PSA: Tesla Solar Roof will not work on variably sloping or arcing roofs

[Cirrus MS100D]

This shouldn't come as a surprise, but I wanted to mention that I spoke with a Tesla Solar Roof rep who confirmed that Solar Roof is *not* compatible and cannot be installed on any "variable geometry" / sloping / arcing roofs. They can only accommodate straight, continues lines within their documented slope tolerances.

We had been holding out hope we could make the latest iteration of Tesla Solar Roof work on our house as our house will be undergoing a modest renovation with a small addition, which is going to necessitate a lot of work to integrate into the existing roofline (not shown in this photo). We love our slate roof, but the constant maintenance (it's approaching 100 years old) and difficulty of finding skilled folks who can do the maintenance has become more of an issue these last few years.

You can see our various slopes, swales, and curves, but they just aren't compatible with the Tesla glass tiles - they're actually somewhat problematic for our existing slate tiles too as it doesn't allow them to snugly headlap over one another throughout the slope.

I doubt this will be a problem for many folks looking at Tesla Solar Roof, but it will certainly eliminate the current iteration of the tiles for some homes with variable geometry rooflines like ours.

We are ultimately going to go with a metal roof and use thin film stick on solar panels as an alternative to balance aesthetics with solar.

 

[patrick40363]

They can't do 45 degree angles for their flashing too. They will be able at some point but not now.

 

[jboy210]

They can't do 45 degree angles for their flashing too. They will be able at some point but not now.

Which flashing are you talking about? The one on the roof edge come pre-bent at a 90. But the rest of the flashing on our house was custom made on site in a massive brake.

 

[DHevey]

We are ultimately going to go with a metal roof and use thin film stick on solar panels as an alternative to balance aesthetics with solar.

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I have a metal roof with thin film, and it looks and works well.

 

[patrick40363]

Which flashing are you talking about? The one on the roof edge come pre-bent at a 90. But the rest of the flashing on our house was custom made on site in a massive brake.

Roof edge/eaves. I was very surprised a roofing install can't do 45's. They have to make custom flashing per Tesla. I wish they could start installing tomorrow.

 

[jboy210]

Roof edge/eaves. I was very surprised a roofing install can't do 45's. They have to make custom flashing per Tesla. I wish they could start installing tomorrow.

They can do the custom angles. Ours took a lot of custom cutting and bending of flashing material. All done on-site.

 

[SMAlset]

I have to wonder as solar roofs/panels become more popular, and required installation by cities, whether house designers won’t start modifying their designs to include more flat and extensive roof surfaces. That simple, long rectangular house angled in just the right direction compass-wise has a lot of plusses. All the roof sections are nice to see on newer built hones and can offer some interesting ceilings inside too but as we’ve seen a design can be very limiting on some roofs and preclude a more robust PV system.

 

[jboy210]

I have to wonder as solar roofs/panels become more popular, and required installation by cities, whether house designers won’t start modifying their designs to include more flat and extensive roof surfaces. That simple, long rectangular house angled in just the right direction compass-wise has a lot of plusses. All the roof sections are nice to see on newer built hones and can offer some interesting ceilings inside too but as we’ve seen a design can be very limiting on some roofs and preclude a more robust PV system.

Makes sense. But I think interior ceilings are going to continue to be out of touch with the changes to the roof. One of our attics varies in height from 12 feet to 0 feet as the exterior roof heights change relative to the ceilings.

 

[Cirrus MS100D]

I have to wonder as solar roofs/panels become more popular, and required installation by cities, whether house designers won’t start modifying their designs to include more flat and extensive roof surfaces. That simple, long rectangular house angled in just the right direction compass-wise has a lot of plusses. All the roof sections are nice to see on newer built hones and can offer some interesting ceilings inside too but as we’ve seen a design can be very limiting on some roofs and preclude a more robust PV system.

Agreed - At this point, I feel like there are still a lot of architects who aren't factoring in stuff like solar in general and especially Tesla Solar Roof, thus we are still seeing roof designs that look like this, which just aren't going to work very well:

 

[SMAlset]

Back in the 90s we were looking to move up to a single family home and since we live in an area that can see temps in the 90s-100 range during summers wanted to buy a new house with Low-E windows. Not one developer was offering it. Only way was to do a custom home. I was angry enough to write to one or two home builders back then who we might have bought from otherwise and suggest they start offering Low-E windows even if it was done so as an option. Promote the heck out of the advantage and cost savings in heating and air conditioning over the life of the house and promote it as a selling feature down the road if the house is listed. Don’t know if my letters had any influence on their decision to start new developments with Low-E the following year, but would like to think it caught someone's attention and was a discussion point at some company meeting. A year or two later we bought in a new development with Low-E windows and some point after that California I think addressed it in building codes.

We also were early adopters of using LED lighting before it was popular. The State was listing new construction/remodels (did some remodeling) to have fluorescent lighting which I hated and still used more than the LED Cree flood/spotlights I wanted to use. Really had to fight with our city to instead approve the Cree LEDs and work with calculations but so glad we did.

I think if more people voice to developers wanting larger solar systems to power their homes, they will take notice and make changes. Cities and State as well. The solar units being put on some homes are pretty small systems. One neighborhood area had a choice of what size to put on their roofs through their developer although their roof design/house placement limited what they could do.

 

[jboy210]

Back in the 90s we were looking to move up to a single family home and since we live in an area that can see temps in the 90s-100 range during summers wanted to buy a new house with Low-E windows. Not one developer was offering it. Only way was to do a custom home. I was angry enough to write to one or two home builders back then who we might have bought from otherwise and suggest they start offering Low-E windows even if it was done so as an option. Promote the heck out of the advantage and cost savings in heating and air conditioning over the life of the house and promote it as a selling feature down the road if the house is listed. Don’t know if my letters had any influence on their decision to start new developments with Low-E the following year, but would like to think it caught someone's attention and was a discussion point at some company meeting. A year or two later we bought in a new development with Low-E windows and some point after that California I think addressed it in building codes.

We also were early adopters of using LED lighting before it was popular. The State was listing new construction/remodels (did some remodeling) to have fluorescent lighting which I hated and still used more than the LED Cree flood/spotlights I wanted to use. Really had to fight with our city to instead approve the Cree LEDs and work with calculations but so glad we did.

I think if more people voice to developers wanting larger solar systems to power their homes, they will take notice and make changes. Cities and State as well. The solar units being put on some homes are pretty small systems. One neighborhood area had a choice of what size to put on their roofs through their developer although their roof design/house placement limited what they could do.

We have been in remodel mode for the last 5-6 years. As we have gone through each room, we have replace the windows with the current Low-E windows. Makes a big difference in comfort.

 

[SMAlset]

Yeah once one builder starts doing something to further promote something like Low-E or Solar/Solar-Battery backup Or maybe more accommodating roof area for solar, even if the State hasn’t yet been requiring it, it puts pressure on other developers to follow suit. Potential homeowners can always upgrade carpeting later or make other interior changes much easier and more cost effectively than replacing windows or roofs. Same with installing EV charging at build time. We would have loved to have done gone with solar roof tiles but our concrete tiles still have too many years left to make replacing the roof now make financial sense. It would have been my first choice though but panels it is!

 

[jboy210]

Yeah once one builder starts doing something to further promote something like Low-E or Solar/Solar-Battery backup Or maybe more accommodating roof area for solar, even if the State hasn’t yet been requiring it, it puts pressure on other developers to follow suit. Potential homeowners can always upgrade carpeting later or make other interior changes much easier and more cost effectively than replacing windows or roofs. Same with installing EV charging at build time. We would have loved to have done gone with solar roof tiles but our concrete tiles still have too many years left to make replacing the roof now make financial sense. It would have been my first choice though but panels it is!

We were on our third lifetime tile roof in 25 years when we ripped off the last set and put on the SolarGlass. Strange thing about a roof 30 year warranty is it only works if the company that made the tiles is still in business. And based on our experience the companies have a 5 year lifespan before they are no longer in business, or change their names and are no longer in business under the entity referred to in your warranty documents.