Just signed up for solar in San Diego

[heems]

Was in the show room today at UTC to sit in a model 3. They were cross selling and asked if we were interested in the energy products. Had been thinking about it so we sat down with consultant. Ended up signing up for a 6kw system at 165% usage with 1 power wall. Looks like with all the steps involved (site assessment, permitting, etc) it will June / July. Long wait and I guess many things can go wrong in between. But very excited nonetheless.

Don't know much about solar so any tips would be much appreciated.

 

[WARP 10]

You didn't say what price was quoted but I'd suggest getting some competing bids. A good friend who just took delivery of his model 3 last week had Tesla give him a rough estimate and it seemed way out of line. I wouldn't pay over $3.50/w before credits, less the power wall (looks like around $6500, also before credits). Check UC Photons. One man operation, does meticulous work, and doesn't have all of the overhead of the corporate operations.

 

[heems]

Subtracting the PW at $6500 I get a $4.40/W figure... I assume the independent installers can install a PW but not the slim panels Tesla offers? I do want the thinner profile so am willing to pay a bit more. But don't want to be too out of line...

 

[Graffi]

We already have a 5 Kw PV solar system that is about 15 years old. The panels are on the hill behind our home so roof is clear. However, we still have original roof and about half our neighbors in the same development have already replaced their roof. We hope to get another 3 to 5 years before we have to replace the roof. When we do we plan to use the Tesla Solar Roof for more solar power.

We have thought about adding more panels but decided to wait and let our new roof be our new Solar system. Maybe by then we will be a three Tesla family by then.

 

[Rockster]

I had a quote from Tesla for a 10k system at about $3.30/watt, pre credit, not counting the powerwall

I shopped around and found a local company that will install an equivalent system, with a better inverter, actually, for $2.50/watt. I was happy to save $8000 and this new company can still do the powerwall, too.

 

[Az_Rael]

Subtracting the PW at $6500 I get a $4.40/W figure... I assume the independent installers can install a PW but not the slim panels Tesla offers? I do want the thinner profile so am willing to pay a bit more. But don't want to be too out of line...

If you get competing quotes for the same size system, Tesla Energy will match or at least lower their price quote.

Source: scheduled for a Tesla Energy install in March. I got them to lower their quote by getting competing bids.

 

[Shygar]

Did you use someone's referral link to get an extra 5 year warranty? PM me for mine if you need one (and it's not too late).

 

[pwrusty]

I have the extended roof warranty as well. Looking for the solar roof token if anyone has it.

 

[MorrisonHiker]

Was in the show room today at UTC to sit in a model 3. They were cross selling and asked if we were interested in the energy products. Had been thinking about it so we sat down with consultant. Ended up signing up for a 6kw system at 165% usage with 1 power wall. Looks like with all the steps involved (site assessment, permitting, etc) it will June / July. Long wait and I guess many things can go wrong in between. But very excited nonetheless.

When you say "at 165% usage", does that mean you are allowed to install way more than you previous usage shows? WIth Xcel in Colorado, we're only able to install up to 120%. There's also a special allowance for new cars that aren't yet reflected in the bill...but I don't know if I can combine the 120% plus the 250 kWh per year. 165% would be amazing as it would actually allow you to plan for the future and do everything at once.

 

[heems]

When you say "at 165% usage", does that mean you are allowed to install way more than you previous usage shows? WIth Xcel in Colorado, we're only able to install up to 120%. There's also a special allowance for new cars that aren't yet reflected in the bill...but I don't know if I can combine the 120% plus the 250 kWh per year. 165% would be amazing as it would actually allow you to plan for the future and do everything at once.

Correct. I was not made aware of any limitation. The consultant simply took last year's usage then added the equivalent of 13k miles / year for a future model 3. That came to 165% of my current usage.

 

[heems]

If you get competing quotes for the same size system, Tesla Energy will match or at least lower their price quote.

Source: scheduled for a Tesla Energy install in March. I got them to lower their quote by getting competing bids.

Thanks. I will give this a try.

 

[Dmerk619]

Was in the show room today at UTC to sit in a model 3. They were cross selling and asked if we were interested in the energy products. Had been thinking about it so we sat down with consultant. Ended up signing up for a 6kw system at 165% usage with 1 power wall. Looks like with all the steps involved (site assessment, permitting, etc) it will June / July. Long wait and I guess many things can go wrong in between. But very excited nonetheless.

Don't know much about solar so any tips would be much appreciated.

Just because Tesla know owns Solar City remember that you are getting a Solar City quality installation. DO your research first before you buy a system as the great cars and battery do not mean the quality of solar installation will match what TESLA us know for. I recommend a Large Regional Installer who specialize in Quality High Efficiency Solar installation rather than quantity of installs.