How Much Do Tesla Solar Panels Cost
Unlike many other solar companies, Tesla has simplified the whole process of buying panels by creating set price packages. Rather than being able to buy one or two panels, users have to buy bundles for their roofs.
The set prices for these bundles are:
| System size |
|---|
Data from Forbes, 2021
Clearly, not everyone can afford these solar tiles.
Readers should also bear in mind that these are cost estimates the real price might be even higher. For example, the New York Times spoke to one customer who received an initial estimate of $60,000 for their roof, but then received a final quote of $112,000 .
However, Elon Musk Teslas CEO states that these prices will pay off in the long run. And since the tiles are three times stronger than normal tiles, you shouldnt have to deal with many repairs.
To help with the initial cost, users can also look into Teslas solar loan system, where they can make monthly loan payments. The following table outlines the estimated monthly payments for Teslas different solar system sizes:
| System size |
|---|
Max Power Rating Tells You Maximum Output Under Ideal Conditions
Standards for solar panel output are based on an ideal set of lab conditions, specifically direct sunlight at noon on the equator . You can find the Max Power Rating on the back of any solar panel.
Obviously conditions in real life are never perfect, but we can use this rating as the upper range of whats possible.
Wrap Up On The Tesla Solar Roof
Carbon-conscious homeowners interested in lowering their home energy bill with renewable energy may choose a Tesla Solar Roof as a main part of their sustainable lifestyle. Along with increasing the property value of their home, a Solar Roof enhances its curbside appeal.
Theres much to learn about Teslas Solar Roof, a relative newcomer to the field of building integrated photovoltaics .
Based on the information here, if you decide youre a perfect candidate for a Tesla Solar Roof to complement your Tesla Model S in the driveway and a Tesla Powerwall to store excess solar energy from your Solar Roof to recharge it, youll be cruising into a truly sustainable lifestyle.
Don’t Miss: How Much Power Can 1 Acre Of Solar Panels Produce
Living Off The Power Grid
There are a few advantages of disconnecting from the public electricity supply and having a Tesla Solar Roof and Powerwall installed. For one, you dont have to worry about power outages during a storm. The neighbors power might go out, but yours wont you still have electricity flowing from the Powerwall.
Its also really nice not to have to pay an electric bill! Over time, the money you save on electricity will help cover the cost of having the Tesla Solar Roof and Powerwall installed. You dont have to remember to pay the bill, either, which is nice considering how busy life can get.
When you make plans to have a Tesla Solar Roof and Powerwall installed, your installer will consider these things:
- Size of the roof
How To Calculate Solar Output For Your Area
The best way to get hard numbers on solar output where you live is to use a solar calculator. A good one for the technically inclined is Weather Undergrounds solar calculator.
Calculators like this one crunch a lot of data, including the intensity of sunlight at your latitude/longitude, the amount of sunlight that can hit a solar panel at that location, and the efficiency of the panels if you have specific information about them.
Its important to remember that panel output also depends on weather, season, and other factors that vary throughout the year.
Don’t Miss: How To Form A Sole Proprietorship In Florida
Other Solar Products Offered By Tesla
Tesla offers energy storage and an alternative solar power generator with its battery back-up and solar roof offerings.
- Battery back-upTesla allows customers to store the excess energy their solar panels generate with a Powerwall solar battery. Powerwall collects energy for you to use at night or during a power outage.
- Solar roofThe Tesla solar roof is an alternative to solar panels and replaces your current roof with solar tile shingles. The solar tiles act as mini solar panels, harnessing sunlight to produce electricity for your home.
How Much Power Am I Using
A kilowatt-hour is a basic unit of energy, which is equal to power times time . Your electric bills show how the average number of kWh you use per month.
For example, a 50 Watt light bulb left on for one hour would be 50 Watt hours, and 20 50 watt light bulbs running for one hour would be 1 kilowatt-hour . According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, the average monthly electricity consumption for a residential utility customer is about 903 kWh per month.
Divide your average monthly usage by 30 days in a month to get your daily usage. If youre going by the national average, then you should be using about 30 kWh per day. Next, figure out the average amount of sunlight you get per day. The US ranges from about 4 hours 6 hours of sunlight per day, on average, see the below map. Lets estimate you get about five hours per day to generate that 30 kWh you use. So the kWh divided by the hours of sun equals the kW needed. Or, 30 kWh / 5 hours of sun = 6 kW of AC output needed to cover 100% of your energy usage.
Recommended Reading: Is Getting Solar Panels A Good Idea
Whats The Latest News On The Tesla Solar Roof Tiles
Tesla has now installed solar roofs across the country, though the exact number of installations is unclear. The product has been gaining popularity among some consumers, leading to long installation wait times for customers who sign contracts. In April 2021, many of these customers were shocked when they received emails from Tesla quoting higher costs than their contract prices. The lack of explanation and transparency caused confusion and frustration among consumers, especially if they could no longer afford the hefty price tag.
During Teslas quarterly earnings call in April 2021, Elon Musk affirmed that demand remains strong for the Tesla Solar Roof, despite the price increases. He did concede that Tesla basically made some significant mistakes in assessing the difficulty of certain roofs. To its solar roof calculator, the company added a roof complexity estimate, which adjusts the systems price based on roof complexity. On its website, Tesla divides the complexity into three categoriessimple, intermediate, and complexbased on the following criteria:
- Simple: single-level roof, uncrowded mounting planes, few obstructions , low pitch
- Intermediate: multi-level roof , more crowded mounting plane, more obstructions , higher pitch
- Complex: multi-level roof , heavily crowded mounting plane, many obstructions , steep pitch
Based on Teslas calculator, the price of a Tesla Solar Roof varies substantially depending on what you put for your roofs complexity.
Tesla Solar Roof Aces Long
The Tesla Solar Roof may not inspire as much coverage as the companys electric cars like the Model 3 and Model Y, but the integrated solar shingles are still a unique flagship product. And if a recent long-term review is any indication, it appears that the Tesla Solar Roof can indeed deliver on its promises, even if its handicapped for several months.
Tesla enthusiast and Los Angeles resident Austin Flack had a 9.09 kW Solar Roof installed on his home last year. Flack was quoted $33,749 for his Solar Roof installation, which was about $3,000 more than the cost of a new roof and traditional soar panels . In a previous video on his YouTube channel, Flack noted that since his homes roof had been badly installed anyway, the additional $3,000 for the Solar Roof tiles was worth it.
Tesla estimated that the 9.09 kW Solar Roof installation would produce 8,609 kWh annually, which should be able to cancel out a good chunk of the homes energy usage. In a follow-up video and long-term review of his Solar Roof, Flack revealed that a year after his integrated solar system was activated, his home had a total energy output of 7,998 kWh. Of that, 67.8% were fed to the grid, and 32.2% were used in the house.
Watch the Tesla Solar Roofs long-term review and real-world use results in the video below.
Dont hesitate to contact us for news tips. Just send a message to to give us a heads up.
Read Also: Can I Buy Solar Panels And Install Myself
Using Solar Photovoltaic Panels To Help Power Your Home
Solar photovoltaic systems are comprised mainly of solar panels, inverters, breakers and mounting equipment. A solar panel generates power by converting sunlight to direct current electricity. Inverters are then used to convert the direct current electricity to alternating current electricity to be used in your home.
There are two main types of solar PV systems:
- Grid-tied systems, which feed alternating current electricity directly to the local grid
- Off-grid systems, which store direct current electricity in batteries for later use
It’s important to note that any grid-tied systems require complex electrical connections and must be approved by BC Hydro before installation to ensure safety and effective operation.
Learn more about net metering options for residential and commercial customers looking to connect a small electricity generating unit to the BC Hydro distribution system.
What Factors Affect Solar Gain Or The Amount Of Sunlight That Hits The Panel
Your geographic location, specifically latitude and longitude, is very important. But even if youre in a prime solar area a few things affect the amount of sunlight on the panels themselves:
- shading
- roof tilt
- roof direction
Most solar arrays are installed on your roof, which is essentially unused space. Occasionally ground mounts are used if the roof conditions are not ideal for putting up panels.
Roof direction and tilt are extremely important for total solar output. In the northern hemisphere South facing roofs will get much more sunlight than those facing the North. The angle of the roof also plays into the total amount of sunlight that hits the panels.
Shading is probably the biggest enemy of solar: if trees around your house block sunlight from the roof for large portions of the day its likely to take a major chunk out of solar output. Debris from vegetation and other things like snowfall or dust can also obscure the panels and prevent sunlight from entering them.
Don’t Miss: How To Read Aps Bill With Solar
Price Comparison Between Solar Panels And Solar Shingles Or Solar Roofs
Trying to compare the prices of rooftop solar panels to BIPV solar roofs is a bit of an exercise in futility due to a significant number of variables that would need to be considered. The biggest one being, that to mount standard solar panels on a roof, you need to cover that roof in the first place. Solar shingles are in themselves a weather protective solar roof cover AND a power-generating solar panel.
The average per-watt price for an old-school rooftop solar installation currently ranges between $2.57 and $3.35 USD, and the average total price for a full solar panel setup in the US averages between $11,411 and $14,874 after any regional solar-tax credits are applied. Again, thats an average incentives vary, and not all states will have tax incentives and rebate programs.
The above may seem a lower price than a full solar roof installation, until of course you add the cost of a roof covering, and possibly having to remove panels in fine working order simply to replace defective shingles beneath them. And, to add additional types of apples to compare with these oranges – you also have aesthetics, durability and home resale value to consider.
Where BIPV solar roofs really pull away from solar panels is the lack of hassle with roof coverings, and the cool factor. They just look cooler, full stop. And we are probably all attracted to shiny things a bit more than we may like to think. : )
Teslas Solar Shingles Are Best Suited For New Construction
Most existing solar shingle technologies are also known as building-integrated photovoltaics because they are integrated with your existing roof and are a similar size and shape to standard roof tiles. Tesla has created something different. In August 2016, Musk first explained the difference between solar shingles and Teslas solar roof: Its not a thing on the roof. It is the roof.
Unlike other solar shingles, Teslas roof tiles are designed to completely replace your existing roof. As a result, the most cost-effective way to install them is when your home is being built, which means that they are best suited for homebuyers who have a say in the design and materials of their newly constructed home. While this doesnt mean that they cant be used on existing homes, retrofitting your roof with Tesla solar tiles means removing your existing roof . As a result, retrofitting your roof with Tesla solar tiles is only practical when your roof is already due to be replaced.
Recommended Reading: How To Make A Solar Panel With Cd
How Much Does Tesla Solar Roof Cost
Teslas official pricing structure says that the active solar roof tiles cost about $2.85 per watt. Inactive shingles cost around $5.60 per square foot. However, these are not the only metrics to consider when determining the cost of installation. The actual total cost of a Tesla solar roof depends on several factors including the size of your home, needed energy output, location, and roof size.
For a 1,200 square foot home with an electric bill of about $150 per month, the estimated cost for a Tesla roof installation would come to approximately $24,412, with other factors potentially altering the final cost. Replacing roofing materials can amount to thousands of dollars, while federal tax credits for investing in solar power can bring the overall price down. Tesla predicts that a 6.2 KW roof can save upwards of $45,000 on electric bills over the course of a lifetime.
Ecohome Predictions For The Bipv Market
One very legitimate criticism of all Tesla products so far is the meeting of their own delivery-target dates. The Tesla solar roof is no different. Their competitors have a long head-start in the industry, but once a good number of Tesla roofs are installed in Canada and the US, and consumers get a look at them compared to the competition, we think it will be game over. And did you notice the warranty timelines? 30 years across the board is a noticeable improvement over combo 10 to 25 year warranties for different components from the Tesla solar roof competitors.
And this all begs the question – if they really do become the most sought-after roof, will they then be able to meet demand? Well, there is a Tesla masterplan for that too. Since as much as 70% of a roof wont need active solar panels, it makes no sense to tie up Tesla production facilities with producing inactive but matching roof tiles, so they will probably license that out to mainstream roof tile manufacturers instead. And, considering it is 70% of the roof surface, and it’s going to be in the premium roof covering market sector – and it has that magic “Tesla” name attached to it – which roofing product manufacturer wouldn’t be interested in producing the inert Tesla solar roof tiles?
Don’t Miss: Do It Yourself Home Solar System
How Does The Tesla Solar Roof Work With The Federal Solar Tax Credit
When it comes to the Federal Investment Tax Credit , Tesla claims it can be applied to their entire solar roof and their home storage battery the Powerwall. This is not necessarily the case. The issue here is that this type of solar technology doesnt fit into the structure of the current ITC. For this to change, a special appeal process is necessary to decide which parts of the solar roof fall under the ITC.
- Will all of the solar roof fall under the ITC?
- Or just the solar portion of the roof?
This all depends on how the IRS decides to view Teslas new solar roof. If they determine the non-solar tiles are so specifically engineered that it is in essence part of the machinery or equipment with which it functions, then the entire roof will fall under the federal solar tax credit.
Determining the solar roof and its impact on the ITC will certainly be a lengthy process. As customer service advocates at Pick My Solar, we can only hope that Tesla will take care of the entire process for their homeowners.
The federal solar tax credit, however, is going to start scaling down at the beginning of 2020 and be completely phased out in 2022. When taking into consideration the buying and installation process of the newly released solar roof, a large number of homeowners may miss out on the chance to claim the federal solar tax credit.
How Many Solar Panels Do I Need
Choosing the right solar system size for you depends on a few things where your house is located, how much electricity your home uses per year and the local price of electricity from your utility. Before you order, we will show you the system size that is expected to save you the most money based on your inputs. You may decide to choose a different size if you expect your electricity usage to change.
Don’t Miss: What Is The Carbon Footprint Of Making A Solar Panel
How Much Electricity Does A Tesla Solar Roof Generate
The amount of electricity a Tesla Solar Roof generates depends on the amount of solar shingles that have been installed. Tesla will estimate your energy requirements based on your current electric bill and the size of your home, and provide you with a system that should more than meet your energy needs.
