Tesla Solar Roof Review 2021

How Much Do Tesla Solar Panels Cost

You can expect to pay about $2.30 per watt for Tesla solar panels, before the federal solar tax credit. But the price can vary depending on where you live, ranging from $2.00 per watt to $2.75 per watt. Teslas prices are cheaper than the national average cost for solar, which typically falls between $2.60 per watt and $3.00 per watt.

Tesla has made buying solar panels as easy as buying a new shirt by offering standardized solar system sizes that start at 4.80 kW, and go all the way up to 24 kW in 2.4 kW increments. The following table lists the system sizes and their costs:

*Based on price of $2.32 per watt

To order Tesla solar panels, all you have to do is go to their website, enter your address, and Tesla recommends what system size is best for you based on your energy usage. You can also pick one of their other sizing options if you dont think their recommendation works for you.

Solar Roof Durability Vs Solar Panel Durability

Tesla is extremely confident in the durability of its solar roof. Elon Musk has stated that the Tesla Solar Roof has an infinity warranty or for the lifetime of your home, whichever comes first. While the durability of the new solar tiles has not been successfully field testing, there are videos online of the Tesla Solar team launching hail and other heavy objects at the solar tiles to show their durability. Based on a video recorded in a Tesla owned factory, it seems the solar tiles are stronger than a tempered-glass solar panel.

Standard solar panels, however, are usually warrantied by the manufacturer for 25 years and the panels typically will last longer than the warranty. The expected lifetime of solar panels has also been field tested, unlike the solar roof.

The biggest question here is what is going to happen when solar tiles start degrading and losing their efficiency? When solar panels need to be replaced or corrected it is a pretty simple replacement. But what happens when there are solar tile problems? How much of the roof is going to have to be replaced? It seems that making any corrections to a Tesla Solar Roof is going to be very expensive and labor-intensive.

Is A Tesla Solar Roof A Good Investment

Okay, before we proceed, we want to point out that the following two sections are the core discussions for this post. They are lengthy and may require some patience to grasp fully. However, if you hang in there, these will help you understand how to compare alternatives when deciding what to do with your roof investment.

In summary, we will compare:

All good? Great, lets proceed.

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Tesla Solar Panel Reviews

Overall, Tesla Solar has mixed reviews on its Better Business Bureau profile. However, these reviews are for all of Teslas products, not just its solar products. The company features an A+ rating and does not have accreditation.*

Critical reviews of Teslas solar panels mention communication and scheduling difficulties. Meanwhile, other customers praised the company for its solar systems integration, equipment quality and savings.

We reached out to Tesla about these negative comments as well as about the vague language in the warranty and long wait times for service, but we had not received a reply as of the publication date of this article.

Read over some Tesla customers experiences below.

The whole procedure was smooth and easy for me. Neal was an excellent advisor, clear, concise and knowledgeable. The installation company kept me up to date via email. It took very little effort on my part. My electricity bill has $0.00 for the last three months! Randy W. via BBB

After researching for months about switching to Solar Panels we decided to go with Tesla Energy Solar, its been really a good experience. Installation and City Permits everything done quick and so far so good. Its been almost a since we did it. Rocio A. via BBB

*Better Business Bureau information is accurate as of July 2022.

Does Tesla Operate In My State How Do I Order

The best way to find out if you’re in Tesla’s service area is to go to the company’s site to enter your address for an estimate. Tesla reportedly has expanded its service area for Solar Roof to the entire United States, though some addresses still say unavailable when you request an estimate. Tesla is definitely expanding though, through the use of third party contractors. In some areas, Tesla will refer you to the website or contact information of a certified installer instead of giving you an estimate.

To order through Tesla, create an account online. Tesla then uses satellite imagery of your roof to design a system and price estimate, which will be finalized when an Tesla agent visits your home to confirm the roof complexity, size and a few other details.

Obstructions in your roof can raise the cost of a Solar Roof.

After you and Tesla agree on a design, it will pull permits and put you on the schedule to install. Tesla reportedly has some in-house teams, even while bringing on more third-party installers.

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Are The Tesla Solar Roof Tiles Worth It

Since Tesla raised their prices, installing a Tesla Solar Roof is now much more expensive than it has been in recent years. It really only makes sense to install the Tesla Solar Roof if you really want to have the Tesla product or youre really in love with the Solar Roof aesthetic. Otherwise, it doesnt really pan out financially because the Solar Roof doesnt produce nearly as much electricity as regular solar panels.

If youre looking for a way to save the most on your electric bills, youre much better off going with a traditional solar panel installation. Even if you also have to replace your roof, youll end up spending less by going with a conventional roof replacement and solar installation, and youll get better savings out of the solar panels.

You should also keep Teslas reputation in mind if youre considering the Solar Roof. While they are extremely popular for their electric cars, the historically low customer reviews for Tesla Energy suggest their after-sales customer service isnt the best.

In fact, it took almost two years from when the solar shingles were announced to when the first ones were installed, and theres no official count of how many Solar Roofs are currently out there.

Before you jump into ordering their Solar Roof product, you should get multiple quotes from solar installers in your area to make sure youre getting the best price and quality for your solar panel installation.

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.

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Consider The Tesla Solar Roof If:

• You have the financial means to make a substantial investment into a new roof
• You like to get your hands on cutting-edge technology and dont mind joining the waitlist
• You dont mind performing more regular maintenance on your solar panels
• You live in a populated region with access to Tesla-certified installers

Tesla Solar Roof: What You Need To Know

Deployment of Teslas Solar Roof product has been slow with significant delays. According to PV Magazine, there may only be 100 Solar Roof systems connected to the grid so far, even though the product has been available for three years. The wait may be worth it for some who value the differentiating elements of the product. Other homeowners may want to start seeing the benefits of clean solar energy now, including seeing solar savings in their pocket.

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Tesla Solar Warranty Options

All Tesla solar panels come with a 25-year performance guarantee which states performance is guaranteed by the manufacturer to at least 80% of nameplate power capacity for at least 25 years. This is somewhat vague language when compared to other solar installation companies warranties that state your guarantee is good for 25 years with no power capacity conditions applied to it.

Tesla also includes a 10-year comprehensive warranty. This warranty applies to all components of the solar system, and it helps with issues involving the Powerwall, inverters, and any roof-mounting problems and roof leaks.

How To Get Teslas Solar Roof

Nochta ordered his roof in July 2020, months after Musk announced new third-generation tiles that would enable faster installations. But Nochta says he also did a lot of research to try and move the project along.

Nochta organized the permits for building the roof himself. He contacted people to get the correct permissions, chased up the utility company to get approval, and stayed home to ensure every inspection went smoothly. A previous contact from the utility company, who had helped with his 2016 installation, pitched in again to support Nochtas mission.

The people at Tesla may hate him, but Nochta says a super nice employee from Tesla Solar also contacted him to see if he could help them get the project off the ground faster.

The installation process took place over a couple of weeks in late 2020. It didnât start well: Nochta had planned to remove the skylight from his roof. But the installers plans retained the feature. The mistake would have reduced Nochtas Solar Roof down to 7.07 kilowatts.

I would advise every single person to stay home on the first day and look at the plans of the installer, he says.

But by November 2020, the roof was fully installed. After another month of waiting for final approval from the utility company, Nochta switched on the roof in January 2021.

Nochta says his roof has produced 8,148 kilowatt-hours of energy in his first year of usage more than enough to cover the familys energy usage, even with an electric vehicle.

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Tesla Wont Let You Go Off

While the shingles will withstand some impressive weather events, they do require a grid connection to power your home.

Unfortunately, if you experience a power outage, your solar shingles will stop producing electricity until the grid is back online – unless it is paired with a solar battery. This also means you cannot install an off-grid Tesla Solar Roof.

Cost Comparison Of Tesla Solar Roof Versus Solar Panels

I went out to bid to two solar panel installers in my area. Only one ended up providing a cost estimate.

The big difference between the Tesla Solar Roof bid and the local solar panel installer bid is that the two companies bid on different solar system sizes. Tesla provided a bid for the system size I needed, while the solar panel installer bid on the maximum solar array my roof could hold.

Panels could always be deleted if I requested less solar, was their reason

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How Are Teslas Solar Panels So Cheap

Teslas easy ordering process is one of the reasons they have such low prices.

Their brand name recognition also helps a lot. Tesla doesnt have to do a whole lot of work to get people to their website. People know Tesla – so they go right to it. This, plus the fact that their order process is entirely online and they only offer nine standard system sizes eliminates a ton of overhead costs that many other solar companies face.

Not to mention, Tesla is a large company – they can afford to undercharge for their panels and take a slight loss at the front end of the deal.

Find out how much a solar system would cost for your specific home

Tesla Solar Panel Warranties

All Tesla solar panels come with a 25-year performance guarantee and a 10-year comprehensive warranty. The comprehensive warranty covers repairs and replacements of any solar system components.

The 25-year performance guarantee states that the panels will perform for at least 80% of the manufacturers nameplate power capacity for at least 25 years. Other solar providers tend to offer performance guarantees with no power capacity conditions.

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Can A Tesla Solar Roof Power My Entire House

Can A Tesla Solar Roof Power My Entire House?

Now, this could be a tricky question for some of you.

Yes, in a way, a Tesla Solar Roof system can power an entire house. Now, we can go two ways from here:

For the latter, it depends on how much power and energy your Tesla Solar Roof produces. Therefore, it is good to know the difference between the two.

Simply put, power is the WORK done by an electric circuit. In this case, the electric circuit is your Tesla Solar Roof tiles that are wired to a power inverter. On the other hand, energy tells us HOW LONG can an electric circuit produce power. This is why power units are expressed in WATTS while energy is expressed in WATT-HOURS.

What Are Tesla Solar Roofs

Tesla solar roofs use Tesla solar shingles to collect solar energy. The setup is called building-integrated photovoltaics. Tesla solar shingles, made with tempered glass panels, capture solar energy and serve as your roof.

Operable and inoperable solar shingles get installed so any given roof is able to keep the aesthetic consistent. Homeowners can determine how many operable panels or shingles they want. The power harnessed goes to a Tesla power inverter or a Tesla powerwall, which serves as a battery.

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Tesla Solar Installation And Services

Tesla handles every part of your solar systems installation, from site inspection to Permission to Operate . Learn about the installation process with Tesla here:

Are Tesla’s Solar Roofs Made In The Usa

Some controversy exists as to what Elon Musk has stated about being an avid proponent of building solar panels in the factory stationed in Buffalo, New York.

Changzhou China has been cited as a possible distributor for certain materials necessary for the construction.

It is common practice for large American companies to source labor and materials from China. However, the final answer to this question remains unclear.

Based on the expanding number of employees of the Tesla-run Buffalo manufacturing site, it appears that there is at least some truth to United States production.

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