Pictures of Solar on Flat Roof Home

[nickw252]

I have a flat roof home with a short parapet around the borders of the roof. How high up are the solar panels mounted? How noticeable will this be from the street. The parapet is about 8-12 inches tall depending on the slope. Anyone have a flat roof home with panels installed they'd be willing to share?

A picture of one of the roof areas where panels will be installed is attached.

 

[nickw252]

Pic of the roof.

 

[frankg3]

I was told Tesla does not install on flat roofs.

Pic of the roof.

 

[jjrandorin]

They did on a section of flat roof for a member here (@SoCal Dave ), but I dont think tesla would do an install on just a flat roof with nothing else. That was a portion of his install not the entire thing. with that being said, this OP didnt say "tesla install" they said "solar install". I am sure someone would install on the flat roof, but since the panels need to be tilted, I would expect them to be quite visible from the street.. at least that would be my guess.

I also dont think tesla would do it, so you likely need to look at third party installers and ask them for a quote, and those questions. You will pay more but likely can get some of those specific type questions answered.

 

[nickw252]

It's a Tesla install. "Flat roof" is a bit of a misnomer. They always have a bit of slope for the water to run off.

Maybe Tesla changed their policies. They haven't brought up any concerns about the roof type.

 

[jjrandorin]

Post 64 from this thread has @SoCal Dave 's "flat roof" portion:

First day of my 12.24 kW install!

 

[nickw252]

Post 64 from this thread has @SoCal Dave 's "flat roof" portion:

First day of my 12.24 kW install!

Thanks, that's a huge help. It looks like his roof is a similar material as mine (rolled-on asphalt composite). Mine has an elastomeric coating over top though, and it has parapets around the border.

 

[SoCal Dave]

My flat roof is on top of a 2 story addition and the panels are pretty far from edges so I can't see them from the ground. I'd expect you will be able to see them on your house as it will be lower and they will need to be installed closer to the edges due to space constraints. They are probably a good 12-15" off the surface. Maybe you can put a stick of a similar height on your roof to see how much you will see from the ground.

I don't know why Tesla installed on my flat roof as I seem to be the only exception. Additionally, I did have space in other areas they could have installed on.

The one thing I can think of is a Tesla sales rep contacted me on SolarSage and I told him I was looking at having panels only installed on my flat roof (when I was originally planning for an 8kW system). He said Tesla could do this. I'm not sure if having a sales rep push for a certain install approach is what helped get my project through.

 

[Rebeccastanke]

Please help!

I prefer to have Tesla install panels on my flat roof. In my opinion, Tesla is the best at solar and battery.

Here’s the problem:
I’m having a very difficult time getting an “in my opinion” a “solar design that make sense” for flat roofs from Tesla Solar. Their solution is 68% ROI and flat panels on a flat roof for 50k. I have over 3000k square feet of roof space, the design uses 50% of this space because the panels are laying flat on a flat.

Concerns:
Over the next 25 years, what will be my cost in overall ownership, will I have roof leaks because the panels obstructed a roller from getting under the panels to reseal the roof? I had roof leaks after just 2 years of resealing so I completly resurfaced my roof but the warrantee specifically says that I need to reseal the roof as soon as I see cracks. How do you see cracks under the solar panels?

Questions:
Has anyone had Tesla flat solar panels on a flat roof for say 20 years? What has the weather done to your flat roof since you can’t roll-on the sealant under and around those Tesla panels?

Observations:
Tesla gigafactory is a flat roof and from what I see, the panels look to be about 15% angled so maybe this is a non issue. I don’t see a way to roll sealant under those panels.

On the other hand, maybe because Tesla owns the product, they can do the needful at minimal cost. My concern is the actual cost of homeowner for these solar power. The designer told me that removing and reinstalling the panels to reseal the roof would be my cost.

So in cost of ownership:
Do I have a 25 year warrantee on those panels, or is it more like 8-10 years because of the secondary damage caused from putting flat panels on a flat roof. Am I overthinking this?

 

[ptdusn]

Please help!

I prefer to have Tesla install panels on my flat roof. In my opinion, Tesla is the best at solar and battery.

Here’s the problem:
I’m having a very difficult time getting an “in my opinion” a “solar design that make sense” for flat roofs from Tesla Solar. Their solution is 68% ROI and flat panels on a flat roof for 50k. I have over 3000k square feet of roof space, the design uses 50% of this space because the panels are laying flat on a flat.

Concerns:
Over the next 25 years, what will be my cost in overall ownership, will I have roof leaks because the panels obstructed a roller from getting under the panels to reseal the roof? I had roof leaks after just 2 years of resealing so I completly resurfaced my roof but the warrantee specifically says that I need to reseal the roof as soon as I see cracks. How do you see cracks under the solar panels?

Questions:
Has anyone had Tesla flat solar panels on a flat roof for say 20 years? What has the weather done to your flat roof since you can’t roll-on the sealant under and around those Tesla panels?

Observations:
Tesla gigafactory is a flat roof and from what I see, the panels look to be about 15% angled so maybe this is a non issue. I don’t see a way to roll sealant under those panels.

On the other hand, maybe because Tesla owns the product, they can do the needful at minimal cost. My concern is the actual cost of homeowner for these solar power. The designer told me that removing and reinstalling the panels to reseal the roof would be my cost.

So in cost of ownership:
Do I have a 25 year warrantee on those panels, or is it more like 8-10 years because of the secondary damage caused from putting flat panels on a flat roof. Am I overthinking this?

My Son-in-Law had Sunrun install a 5kW system, (with 2 Powerwalls) on his flat roof. There is a 25 yr warranty. The roof shouldn't crack because of being shaded by the panels. They are angled properly to catch the sun.

 

[Rebeccastanke]

My Son-in-Law had Sunrun install a 5kW system, (with 2 Powerwalls) on his flat roof. There is a 25 yr warranty. The roof shouldn't crack because of being shaded by the panels. They are angled properly to catch the sun.

Where did he put the powerwalls? Are they in the garage or outside? Has he tested the powerwalls to see if they will hold up during an electrical outage?

 

[ptdusn]

The PWs are outside by their patio door, (they live in a Townhome), under their patio roof. No Garage. He hasn't tested them but they did have a power outage for an hour and they worked ok for them. We had an outage for 15 minutes 3 weeks ago and no issues. Our A/C worked the same as being connected to the grid.