ft. 

We're going to be building a house in the next couple of years, so I've looked into this.  I absolutely love the idea, but can't pull the trigger yet.  I came across an article about comparing costs a few months ago.  Between the tiles and the battery packs you're looking at $60kish for a standard sized home.  Compared to $10kish in typical asphalt shingles. 

I love the idea and hope it takes off, but if I'm building next year and it is going to cost an extra $50k, I'm pretty sure I'll pass on it.  I wouldn't say the price is out of line though. 

Hopefully this costs will go way down over the next 10 years or so. 

 

[omahawildcat25]

Yeah if you have a slate roof, the cost of the solar roof could be comparable after tax credits and energy savings, but most people can only afford asphalt roofs. Is your slate roof so old that pieces are falling out making you spend $400 a year? That seems a little odd to have that much maintenance on the roof every year.

 

[Ramsay Hunt Experience]

Put up solar about a year - zero regrets and/or downside.

I don't get the people that don't like the look of the panels on your roof. It's your roof?!  Could care less if there was an "Eat at Joe's" neon sign on my roof if it saves $$$. Again - it's your roof.

Plus all my solar panels are on the backside of the house - can't see anything from the curb.

Unless it's like some hacienda or villa or something, I can't remember ever noticing what a roof looks like.  I mean, what's the last time you saw a Cape Cod or Craftsman home and said, "what a great roof!"

 

[kentric]

I am in the side that has serious concerns about TESLA's financial standing.  It's capital investments going forward are substantial and I believe it's bank financing poses limits on its ability to issue any more material debt.  They originally came out saying that the cost to build a roof would not be materially greater than existing roofs.  That is no feasible. 

Buyer beware.

 

[TheFanatic]

I looked into adding solar to my roof, but with all the trees around my property, I was quoted something like, "You should expect a savings of around $100/month in the warmer months." The cost was something like $18,000. So saving $100/month for let's say 6 months was going to be quite some time before the panels paid for themselves. I feel like solar is in my future, but when the prices come down. 

 

[Ned]

I believe it does.   Probably 2-3 for most typical homes.  2000-2500 sq ft. 

We're going to be building a house in the next couple of years, so I've looked into this.  I absolutely love the idea, but can't pull the trigger yet.  I came across an article about comparing costs a few months ago.  Between the tiles and the battery packs you're looking at $60kish for a standard sized home.  Compared to $10kish in typical asphalt shingles. 

I love the idea and hope it takes off, but if I'm building next year and it is going to cost an extra $50k, I'm pretty sure I'll pass on it.  I wouldn't say the price is out of line though. 

Hopefully this costs will go way down over the next 10 years or so. 

The Powerwall comes with a 10yr warranty.  I wonder what kind of degredation they are getting on it?

 

[NutterButter]

In the warm climates, solar is obvious, but otherwise, not so obvious.   One has to consider the opportunity cost of that initial investment.   $15k in the market earns you ~$1k per year.   

 

[Van Dyman]

I am in the side that has serious concerns about TESLA's financial standing.  It's capital investments going forward are substantial and I believe it's bank financing poses limits on its ability to issue any more material debt.  They originally came out saying that the cost to build a roof would not be materially greater than existing roofs.  That is no feasible. 

Buyer beware.

Agree. The situation doesn't make me confident that they'll be servicing roof warranties 30 years from now.

 

[Mario Kart]

What's an estimated cost for one? I'm all for one but I don't need a new roof right now. I doubt many would tear off a roof with 10+ years left on one and change to Tesla's. I'm all for it though. 

 

[jb1020]

The Powerwall comes with a 10yr warranty.  I wonder what kind of degredation they are getting on it?

I didn't really think about that.  If you had 3-4 power walls to replace every 10-15 years it might not make sense to do any of this. 

The website recommends 3 walls for a 4 bedroom house.  $17k plus installation.  If they have to be replaced after 15 years thats more than $1000 per year. 

Maybe these powerwalls will be $2500 is 10 years? 

 

[Tau837]

 

 

[Ned]

I didn't really think about that.  If you had 3-4 power walls to replace every 10-15 years it might not make sense to do any of this. 

The website recommends 3 walls for a 4 bedroom house.  $17k plus installation.  If they have to be replaced after 15 years thats more than $1000 per year. 

Maybe these powerwalls will be $2500 is 10 years? 

I love the idea of all this, but the more I look I come away with more questions than answers.

 

[SacramentoBob]

Put up solar about a year - zero regrets and/or downside.

I don't get the people that don't like the look of the panels on your roof. It's your roof?!  Could care less if there was an "Eat at Joe's" neon sign on my roof if it saves $$$. Again - it's your roof.

Plus all my solar panels are on the backside of the house - can't see anything from the curb.

What happens when you need to replace your roof?  Does all the solar stuff have to come down then be put back up?

 

[RedmondLonghorn]

Caveat Emptor

Math on Tesla's Solar Roof Varies a Lot by Location & House Specifics

Another issue of some significance: the new roof tile solar panels haven't even been brought to market yet. They may or may not work as advertised. In effect, they are just vaporware until they are available and demonstrated to work as promised.

 

[eoMMan]

Pass. Only really seems worth it if you know for sure that you will be there for decades...and who ever knows that for sure with the way life goes?

https://www.forbes.com/sites/sleasca/2017/05/16/tesla-solar-roof-cost/#77b8ad847621

 

[joffer]

What happens when you need to replace your roof?  Does all the solar stuff have to come down then be put back up?

Yes.  My homeowners policy covers that labor cost.

 

[SWC]

im not gonna get in to the specifics of this one and if it makes dollars and sense to do it what i will say is this i am very glad to see this moving along and out there some day every flat surface should be making us energy and we will not need to rip the top off of mountains or inject god knows what in to our groundwater to get power so bam the old swcer says hell yeah on this one keep it moving take that to the good for the planet bank bromigos 

 

[joffer]

I don't think the solar roof/battery combo is quite there yet.  Give it 5 years.  If you're interested in solar just straight panels on the roof is the better option right now.

 

[RedmondLonghorn]

The other thing that most of these cost comparisons seem to ignore is the time value of money.

Even if you re-coup 100% of the cost of the install in energy savings over 30 years, you are still paying a large lump sum up front for those savings. Which means that the savings need to be significantly larger than 100% of the net cost of the roof (after incentives) in order for it to be a positive net present value project.

 

[Quez]

I didn't really think about that.  If you had 3-4 power walls to replace every 10-15 years it might not make sense to do any of this. 

The website recommends 3 walls for a 4 bedroom house.  $17k plus installation.  If they have to be replaced after 15 years thats more than $1000 per year. 

Maybe these powerwalls will be $2500 is 10 years? 

The batteries still aren't there yet.  Way too expensive to make this a realistic option, and I doubt this is something you want to be an early adopter on.  

 

[Otis]

Put up solar about a year - zero regrets and/or downside.

I don't get the people that don't like the look of the panels on your roof. It's your roof?!  Could care less if there was an "Eat at Joe's" neon sign on my roof if it saves $$$. Again - it's your roof.

Plus all my solar panels are on the backside of the house - can't see anything from the curb.

It's the same reason I don't like the look of satellite dishes on the house. Just looks like an eyesore to me.

 

[joffer]

The other thing that most of these cost comparisons seem to ignore is the time value of money.

Even if you re-coup 100% of the cost of the install in energy savings over 30 years, you are still paying a large lump sum up front for those savings. Which means that the savings need to be significantly larger than 100% of the net cost of the roof (after incentives) in order for it to be a positive net present value project.

Leasing them is an option.  I never really looked into that.  I put the cost into a cash-back refinance at 2.85%.  No-brainer.

 

[jb1020]

The batteries still aren't there yet.  Way too expensive to make this a realistic option, and I doubt this is something you want to be an early adopter on.  

No doubt.  If I had a pool, I'd think about putting the panels on a Gazebo and one powerwall just to "give it a shot." 

But yeah, overall we're not there yet. 

 

[RedmondLonghorn]

Leasing them is an option.  I never really looked into that.  I put the cost into a cash-back refinance at 2.85%.  No-brainer.

The numbers can pencil out for regular solar panels, depending on a ton of variables. I don't think enough is known about whether they will work for the Tesla product yet.

 

[Otis]

Yeah if you have a slate roof, the cost of the solar roof could be comparable after tax credits and energy savings, but most people can only afford asphalt roofs. Is your slate roof so old that pieces are falling out making you spend $400 a year? That seems a little odd to have that much maintenance on the roof every year.

It's pretty standard for a slate roof.  The upside is they last forever -- you don't have to replace a slate roof.  I believe this is the original roof on the house from 100 years ago, but you have to do maintanance each year to replace a few broken slates or slates that have come off, etc.  But yeah, the maintenance is necessary to keep it up.

 

[Uncle CornCob]

I'd be sitting this out to start. But I think the costs are going to come down faster than many think . Maybe in 5-7 years

 

[brettdj]

I hope to do this.  I have not put the 1k down yet.  I expect to need a new roof in the next 5 years.  It is currently a cedar plank roof.  I have seen quotes for replacing the cedar with cedar for $50k.  I think the textured glass will look good.

 

[El Floppo]

Unless it's like some hacienda or villa or something, I can't remember ever noticing what a roof looks like.  I mean, what's the last time you saw a Cape Cod or Craftsman home and said, "what a great roof!"

every single day.



saw a version of these come out in europe a year or two ago and was interested. will definitely be looking to spec next time I do something outside of the city.

 

[Jayded]

So we had solar on our last home and was relatively new technology to the power company and neighborhood at the time. While the incentives had it paying for itself after 20-30 years, I'd also bring up the same thing I noted to my wife at the time: How many of you intend to stay in the home for the lifetime of the investment (20-30 years)?

We were able to write off the cash side of the benefit on year 1's taxes and after 4-5 years when we had to move, it's now someone else's problem if the warranty and replacement scenario starts happening. I wouldn't assume anyone else's situation were the same as mine, but if it's a short term investment where you aren't as much worried about the replacement/warranty side, why not?

 

[EYLive]

 

[Dickies]

I would probably do this if I was confident that this is the last house i will ever own.  In the meantime I will let the technology develop and hopefully see a decrease in cost.

 

[RedmondLonghorn]

A big key to understand is that the economics of any residential solar system depends a lot on whether your state has "net metering" and what the rules are for the price the utility is required to pay the homeowner for the excess power that a solar home generates.

In most states, the utility must pay the homeowner the full retail rate for any excess power the home generates. In a handful of states, the utility is only required to pay a much lower generation cost based rate.

 

[jb1020]

I would probably do this if I was confident that this is the last house i will ever own.  In the meantime I will let the technology develop and hopefully see a decrease in cost.

But even if you'll be in the house 50 years, isn't it likely you're replacing the Powerwall every 10+ years? 

I hope it works out for everyone doing it.  For now I don't see the major benefit. 

 

[joffer]

A big key to understand is that the economics of any residential solar system depends a lot on whether your state has "net metering" and what the rules are for the price the utility is required to pay the homeowner for the excess power that a solar home generates.

In most states, the utility must pay the homeowner the full retail rate for any excess power the home generates. In a handful of states, the utility is only required to pay a much lower generation cost based rate.

It definitely doesn't makes sense if you don't have net metering.  In Texas, I get full credit up until the point I go net negative for the month (put more back on the grid than I took).  At that point I only get about $.05 per kW-hr credit.

 

[Dickies]

But even if you'll be in the house 50 years, isn't it likely you're replacing the Powerwall every 10+ years? 

I hope it works out for everyone doing it.  For now I don't see the major benefit. 

I admittedly have not researched this beyond 10 minutes and seeing what it would cost for my house ($39,000).  I don't fully understand what the powerwall is, and if it's necessary.  If I do not care about a backup battery to run my house in outages can I forego the Powerwall?  I've had a couple outages this year, and they are an inconvenience, but totally manageable.  

 

[joffer]

I admittedly have not researched this beyond 10 minutes and seeing what it would cost for my house ($39,000).  I don't fully understand what the powerwall is, and if it's necessary.  If I do not care about a backup battery to run my house in outages can I forego the Powerwall?  I've had a couple outages this year, and they are an inconvenience, but totally manageable.  

Haven't looked into it in detail but the Powerwall should be optional upgrade.  It would be kind of ridiculous if it wasn't.

 

[Mr. Ected]

I looked into adding solar to my roof, but with all the trees around my property, I was quoted something like, "You should expect a savings of around $100/month in the warmer months." The cost was something like $18,000. So saving $100/month for let's say 6 months was going to be quite some time before the panels paid for themselves. I feel like solar is in my future, but when the prices come down. 

There is a calculator on the site, and I got something similar ($90 generation of energy per month with $150/month cost for roof resulting in a net cost of $60/month).

What I don't understand is how this connects with my cost for electricity. Do I pay for my power and then am I netted the $90/month? If for some reason I spend less than that do I get a credit? My current charges are about $150/month - especially now in the hot DC summer. So would I pay for $300 with a 'savings' of $90 so I'm paying $210 for the electricity and the roof? :whoosh:

 

[TheFanatic]

Can you sell any excess power to the energy company if you produce more than you use with this system?

 

[jb1020]

I admittedly have not researched this beyond 10 minutes and seeing what it would cost for my house ($39,000).  I don't fully understand what the powerwall is, and if it's necessary.  If I do not care about a backup battery to run my house in outages can I forego the Powerwall?  I've had a couple outages this year, and they are an inconvenience, but totally manageable.  

I'm no expert on it either, But you have to have some sort of battery storage system in your house to have Solar.  The power wall is tesla's battery pack. 

I'm sure there are other options though. 

 

[joffer]

I'm no expert on it either, But you have to have some sort of battery storage system in your house to have Solar.  The power wall is tesla's battery pack. 

I'm sure there are other options though. 

No you don't, not for just regular solar panels.  If Tesla is making it a requirement for their solar roof, that's really stupid.