Solar Roof install in progress

[bayareaever]

Here’s some pics for those interested. I very narrowly dodged the price increase which I’m grateful for. It’s a 6.55 kw system including detached garage. I’ll post more pics as it progresses. Experience with crew has been very positive, including little hiccups that have come up just because the house is old (asbestos pipes, other code violations from past, etc). I highly recommend for those that have the funds.

 

[bayareaever]

Just following up- the roof is finally up and running after a long delay because of subcontractors upgrading the main panel. The first subs did it wrong so they had to bring in another to fix it, which took forever.

This solar roof has 8 smallish strings and total production is as expected so far. One of the installers told me it’s possible to log in to inverters to see individual string performance- I want to check just to make sure they’re all producing. Does anyone know if I can do this myself without waiting for someone from Tesla to be onsite?

I’m glad to answer questions about my experience for those going through the purchase/installation process.

 

[SMAlset]

Looks nice! Too bad about the delay but glad it’s all done now and up and running. I do think the solar tiles make for an attractive roof. I think @jboy210 might be able to answer some of your questions—early solar roof tile install here in bay area.

 

[mswlogo]

How much was it?

 

[slcasner]

That's more boxes on the wall than I would expect for a 6.55kW system.

 

[bayareaever]

How much was it?

$52.5k total before ITC which includes 3 PWs, and main panel upgrade/roof repair of about $6k. Current price on website is more like $62-$72k so I got a good deal.

The final product is great but the whole process was very drawn out, and there are still loose ends including an inspection so hopefully that goes smoothly. No one at Tesla with much technical knowledge seems to be in charge of the project, so I ended up being the one ensuring that things kept moving forward. They do have knowledgeable installers but they’re often not the ones making decisions unfortunately.

 

[bayareaever]

That's more boxes on the wall than I would expect for a 6.55kW system.

There is 8 strings total but 4 of them are on a detached garage. I think that’s why they used 2 inverters (one of each size). Plus the gateway, exchange box, load panel, main panel, and SunPower monitoring (separate system). Everything had to be bunched together because the gas meter is to the left and pge requires 3’ of clearance.

 

[SVDNN]

Congrats! Looks great.

 

[jk732]

Just following up- the roof is finally up and running after a long delay because of subcontractors upgrading the main panel. The first subs did it wrong so they had to bring in another to fix it, which took forever.

This solar roof has 8 smallish strings and total production is as expected so far. One of the installers told me it’s possible to log in to inverters to see individual string performance- I want to check just to make sure they’re all producing. Does anyone know if I can do this myself without waiting for someone from Tesla to be onsite?

I’m glad to answer questions about my experience for those going through the purchase/installation process.

Congrats and looks great ! Did they use steel tiles for non-PV portion of your roof ?

 

[slcasner]

I’m glad to answer questions about my experience for those going through the purchase/installation process.

It looks like the rain gutters were not replaced. I was told the old gutters have to be removed during the roof tear-off. Was that not the case for your home?

 

[bayareaever]

It looks like the rain gutters were not replaced. I was told the old gutters have to be removed during the roof tear-off. Was that not the case for your home?

Replacing the gutters was optional in my case so I gladly chose to save a few thousand dollars. The roof tear-off contractor confirmed that my gutters were compatible with solar roof after removing the asphalt shingles. I think he said the top has to be flush with plywood but with some gutters it isn’t.

 

[bayareaever]

Congrats and looks great ! Did they use steel tiles for non-PV portion of your roof ?

I think all the fractional pieces are metal and maybe a few whole shingles. I know there are many glass non-solar shingles (probably a majority). I have very few non-solar planes so maybe not the most representative example.

It turned out to be a non-issue as everything looks uniform except for after the rain if you look closely from a certain angle. I have unusually close views of the roof from a single second story room so I can see many imperfections that are invisible from the street.