Solar panels and clay tile roofs

[SMF]

OK--I have a Spanish clay tile roof in SoCal, and am frustrated like those on this thread that Tesla refuses to install. But Tesla uses 3rd Party local installers for all projects. If someone can find a local installer for solar panels on a clay tile roof and powerwalls --will Tesla even sell the panels to that customer, or are they closed out completely? In other words, does Tesla sell the panels separate from the installation charges? Thanks

 

[wjgjr]

OK--I have a Spanish clay tile roof in SoCal, and am frustrated like those on this thread that Tesla refuses to install. But Tesla uses 3rd Party local installers for all projects. If someone can find a local installer for solar panels on a clay tile roof and powerwalls --will Tesla even sell the panels to that customer, or are they closed out completely? In other words, does Tesla sell the panels separate from the installation charges? Thanks

Tesla does not manufacture their own panels (at least currently - certainly may change some day) so, unsurprisingly, they do not sell the panels except as part of an install.

 

[wetach1]

A few months ago, we had 44 panels installed on our concrete tile roof. When we had Tesla make a proposal, they were planning to order a a pallet of replacement tiles because they expected to break many tiles during the installation.

We went with a 3rd party installer that had a crew experienced with concrete roof tile installation - and they were able to do the installation (4 groups of panels) without breaking a single tile.

The installation was more expensive, and required using special brackets. The installers would remove a single tile, attach the bracket directly to the stud in the roof, and then reinstall the tile over the bracket. Installation on the roof took a week - much longer than installation would have taken if we'd had a shingle roof.

Of course, concrete tiles are much sturdier than clay tiles. It's likely many tiles will be broken either due to the installers walking on the tiles, or during the tile removal/replacement process. So you should expect installation to take longer, cost more, and the installers will probably replace a lot of tiles.

We were concerned initially about how the black solar panels would look on our red spanish tile roof - but now that the installation is finished, it looks fine.

Another item to consider - our installers avoided running any exposed conduit on the roof. Under each group of solar panels, the wiring was punched through into the attic below. Conduit was run through the attic and then exited the attic under the eave and then going straight down the outside wall (with the conduit painted the wall color). Not only does this look much cleaner, it also eliminated the addition complexity of running the conduit across the tile roof and then around and over the gutter.

What third party installer did you use on your concrete tile roof solar installation?

 

[bob_p]

We used Hays Energy Services - that's affiliated with Hays Electrical Services. They had an installation crew with experience in tile roof installation.

And so far, other than some broken tiles our roofer found when they recently fixed a leak in another area of the roof, we haven't had any problems from the solar panel installation on our tile roof.

 

[ptdusn]

Here in AZ we have the tile roof also. And to add to what @bob_p said our solar company, SunRun, did the same thing....they have a bracket that they lift the tile screw it into the stud under the decking, (has sealant and a gasket to prevent leaks), and put the tile back. The bracket fits between the tile. Sorry I don't presently have any pictures of the panels on the roof. But plan on getting some. We have a 9.4Kw system with 2 PW's.

 

[Prasannakt]

I'm new to the energy section of this forum and just getting up to speed on Tesla's energy products. I've wanted solar for my home for years but I could never find an installer that would install panels on a clay tile roof. I guess they consider the tiles too fragile and don't want the liability if they crack them during the installation.

Has anyone found a solution for this, either with Teslas solar products or any brand of panels? I think the solar roof tiles look great but there is really nothing wrong with my roof so it's tough to justify installing a brand new roof just to get solar.

My electric bill runs around $210 per month, which includes charging two Model 3's. So I don't think I would need a particularly large array of panels to cover my costs. Just looking for any ideas if anyone else has encountered this problem and found a solution.

Thanks,

Hello OP,
What did you finally end doing with your solar panel installation on the clay roof? I am in the similar scenario and any inputs would be greatly be appreciated..

 

[Prasannakt]

Tesla did it on my roof. Some kind of mounting bracket apparently works fine with the tiles. They did break a bunch during installation, hence the bare spots, but came back a week or so later to replace them.

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Hello; Tesla does mention now on their website that they don’t do tile. During the time of your installation, was there a many such mention? How did they agree to install on clay?

 

[astrorob]

all these threads really make me wonder. clearly there is a big difference between concrete tiles and clay tiles with respect to solar installation, with concrete apparently being much easier to do. but based on some of the pictures here there also seem to be different kinds of clay tiles. i see some clay tile roofs that are *very* regular with the tiles all looking the same. and then there is my roof which uses (for lack of a better word) 'old fashioned' clay tiles. mine at least are attached to the roof with metal wires and have a tapered shape along the long axis, and i think a slightly different radius at the top and bottom. the roof has a very 'rustic' look to it and the tiles are very fragile. even experienced roofers break them while walking on the roof.

in my case the solar installer (not tesla) determined that the right thing to do was remove the tiles, put down a bitumen roof, then put the panels in and reinstall the tiles around the panels. however, because of how the tiles are supposed to overlap one another starting from the crest of the roof, once the rows of tiles stopped at the top edge of the array, it could not be continued again below the array. my panels are also quite a bit higher than the tile surface but maybe this is a good thing for cooling purposes. many on-tile installations i see are almost totally flush with the tiles and although that looks good i wonder about airflow.

anyway i'm not sure if these guys just took the easy way out, or if it is the only way to go on this type of tile roof.

 

[OCR1]

Hello OP,
What did you finally end doing with your solar panel installation on the clay roof? I am in the similar scenario and any inputs would be greatly be appreciated..

Tesla determined I did not have enough sun to make the project viable so they canceled the order.