Some Questions Concerning Tesla Solar Roof's

[BISCUT]

I built my house using me as the GC seventeen years ago. One of my failures, there were plenty , was that I did not properly follow through on the roofer I hired. In my youth, I worked with a 5 person crew framing and sheeting 5k square plus foot homes. Amazing job for a kid. Friday's payday was all benjamines! Since that job I enjoy avoiding ladders and roofs. My home is on top of a small mountain with an area that wind funnels through quite harshly. This year two times I've lost multiple squares of asphalt tiles. A friend who owns a homeowner and a commercial construction business sent his crew to do a quick repair. His crew reported the roofing nails used were not long enough and subpar. Some showed rusting.

We met up for lunch yesterday and needing a new roof came up. He had seen a Tesla solar shingle roof being installed on a lower Westchester NY mansion and asked the contractor about it. The contractor told him if you need a new roof and plan solar panels, this is about the same cost and it works pretty well. I've read the ups and downs of the Tesla/Panasonic relationship and production in Buffalo. That 2016 downward trend seems to be reversing in 2020.

I don't know much so I'm hopeful there are board members with solid knowledge base. I do have excellent sun exposure from sunrise to 3pm with no tree obstruction. No future tree obstruction either as I own the property that trees could affect. The home is about 4k square feet over 3 floors and has enough roofing tile space to exceed 11,000 kWh a year coverage. I would not be interested in battery storage (seems very expensive) and I believe my electric carrier offers net metering so seems moot to me.

Thoughts? Positives? Negatives?

 

[SwampSurvivor]

I've heard from others that it depends on the subsidies and tax breaks that are available. I've been interested in it for my house. I have southern exposure over a lake. Excellent for solar. Even in the winter, on sunny days I get so much sun that the house will heat up pretty good thanks to a bunch of windows. My roof peak runs E-W so I have a whole house roof and a porch roof that can have panels put on them.

 

[SeaJay]

Me, I would just put a good quality roof that should last 30 or more years without any possible complications from Solar. Of course my electrical bill will be higher than going with solar. To me, no worries about any possible complications is a luxury worth paying for.

 

[Boomer]

If you have the space on your property, why not install a high quality regular roof and then build a south facing large pergola type structure and install solar panels on it closer to ground level. That makes it just as efficient but far easier to work on with out worrying about roof leaks, etc.

 

[JohnnyG]

Judging from the map of where you live, I doubt if you'd see a payback in your lifetime unless your electric rates are VERY high.
Tesla roofs can easily go past $20,000 over regular roofs, then you'll need the Powerwall, etc.
On top of that, Powerwalls and inverters won't handle heavy 220V motor starting loads. At least that's what I was told.
Here in FL, all I want to run is my whole house A/C off grid. I was told to forget about that!

 

[BISCUT]

I did some calculations on my electric usage and I'm overestimating the average monthly electric cost at $150 a month. We are pretty energy efficient. Really hot summer month high is $320 and the fall is cheapest (no furnace constantly on and no AC) as low as $75.

 

[BISCUT]

Judging from the map of where you live, I doubt if you'd see a payback in your lifetime unless your electric rates are VERY high.
Tesla roofs can easily go past $20,000 over regular roofs, then you'll need the Powerwall, etc.
On top of that, Powerwalls and inverters won't handle heavy 220V motor starting loads. At least that's what I was told.
Here in FL, all I want to run is my whole house A/C off grid. I was told to forget about that!

That was a fear. If your electric company offers NET METERING you can do away with the battery (Powerwall). The battery storage is thousands and if required would push me out as a no go.

 

[JohnnyG]

I look at net metering a little differently than most people. I don't like it!
Yes, I know it saves on your power bill year after year, but they can change the rules and the payback any time they wish. It's already happened in some places, and I just don't trust the power companies.
What you really end up doing is giving the power companies free real estate (your roof) so they can say they are meeting "their" climate change goals.
Here in Florida, real estate is at a huge premium and going up in value every day.
I'd rather save on my OWN power consumption and be able to use that real estate to have electricity after a major storm.

Sorry for the rant!

 

[BISCUT]

I look at net metering a little differently than most people. I don't like it!
Yes, I know it saves on your power bill year after year, but they can change the rules and the payback any time they wish. It's already happened in some places, and I just don't trust the power companies.
What you really end up doing is giving the power companies free real estate (your roof) so they can say they are meeting "their" climate change goals.
Here in Florida, real estate is at a huge premium and going up in value every day.
I'd rather save on my OWN power consumption and be able to use that real estate to have electricity after a major storm.

Sorry for the rant!

Similar issue about 5 years ago when I checked into solar panels. The option was not a buy but a lease only. I declined and my neighbor went for it. I was going to see his results but unfortunately, he has passed away before he could see if the program works out or not. He was not thrilled with it after year 2 but really needed a longer period to see the numbers and if they worked out for him.

 

[97prizm]

Tesla has been hit with a class-action lawsuit over its Solar Roof price hikes, led by customer who says his contract got jacked up from $71,000 to $146,000.​

This would make me steer clear of anything Tesla. You'd never even break even with the prices that are being quoted for Tesla solar roofs. Most roofs are doing well to last 20-30 years, nobody knows the real lifespan of them.