So you want to go green and get solar for your house. Is Tesla Solar Roof right for you?
This will be a multi-part series for my experience with ordering Tesla Solar roof. Now this is solar ROOF, and not solar panels. This is the new roof offer Tesla has that has those solar tiles in place of the various types of shingles you commonly find on houses these days. Tesla recently came out with their solar roofing tiles V3, which addresses many issues previous versions had, including the discoloration from different angles which’d make your house look really odd. So in theory, V3’s good stuff.
The reason we’ve decided to get it is that our roof is on the older side, and there’s currently a 26% federal tax credit towards solar, which will be decreased every year and probably eventually phased out. So we thought, eh, might as well go check them out.
Plus several years ago, when I got an estimate from home depot. Comprehensive in the sense that they came out to the house and took detailed measurements of the house, even took a ton of photos. The estimate we got turned out to be $17000. That’s with a $3000 promotion from the original estimate of $20000. So that’s going to be my baseline. And for reference, the roof is 2800 sq ft. and their estimate says they will replace it with Timberline HD shingles. 10 year warranty. I’m no roofer, but I believe Timberline HD is asphalt shingles, and asphalt shingles are among the cheapest materials they can use.
So back to Tesla. I went on the website, and clicked over to the Solar Roof section. I clicked on Order Now and entered in my information, including my current electricity usage, which wasn’t much. Looking at the electricity bill, one of the most recent months our usage was 248 kWH, which is considered more than “typical” for my small family given at that point we just started working from home. But by and large it’s still low usage compared to most families. I mean it’s not like we have electric heaters or what not. You know, air conditioning is one of the highest electricity sucking things you can do in your house. So I was thinking to myself, perhaps given our low electricity usage, perhaps getting solar anything, roof or panels, doesn’t make sense. But then again….we are getting a roof.
Surprisingly, the quote I got was around $19,000, PRE incentives and after incentives was ~$16000. They recommended a ~4kW system, which is on the low-end, given my relatively low usage. Now I didn’t choose to get a powerwall. Usually people get a couple of these to power their stuff and go completely off grid. I didn’t really care to go off grid. Plus powerwalls cost thousands of dollars each. So I didn’t buy one. Self-Generation Incentives program which will give you some subsidies but I contacted them and I believe their funds have run out and I’ll be on the waiting list should I get powerwalls. Too much hassle.
Anyways, without the powerwall, getting a 4kW system at $16000, this was even LOWER than the cheap asphalt roof home depot quoted me. And Tesla roof has a 25 year warranty compared to 10 for Home Depot. So, sign me up!
Not so fast. It has a $100 non-refundable order fee. (and I think at some point if you hover over the text it’d say something along the lines of “if you feel strongly about it,” they’ll still refund you, which made it more confusing). In fact, I know from another case where someone I know ordered the solar roof, a property also near my house, and Tesla ended up telling them they cannot do their roof because of the lack of sun….you know California gets foggy sometimes along the coast. It wasn’t my friend’s fault but she had a hard time getting the $100 back. Apparently she called and they said they’ll refund her but it never happened….at least for a long time it didn’t and I don’t know what ended up happening.
Nevertheless, I decided to bite the bullet. And then I waited….
After a couple weeks, they finally responded and I was eligible! But wait, what’s this? The new price they quote me is $25997. $6000 more than what they originally quoted me. For a relatively the same, 3.9kW system. So lesson learned. Whatever they quote you initially….don’t believe it!
So I called them and asked what that was about. The representative was very friendly and told me that the extra charge was what was called “alternative roof.” I’ve never heard that term, but it was explained to me that their initial estimate was based on some preliminary calculations of area, and upon closer inspection, there’s an extra ~1000 sq ft. that they have to cover. Fair explanation. I mean the type of roof I have does have areas that have a good slope that’d be hard to account for. But I didn’t like the somewhat arbitrary jacking up of the price. $6000 is significant, and ate up all the federal incentives and then some.
And speaking of incentives, it’s currently 26% in 2020. and for solar roofs, it’s only on the “solar” portion. Given the solar roof install consists of roofing tiles with solar capabilities and tiles that are just dummies, the estimated federal credit was only slightly less than $3000.
The representative also told me that I’d have 3 days to cancel the order normally. But given the covid situation, they allow me to waive beyond 3 days. This is because once I accept their latest proposal, they’ll go get the permit from the city and at that point may discover “significant” hidden fees like if they need to dig a trench for electricity conduit. But this is supposedly “rare.”
Looking at the more detailed proposal, it does detail the placement of the solar roof panels versus the dummy solar roof panels that are just for looks. Given we’re in the northern hemisphere, more actual solar tiles are on the south side, which is what I expected.
Also, in the set of documents is one that says:
“Tesla does not complete gutter installations or manage gutter installations with sub-contractors during the Solar Roof installation, but we do provide recommendations for local contractors in your area who can complete gutter work if you would like to make your own arrangements.” Hm…I guess we’ll have to pay for new gutters? But we already have gutters…..will they remove my existing gutters?
So after giving it some thought….I mean, $22000-ish for a new roof with solar capabilities….in theory saving a conservative $100 per month and $1200 per year. Compared the difference with the Home Depot estimate, we’ll make our money back within 4 years. And given it’s in theory better materials than asphalt with a better warranty, it’s still a good investment.
Oh and a word on pricing with the electricity company. For me it’s PG&E, and once you go solar, you’re forced to join the Time-of-Use plan, which I thought was shady. (somewhat bad pun when it comes to solar….). What that means is electricity costs different at different times of the day. That means there’s peak hours and off-peak hours. Similarly, the electricity you generate with solar roof will also cost different. Therein lies the problem. Most of the morning and afternoon, when the sun is out, is considered off-peak. So most of the day when you’re generating electricity, it’s cheap electricity. Put another way, it doesn’t offset the electricity you’ll use later in the day. I feel scammed in a way, but I did some research by good people on the internet, and this delays the break-even time by only several months. So…we’ll see.
So after all that analysis, I ordered. Surprisingly, I wasn’t able to get my roof done as soon as the same month. Not two months, but almost 4 months out. So, at this time, I’m still waiting and I’ll be sure to put an update during the installation, and after the installation. What I was told to anticipate is, on the first day of the installation, I’ll have to be present. I mean, I do have to be there to pay them 50% up front. Then they’ll start working on my roof with a dumpster in the drive way. Once they’re done there’ll be a brief power outage at the end for like an hour. Then I wait a week-ish for the inspector from the city. And wait 2-3 weeks for them to submit the paperwork with PG&E until finally getting hooked up with them. So like I said I’ll update y’all to see if all that goes as promised.
And most importantly, if this was helpful at all, please consider using my telsa affiliate link to order your tesla items.