How Much Are Tesla Solar Roof Panels

Do You Need Solar Panels Before Buying A Tesla Powerwall

Every solar purchase with Tesla includes a Powerwall, the companys compact battery system that stores solar energy. This is particularly useful for when the grid goes down, or if youre simply generating too much energy to use during the day.

You can buy additional Powerwall units but itll cost you. The price of a Powerwall, including installation, is around £9,000.

Tesla is keen to point out that its Powerwall has a child- and pet-friendly design, with no exposed wires or hot vents, and is water-resistant.

How Much Will A Tesla Solar Roof Cost On My Home

Tesla has provided an online calculator that attempts to compute the cost of a Tesla Solar Roof based on a homes approximated square foot and number of stories. Single story homes are presumed to have double the roof surface area than a 2-story home with the same interior space. Here are some estimates on how much a Tesla Solar Roof will cost depending on the size of the home:

• 1.500 square feet $55,600
• 1,500 square feet $29,500
• 2.000 square feet $72,700
• 2,000 square feet $38,300
• 3,000 square feet $55,600
• 3,000 square feet $106,600
• 5,000 square feet $155,300
• 5,000 square feet $89,700

Solar Roof costs outlined are based on 60% solar coverage and does not take into account value of energy produced from the roof tiles themselves. The cost also does not factor in any local solar tax credits which varies by region.

Originally published post below:

Teslas new Solar Roof tiles are the hot topic of conversation right now. At the official reveal event, Elon Musk asked rhetorically, So, why would you buy anything else? In a new analysis, Consumer Reports tries to answer that question.

In the absence of pricing information from Tesla, Consumer Reports decided to make some assumptions of its own. People may quibble with them, but they at least establish a baseline that can be used to begin the discussion.

How Long Does The Tesla Solar Roof Last

Teslas solar shingles are designed with durability in mind and have a Class 3 hail rating, the second highest rating available, as well as the highest fire rating possible.

Plus, the Tesla Solar Roof is covered by a 25-year product warranty, a 25-year module warranty, and a 25-year weatherization warranty. So, just like traditional solar panels, you can expect the Tesla Solar Roof to last at least 25 years.

The 25-year product warranty exceeds solar industry standards, with most solar panels offering between 10 and 12-year product warranties. The 25-year module warranty covers the active solar shingles and gives you an idea of how much power the shingles will provide you as they age. This warranty falls right in line with solar industry standards – its not bad, but its nothing impressive either.

The weatherization warranty is designed to cover the roofing aspect of the Solar Roof. Like most shingle warranties, its prorated, meaning how much is covered depends on how long youve had the roof. You can probably find shingle warranties out there that provide a little more coverage than Teslas, but its not horrible.

The Tesla Powerwall is covered by a separate 10-year warranty.

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Tesla Powerwall And Generac Pwrcell: Leaders In Energy Storage

It would be nice if you could just save your excess solar energy for later. Many companies have energy storage and home battery systems, but the technology is still in its infancy. Currently one of the biggest drawbacks to home energy storage is the cost, but there are also limitations with capacity and size. Some companies are overcoming the size and power constraints, but those units are among the most expensive.

The Tesla Powerwall is widely considered to be one of the best systems available. Tesla has a higher capacity and continuous power rating than other systems, while still maintaining a small profile. PWRcell by Generac is physically larger than Tesla but can be expanded with additional battery modules to make it more powerful than the Tesla Powerwall. Tesla and Generac, however, will both run over $10,000. Other companies such as Enphase and LG also make home battery systems, but while these are more affordable than Tesla and Generac, they are not as powerful.

How Many Solar Shingles Do You Need

To learn how many solar shingles are needed to power a house, youll use a formula with key factors like the size of your house and your typical energy usage. Since you can integrate solar shingles into your existing roof, the amount of solar shingles youll need depends on how large your roof is and how much youd like to save on your electricity bill: the more shingles, the more energy output.

Also Check: How To Put Solar Panels On Your Rv

What Is The Tesla Solar Roof

One of the biggest issues homeowners have with solar panels is how they look. As a response, in 2016, Tesla CEO Elon Musk announced Tesla Energys new product – the Tesla Solar Roof – on the set of then-popular television series Desperate Housewives of all places .

The Solar Roof was designed to function like photovoltaic solar panels while seamlessly integrating into a roof. This way, homeowners could still enjoy the benefits of solar energy, like electric bill savings and using clean energy, without having to sacrifice their homes aesthetics.

In order to get a uniform look, a homes entire roof is replaced with Tesla shingles. Not all of these shingles will generate electricity , but the whole roof will be covered in Tesla brand shingles. Tesla Solar Roofs generally include three pieces of equipment: active solar shingles, inactive shingles, and a Tesla solar inverter.

Getting A Loan With Teslas Solar Panel Financing

If you decide to take advantage of Teslas Solar Loan, you avoid paying the full amount upfront and instead make monthly payments. The payment amount depends on the size of the system installed.

Tesla states that most peoples monthly loan payments will be less than their monthly energy bill before installing the solar panels. Here is some estimated monthly pricing dependent on the size of the solar panel system provided by solarreviews.com.

Read Also: How Costly Is Solar Energy

Tesla Solar Customer Reviews

Weve covered the basics of what Tesla Solar has to offer in terms of products, services and financing, so now lets dive into what its customers have to say about the experience. As mentioned previously, a lot of Tesla Solar customers have complained about the providers spotty customer service. However, Tesla Solar also has hundreds of happy customers who rave about the quality of Teslas solar installation and product.

Before we dive into some perspectives, wed like to mention that, because Tesla Solar is a national company, your experience may vary depending on the installers in your area. For example, Tesla Solar might be a good choice for homeowners in California, but not in upstate New York. We recommend finding reviews from people in your area, as youll likely have a similar installation experience to theirs.

How Teslas Calculator Works

Tesla eventually plans to offer four styles of tile, but currently, only two are available: smooth glass, for a contemporary look, and textured glass, which is designed to mimic the look of asphalt shingles. Each style of glass tile comes in both solar and non-solar tiles, which have different prices .

Teslas online cost calculator uses your address to determine the ratio of solar to non-solar tiles your house would need to get 100 percent of your energy from solar . The calculator deducts the upfront cost of the roof and the Powerwall battery from the cost of what youd otherwise spend on energy over 30 years. That estimate is based on the price of electricity where you live, assuming a 2 percent increase in your utility bill each year.

The 30-year timeframe matches Teslas warranties both on power generation and weatherization for the Solar Roof the company claims that the tiles themselves are guaranteed for the life of your home.

Teslas calculator factors in a 30 percent Solar Investment Tax Credit, but not the incentives and credits that are available from various states and local utilities.

A financing option in the solar calculator uses the same ratio of solar to non-solar tiles and divides the cost, with interest, into payments over 30 years. It then compares those monthly payments to your hypothetical savings in electricity to calculate the net cost or savings per month when Solar Roof is financed.

Also Check: How To Build A Solar Panel From Scratch

Is The Tesla Solar Roof Worth It

Were going to cut to the chase – for most homeowners, the Tesla Solar Roof isnt a worthwhile investment. Installing traditional solar panels is going to be cheaper, no matter how you slice it. Even if you also need a new roof, Teslas roofing material and removal costs are so high that unless you were already planning on getting a premium roof installed, its going to be more expensive than it needs to be.

Even in scenarios where the price of a Solar Roof is competitive, were not so sure its the right way to go solar. For one thing, Tesla is notorious for having subpar customer service when it comes to their energy division. You can see for yourself in Teslas customer reviews here on SolarReviews. People have reported waiting weeks to hear back from their Tesla advisors if there is an issue with their system.

Tesla is also extremely unreliable. Despite being introduced in 2016, Tesla didnt start installing Solar Roofs until 2018, and its still unknown how many have actually been installed. Then in mid-2020, Tesla started canceling Solar Roof preoders after homeowners had paid their deposits – claiming the sites werent within their service territory. And not long after, Tesla changed the prices of Solar Roof installations for homeowners who already signed contracts. If you cant even trust that theyll honor their contract – what can you trust them about?

Calculate how quickly a solar installation would pay for itself after rebates

Scenario : Youre Interested In Going Solar And Also Need To Replace Your Roof

While this is a less common scenario, it may fit you if your current roof is coming up on the end of its useful life. This scenario may also fit you if youre in the process of building a new home from scratch, and havent picked out your roofing material yet. In this scenario, unlike the first one, you are on the market and actively shopping for both a new roof and a solar panel installation.

If this description fits you better, Teslas Solar Roof may make more financial sense. In this case, you have the option of either replacing your roof first and then installing traditional solar panels, or combining both actions with the installation of a Tesla Solar Roof.

In our example, lets assume a $5 per square foot cost for an asphalt shingle roof replacement for your home in California. Based on these criteria, lets see how your new solar panel and roof replacement will compare to a new Tesla Solar Roof, based on varying roof size:

So, in this case, the cost of new solar panels and the cost of a roof replacement and a new Tesla Solar Roof are most comparable if your roof is only 1,500 square feet. However, as explained above, its important to note that your ROI will likely still be lower because the efficiency of the Tesla Solar Roof is probably lower than that of solar panels and your system size is smaller meaning your electricity bill wont go down as much as it could.

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How Much Do Tesla Solar Tiles Weigh

Per Tesla, their new solar tiles will be approximately half the weight of a standard roof tile. This is a hard claim to make without defining the standard roof tile being used in this statement.

To understand the range of tile weights, lets look at this:

• Concrete Tiles between 9.5 12 lbs. per square foot
• Asphalt Shingles between 2.5 4 lbs. per square foot
• Spanish Tiles between 6 19 lbs. per square foot
• Slate Tiles between 7-10 lbs. per square foot

Our approximation when taking all of the solar tiles components into consideration is that the tiles will weigh about 15 20 lbs. This is a rough estimate due to Teslas ambiguity when discussing the weight of their solar tiles.

We reached out to one of our excellent roofing partners, Chandlers Roofing, to get their perspective on Teslas new solar product

Aesthetically the Solar Roof is beautiful, but well need to wait and see how Tesla will resolve taking it to market, says Trevor Leeds, President of Chandlers Roofing, Roofing is a different animal than solar. There are different variables that have to be considered like waterproofing and the roof-attachment method. Compliance codes for roofing are also much different than solar. Will Tesla figure out how to be a national roofing contractor? Is Tesla looking to assume this liability and overhead? All of these unknowns will need to be worked out.

Tesla Powerwall Review Cost And Specs

After cutting teeth on the development of electric cars, Tesla jumped onto the commercial and home battery storage bandwagon. The company took the energy storage industry by storm when it announced its first-generation home battery productthe Tesla Powerwall battery system in 2015.

The DC-coupled storage battery was the first high-voltage home storage system with a smaller capacity of 6.5kWh. In 2016, the second-generation Tesla Powerwall 2.0 was unveiled, delivering up to twice the energy intensity , more than double the storage capacity, and a built-in battery charger/inverter that ensures more flexibility and power compared to the first module. This innovation marked a great milestone in CEO Elon Musks vision of sustainable energy for the future.

In this Tesla powerwall review, we will focus on the latest updates, facts, costs, Tesla powerwall specs and benefits of investing in the second generation storage battery.

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Pros Of Tesla Roof Tiles

Design: The most noticeable difference between solar panels and the Solar Roof is design. Tesla offers four different styles to choose from textured, smooth, Tuscan, or slate styled solar roof tiles. The tiles mimic the look of a traditional roof so your neighbors wont even know you have solar on your house . If you want to maintain the aesthetics of your rooftop, the Solar Roof tiles are a great option for adding solar energy to your home.

Warranty and durability: Tesla roof tiles are made with tempered glass that is more durable than standard roofing tiles. Tesla stands behind the durability of their product with an infinite warranty . We dont know the full details of their warranty, but thats quite a bold offer.

So How Much Does A Tesla Solar Roof Cost After The Recent Price Hike

The current price per square foot of Tesla Solar Roof is roughly 50% higher. Even the price of Tesla Powerwall batteries has increased by 30%, which has little to do with the actual complexity of the roof.

For, a typical house with a 2,000 square feet roof of average complexity, a new Tesla Solar Roof will cost between $60,000 and $70,000 to install before the 26% Federal Solar Investment Tax Credits. Adding a Tesla Powerwall battery to the solar tile roof will cost you an additional $10,500.

Thus, with a single battery storage bank, you are looking at approximately $70,000 to $80,000 for a new Tesla Solar Roof. The total cost includes system design, building permits, and connection to the local power grid by a licensed electrician.

That said, the actual estimate for a Tesla Solar Roof will depend heavily on the overall complexity of the roof including things like the number of chimneys, dormers, and valleys, the number of layers of old shingles, condition of the roof deck, etc.

For larger and more complex roofs, the upfront cost can easily exceed $100,000 for a new Tesla Solar Roof with multiple battery packs, before the Tax Credits and local incentives.

All in all, we estimate the current cost of a Tesla Solar Tile Roof to be between $30 and $40 per square foot installed. This price includes the removal and disposal of the old roof, installation of the Tesla solar glass tiles, and the accompanying Tesla Powerwall battery.

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Breaking Down The Price Of Teslas Solar Roof

Tesla Solar Roof systems are designed entirely with Tesla-exclusive equipment. The total cost of a Solar Roof installation consists of three main components:

• Active solar shingles

Heres the breakdown of how each one of these contributes to the final price:

1. Active solar shingles

Cost: $1.80 per watt

Teslas active solar shingles are tempered glass shingles that contain solar cells and generate electricity.

It costs about $1.80 per watt to install the active Solar Roof tiles. If you installed a 7 kilowatt Tesla Solar Roof, the active shingles alone would cost $12,600 before any incentives are considered. The bigger the solar system you need, the higher the total price will be.

Regular solar panels cost around $3.00 per watt on average, so the solar portion of the Tesla roof is technically cheaper than solar panels.

Each active shingle is 15 by 45, and designed to have a similar look to slate shingles. According to Electrek, Teslas solar shingles are 71.67 watts in size, meaning youd need about five shingles to produce the same amount of power as one 370-watt solar panel. However, Tesla doesnt list any official power ratings or performance specs on their website.

2. Inactive shingles / non-Solar Roofing materials

Cost: $13.30 per square foot – $18.54 per square foot

Tesla divides roofs into three different complexity tiers, and each comes with its own vague set of criteria:

3. Roof tear off