Has anyone recently gotten their conduit hidden by tesla? If so how much and how long did it take them to approve that change?
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Hidden Conduit
- Thread starter Chancellor32
- Start date
jhn_
Member
Which conduit are you referring to?
For our solar install, the conduit from the roof is hidden by a penetration under the panels through the roof into an unfinished attic then routed into a partially finished garage through the wall.
In the garage the Powerwalls are mounted on a finished wall and the conduits exit the rear of the powerwalls into the wall. The gateway and inverter are on unfinished walls so the conduit is visible but between the studs.
On install day I asked them about the roof and if there would be any visible conduit and they said no as long as they could get into the attic. I of course said yes and they did a fantastic job keeping everything hidden. Inside the garage I told them I didn’t care if the conduit to the Powerwalls was visible on the surface of the finished wall, since it’s just a garage. But they said they wanted to make it neat and would put the conduit in the wall anyways! I wasn’t going to argue with that and happily let them do it that way.
This was is 2020, and in an area where there wasn’t crazy demand yet. I also think the outcome of install aesthetics is highly dependent on the individual crew you get for install.
For our solar install, the conduit from the roof is hidden by a penetration under the panels through the roof into an unfinished attic then routed into a partially finished garage through the wall.
In the garage the Powerwalls are mounted on a finished wall and the conduits exit the rear of the powerwalls into the wall. The gateway and inverter are on unfinished walls so the conduit is visible but between the studs.
On install day I asked them about the roof and if there would be any visible conduit and they said no as long as they could get into the attic. I of course said yes and they did a fantastic job keeping everything hidden. Inside the garage I told them I didn’t care if the conduit to the Powerwalls was visible on the surface of the finished wall, since it’s just a garage. But they said they wanted to make it neat and would put the conduit in the wall anyways! I wasn’t going to argue with that and happily let them do it that way.
This was is 2020, and in an area where there wasn’t crazy demand yet. I also think the outcome of install aesthetics is highly dependent on the individual crew you get for install.
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Yeah I’m asking about the hidden conduit option in the garage for the PW’s basically don’t want it to look like this.
Do you think I could request for all of the conduit to be hidden, both for solar panels and powerwalls, when a technician comes for the Site Assessment?
After the site visit, my Project Advisor called to present the final design. He asked about hiding roof conduit by running it thru the attic, and hide wall conduit by bringing it down from the attic in-wall. Didn’t mention any options for avoiding conduit between equipment.
I’ve seen a YouTube video where the Powerwalls looked to have all wires hidden behind drywall but I think they had their own electrician install them.
They ran the wiring for our Powerwalls in the garage in the walls inside flex conduit. Our drywalls goes part way up and they ran the remainder in conduit through the wall to the other boxes on the outside wall. They did a very nice job of hiding as much wiring as they could.
ucmndd
Well-Known Member
I think this is going to be entirely dependent on the specifics of your install. Tesla isn’t gonna do/re-do drywall for you - so if your walls are finished and there’s no reasonable way to enter above/below/behind then they’re gonna run it on the surface vs tearing up the drywall and putting it all back together pretty.
It is possible to end up with a clean install but you might need to work with a third party to get the results you want. I had my installer come out and do the prep work before I finished the walls - they ran romex and showed me where to punch through. I finished the walls and they came back a couple days later to mount the batteries.
jhn_
Member
If this is what you want, if I were you I would bring it up at every point in the process. At the site assessment, when you receive the design, and chat with the installers first thing when they are on site. And it never hurts to be overly friendly or generous to the installers.
I'll definitely keep that in mind. I'm just trying to be as proactive as possible, not really leaving anything to chance with Tesla. So far the process has been smooth. Just waiting on the Site Assessment date so they can create a design for me to approve and submit it to my local permitting office.
Been weeks waiting for tesla to update the request for hidden conduit. Why are they so slow? Lol
How did this work out for you? After waiting four weeks, I had to bug my PA daily to get movement, but they finally a Tesla electrician out to scope the work.
CrazyRabbit
Active Member
Kind of different subject, but Tesla wanted $3k fox run the solar conduit thru the attic. So the spent 12 hours running it across the roof, shake head. They use a direct burial cable for the DC thru the conduit.
Different from the OPs ask but more in line with yours, my pre-install estimate to use conduit in the attic to connect six arrays, plus bring it all down into the garage on the inside (attic is right above garage) came back at $12K. I declined, but was curious about the pricing. My Project Advisor wasn't able to explain anything about what factored into the estimate.
When install time finally came, I told the crew about the estimate. They still used conduit on the roof to connect the six arrays, but they worked it so there weren't any large runs, spay painted the conduit to blend with the roof, and brought all the wires from the roof in through the attic and down inside to the garage (the most important part for me). No additional charge. That was unexpected and greatly appreciated. Put me in the group of folks who say "the install is the best part of the process".
Didn’t happen unfortunately but install was still pretty clean!
I am getting 9.35kw Tesla solar panels installed on my new (2022) single story home in Las Vegas, NV. Inverter will be placed outside the house. Installation is pending HOA approvals now.
I asked for quote on hidden conduit through the attic and Tesla came back with a price of $1,700. Is this reasonable? Thanks.
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CrazyRabbit
Active Member
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