Looks like my Tesla Solar ride is over

[Vines]

Almost certainly earthquake. I was months in the permitting with city of Sunnyvale (Project Solar as the contractor) when they finally said we can't do ballasted install without anchoring. Well there was the alternative to have more room around the edges but that would have rendered the project not worth it.

So I'm resigned to putting holes in my brand new Fibertite flat roof.

BTW I'm running the experiment for you all by trying Project Solar. Their prices are competitive with Tesla. I would have probably done Tesla again (I have four of their systems) but my previous attempts at flat roof where non-starters. I know what I'm getting with Tesla and I'm pretty comfortable with solar tech. They apparently are doing flat roofs now as evidenced by this thread and the comment from one of their techs who recently did a "free service call" to install revenue grade Neurios so they presumably capture the renewable energy credits that I signed away to them.

Most solar companies aren't doing a ballast system for a residential-sized roof, it just doesn't make sense. We have done tons of large flat roof installs and only less than 5 ballast systems in 19 years.

We want to bring in the roofers along with us so we can maintain the roofers waterproofing warranty. We will typically install something like a U-Anchor 2400 or a Quickmount post as our roof attachments.

 

[eisenb11]

Sorry to hear...one reason I avoided Tesla in addition to my earlier reasons above is NEM3.0. I didn't want to risk delays and even though it's stated that you can be grandfathered in if you file some paperwork or something, I'd rather it just be completely done without paperwork mistakes that you read about. My PTO was in about 1 week. I think the new NEM proposal for discussion is tomorrow?

Tesla has done many fine/great installs so maybe some of the negative posts are overblown, but there are enough here that it's affecting some folks that had me pause also, but if you have a house/system design that's cookie cutter in their system, I don't think many/any installers can really beat their pricing.

If you're doing batteries and qualify for SGIP, getting SGIP can make going non-Tesla easier to swallow.

It sounded like all NEM 3.0 activity was postponed to after the election cycle (Nov) - probably because it’s so unpopular and what they propose will be bad. I may have to roll the dice or abort and forget about solar. Other than Tesla pricing, the solar payoff as-is over 10 years is pretty low, but decent. I suspect NEM 3.0 will push things out enough to kill the value proposition vs traditional investments with the same money.

I figured that my install would be a cinch as I was a new construction, flat roof for easy access and layout, plenty of open space but things didn’t go well.

Redondo isn’t a fire area and I’m not income limited so it doesn’t look like I qualify for SGIP.

 

[sorka]

No, this quote does NOT include the tax credit. Maybe it's area specific, but Tesla in my zip is $2.51 now (just quoted yesterday). You can create an energysage account and prices are very competitive there. The benefit is you can still go local if you choose to since it's the same companies that's around you as well.

You may not believe, but maybe similar to your case of everyone charging double, prices aren't that out of whack for anyone not Tesla neither (my point).

It must since the ROI numbers quoted based on investment only work out to the stated time with the tax credit. Can you please post the link to the company that provided the quote?

 

[eisenb11]

I know this is about solar, but this caught my eyes. Does this system require a large water meter like 1" or larger? That would add a considerable to the water bill.

I think my house has a 1.5" main water line as I had to upsize to a higher model of water softener due to it. My water bill is pretty small (less than $40 I think). I don't think the line size makes much of a difference in water usage since flow rate is controlled by what's hooked up to it. Maybe if the sprinklers go off since they're high pressure, but then I have bigger things than the water bill to worry about!

What if Tesla gave you the specs and you hired a different contractor to install a permanent tether point, or points, for them to use on your roof?

I believe a prior poster was likely right in that they were looking for a lame excuse to not do the job. Tesla wouldn't listen to any of my suggestions, offers, or methods to locate a joist - for example, I can see where some of my joists are by removing a ceiling speaker. They cancelled me mid-discussion. Given that my roof is around 16 inches thick, you'd think that the chances of hitting anything should be small unless you go crazy with the drill and start digging for gold.

 

[charlesj]

I think my house has a 1.5" main water line as I had to upsize to a higher model of water softener due to it. My water bill is pretty small (less than $40 I think). I don't think the line size makes much of a difference in water usage since flow rate is controlled by what's hooked up to it. Maybe if the sprinklers go off since they're high pressure, but then I have bigger things than the water bill to worry about!



....

With that waterline did the water meter had to be changed to 1 1/2" size? If so, I bet your base rate is higher because of that larger meter. Yes, youir usage would not automatically increase but because of that larger meter, the base connection fee is usually based on the meter size, not the waterline.
I used a 2" water line from 5/8" meter to house than 1" main line in house then to 3/4"and 1/2" .

 

[eisenb11]

With that waterline did the water meter had to be changed to 1 1/2" size? If so, I bet your base rate is higher because of that larger meter. Yes, youir usage would not automatically increase but because of that larger meter, the base connection fee is usually based on the meter size, not the waterline.
I used a 2" water line from 5/8" meter to house than 1" main line in house then to 3/4"and 1/2" .

Ah, that would be beyond my level of knowledge. The house is a new construction and already had the fire suppression system and water lines installed by the time I got involved. My involvement was limited to walking into it during its first open house and saying “oooh, I want!”, ha ha. I found out that it had a larger-than-normal water line when my water softener salesmen told me I had to buy a model higher due to it!

 

[taphil]

My water line from the street is 1” at 150psi, but right after the water meter it goes to 1.5” to the house and 1.5” to landscaping irrigation. At the house, the 1.5” pipe splits to 1” for the fire sprinkler system and 1.5” to water pressure regulator, and the 1.5” splits again to 1.5” to the upstairs and downstairs lines.

No idea why it was done this way, but seems to not matter because any leak, crack, break, or blown sprinklerhead at 150psi creates a gyser or gusher. I know from experience, multiple times. It’s quite annoying. Also gets expensive putting in multiple water pressure regulators for the landscape irrigation lines.

 

[sunwarriors]

It must since the ROI numbers quoted based on investment only work out to the stated time with the tax credit. Can you please post the link to the company that provided the quote?

<sigh> Don't believe it if you don't want to, here is another image. One of the companies is GC Electric Solar. Here is another screengrab from a quote clearly showing price is before ITC.

I don't know why you are so sure of something when sometimes, we're simply wrong or we just don't know. Not all of us are idiots or trying to lie here. Again, maybe no one in your area was offering competitive prices, but that's not true for everyone/every area back in 2021. I'm sure prices are higher now since quotes I've seen posted on the solar reddit are higher, but so are Tesla prices in my area ($2.51 which I got a couple days ago).

San Diego has the highest energy prices in the nation (more than Hawaii) so yeah, ROI is very high/fast for SD.

 

[sorka]

<sigh> Don't believe it if you don't want to, here is another image. One of the companies is GC Electric Solar. Here is another screengrab from a quote clearly showing price is before ITC.

I don't know why you are so sure of something when sometimes, we're simply wrong or we just don't know. Not all of us are idiots or trying to lie here. Again, maybe no one in your area was offering competitive prices, but that's not true for everyone/every area back in 2021. I'm sure prices are higher now since quotes I've seen posted on the solar reddit are higher, but so are Tesla prices in my area ($2.51 which I got a couple days ago).

San Diego has the highest energy prices in the nation (more than Hawaii) so yeah, ROI is very high/fast for SD.

Thanks for that. Can you post the name of the company?

 

[sunwarriors]

Thanks for that. Can you post the name of the company?

I put the name in the post above. I didn't actually go with them, but they were one of the ones I was seriously considering.

G C Electric Solar - Profile & Reviews - 2024 | EnergySage

Read reviews for G C Electric Solar, a Solar PV, Energy Storage, Air Source Heat Pumps/Mini Splits company since 2014 based in Escondido, CA.

www.energysage.com

I'm pretty sure they won't be charging customers $5/W since Tesla is $2.51 for me currently.


One last thing I'll say is it's harmless to get multiple quotes from energysage. They may not be able to exactly charge what is initially quoted since you may have custom issues, requests, but they are close enough. There is an install story showing the above did one for $2.19/W which undercuts Tesla so why do people keep force/pushing that Tesla is always the cheapest? This was in 2021 though, but Tesla simply isn't as cheap anymore so you owe it to yourself to get tons of quotes (I got like 10-15, a lot of were tossed and low effort of course).

I didn't have that company above do my install (it was one of my quotes) so do your own research and I have no stake in that installer neither.

 

[racerex]

Is this thread indicating that Tesla won't install solar on homes with fire suppression systems? All new construction in California is mandated to have fire suppression.

 

[sorka]

I put the name in the post above. I didn't actually go with them, but they were one of the ones I was seriously considering.

G C Electric Solar - Profile & Reviews - 2024 | EnergySage

Read reviews for G C Electric Solar, a Solar PV, Energy Storage, Air Source Heat Pumps/Mini Splits company since 2014 based in Escondido, CA.

www.energysage.com

I'm pretty sure they won't be charging customers $5/W since Tesla is $2.51 for me currently.


One last thing I'll say is it's harmless to get multiple quotes from energysage. They may not be able to exactly charge what is initially quoted since you may have custom issues, requests, but they are close enough. There is an install story showing the above did one for $2.19/W which undercuts Tesla so why do people keep force/pushing that Tesla is always the cheapest? This was in 2021 though, but Tesla simply isn't as cheap anymore so you owe it to yourself to get tons of quotes (I got like 10-15, a lot of were tossed and low effort of course).

I didn't have that company above do my install (it was one of my quotes) so do your own research and I have no stake in that installer neither.

Yea, so I didn't realize you were talking about about an aggregator not an actual company. I went through something like this in 2018 when I was starting to get serious about solar and went through a site like this. The companies I chose for actual quotes all ended up coming in way higher for various BS reasons related to either my service area or non standard installation requirements which were complete lies.

 

[h2ofun]

Is this thread indicating that Tesla won't install solar on homes with fire suppression systems? All new construction in California is mandated to have fire suppression.

I thought only over a certain square foot size?

 

[eisenb11]

Is this thread indicating that Tesla won't install solar on homes with fire suppression systems? All new construction in California is mandated to have fire suppression.

Yes and no. At least per my experience, Tesla freaked out because I had a fire suppression system and didn't know where they could drill the roof. A flat roof probably made it worse versus a pitched roof, but at 16 inches thick the chances of hitting anything should be pretty slim unless they start drilling for oil.

I agree with another poster that it was likely a cop out to get out of the job for whatever reason to focus on easier installs, but since I posted on Reddit, I've now heard of other cases where they bailed for similar reasons and not just only with flat roofs.

Might as well give it a try if you're so inclined and don't mind gambling some frustration and wasted time (can't beat Tesla's price).

As you mentioned, they're mandated for new construction, so it doesn't seem like a wise move.

 

[taphil]

Is this thread indicating that Tesla won't install solar on homes with fire suppression systems? All new construction in California is mandated to have fire suppression.

They installed solar on my house, new 2015 construction with fire sprinklers. They never entered my house except for the garage (which also has fire spinklers) or asked about fire sprinklers. Tesla in general avoids uncommon roofs like flat ones.

 

[charlesj]

....

San Diego has the highest energy prices in the nation (more than Hawaii) so yeah, ROI is very high/fast for SD.

Don't feel bad, we have the highest water system cost here.
We are trying to buy them out; what a struggle.

 

[charlesj]

Is this thread indicating that Tesla won't install solar on homes with fire suppression systems? All new construction in California is mandated to have fire suppression.

Don't know but maybe it is the combo of it and flat roof? With attic it may be different, unless it is the water spraying during a fire might be it?

 

[racerex]

15.06.040 Section R313.2—One- and two-family dwelling automatic fire system.​

Section R313.2 is amended to read as follows:

An automatic sprinkler system shall be installed and maintained in all newly constructed California Residential Code regulated buildings.

Exceptions:

1. Detached Group U occupancies 1,000 sq. ft. or less. Agricultural buildings and private riding arenas as approved by the fire or building code official.

2. Detached pool houses up to 1,000 sq. ft. in floor area within 50 feet of the pool and limited to a single bathroom.

3. Detached Car Ports of non-combustible construction with no habitable space above.

 

[racerex]

If Tesla is saying they can't install solar on homes with fire suppression systems then something is fundamentally wrong with their strategy.

 

[eisenb11]

Tesla in general avoids uncommon roofs like flat ones.

I don't believe that is correct because Tesla has a mounting option designed explicitly for flat roofs