Tesla or another Integrated Solar Roof experience?

[xkwizit]

Hi - we are in planning stage for a custom home and every builder we have talked to is trying to talk us out of doing solar roof saying the technology is too new and not yet stable.
From our respected member community, if you have a Tesla or another integrated solar roof, I will appreciate hearing from you.

 

[Er1c*]

We looked at doing a solar roof on our new build. The lead time, and uncertainty of when exactly they could install the roof made it almost impossible. We ended up traditional roof then installed solar on top of it. I'm glad we did it, there were so many delays with the install of the normal solar panels, if we had waited for a solar roof, it would have delayed us moving into the house for a year or more. The new house is high on a hill and almost three stories high on the front, I never look at the roof, it's too high up, so it doesn't really matter what's up there... for me anyway.

 

[SaveOurPlanet]

Solar roof is not stable? What’s the basis of that? I’ll buy reasons like it could be hard to repair, it is not as efficient, it is not cost effective, it takes Tesla forever to install it. I think solar roof looks better than panels and works just fine, and it has some or all the short comings I just mentioned, but not stable?

 

[wjgjr]

I just recently posted that a year on from PTO on our roof (and about 17 months since install) everything with our roof has performed entirely as expected. So, my experience has been positive in that regard. With that said, I do think the concerns mentioned above regarding scheduling for new construction are valid and significant. Tesla might (there have been sporadic reports of this recently) have some renewed interest in supporting new homes, so it is probably worth seeing if they do have any dedicated support for new home construction projects. And, there do exist third party installers in some areas who might cost more but who are traditional building/roofing companies, so they should actually understand how new construction works and be able to better coordinate schedules.

The other big thing with including a solar roof would be making sure the design of the new home's roof best supports the product. In general, this means simpler is better, including fewer ridges, vents, dormers, or anything else that would add cost to the roof and reduce production.

 

[xkwizit]

Solar roof is not stable? What’s the basis of that? I’ll buy reasons like it could be hard to repair, it is not as efficient, it is not cost effective, it takes Tesla forever to install it. I think solar roof looks better than panels and works just fine, and it has some or all the short comings I just mentioned, but not stable?

I think what they mean is technology hasn’t been around long enough to find and resolve issues as compared to PV panels.

 

[jboy210]

The roof itself seems fine, but the issue is installation time on the builder's schedule. Tesla has their own schedule and the builder has there own schedule and the 2 will likely not mesh well.

With that side, we are quite happy with the Solarroof. It has done what we wanted, generating solar and with the Powerwalls ensure we always had power. And it looks better than a normal roof with solar panels on top.

 

[xkwizit]

The roof itself seems fine, but the issue is installation time on the builder's schedule. Tesla has their own schedule and the builder has there own schedule and the 2 will likely not mesh well.

With that side, we are quite happy with the Solarroof. It has done what we wanted, generating solar and with the Powerwalls ensure we always had power. And it looks better than a normal roof with solar panels on top.

How well does Tesla roof do for heat control as compared to normal roof like Spanish tile?

 

[h2ofun]

The roof itself seems fine, but the issue is installation time on the builder's schedule. Tesla has their own schedule and the builder has there own schedule and the 2 will likely not mesh well.

With that side, we are quite happy with the Solarroof. It has done what we wanted, generating solar and with the Powerwalls ensure we always had power. And it looks better than a normal roof with solar panels on top.

The real question for me is not the install, but the concern of support issues in the next 25 years. Seem most blow this concern off. If would be the number 1 reason I would never do a solar roof, but this just me.

 

[jboy210]

The real question for me is not the install, but the concern of support issues in the next 25 years. Seem most blow this concern off. If would be the number 1 reason I would never do a solar roof, but this just me.

But does any roof really have support?

Our previous tile roof was breaking if you walked on it after 10 years. The maker of the tiles was bankrupt so the warranty was useless. And the installer had retired and closed shop. So we looked at getting solar panels with a new roof from Petersendean because they were so big (5 states) and "stable". After 8 months of going back and forth with Petersendean, we selected a Tesla Solar roof. Tesla installed it in March 2020. Petersendean filed for bankruptcy protection about the same time and sold off assets in July 2020.

I think we dodged a bullet by not going for a conventional roof with solar panels from one of the largest installers.

 

[jimm01]

Not wanting to get into too much of my personal experience with my Tesla Solar Roof install I think the biggest impediment for new construction is scheduling. Depending on where you live, your builder, architect, etc. Tesla responsiveness and ability to install the roof in the necessary time frame may not suffice. Usually the roof goes on as soon as the sheathing is installed and all vents, sacks, chimneys, etc. are cut in or finished (before the siding). Not much work can go on in the interior until the roof is sealed in. If there is a local installer who partners with Tesla in your area you may have better results.

 

[h2ofun]

But does any roof really have support?

Our previous tile roof was breaking if you walked on it after 10 years. The maker of the tiles was bankrupt so the warranty was useless. And the installer had retired and closed shop. So we looked at getting solar panels with a new roof from Petersendean because they were so big (5 states) and "stable". After 8 months of going back and forth with Petersendean, we selected a Tesla Solar roof. Tesla installed it in March 2020. Petersendean filed for bankruptcy protection about the same time and sold off assets in July 2020.

I think we dodged a bullet by not going for a conventional roof with solar panels from one of the largest installers.

Why I just installed a new asphalt roof. Simple!

 

[jjrandorin]

OP, here are my thoughts on this topic. Note that I do not have a solar roof, but panels. I do not have as much knowledge around the roof product as someone who has one, and we have several here that do.

With that out of the way... my thoughts:

The solar roof product itself seems to be good. There are no "real" competitors to the solar roof. Its real competition at this point is a regular roof with solar panels. Some other companies are working on things they call " solar roofs" but they are not that similar.

Tesla does NOT do well with trying to schedule things not on their own time... period. This will be close to the root of some of the complaints you will likely see from your builders. Tesla supposedly has a department that is now working on solar roofs on new builds, but I have my doubts on teslas ability to meet any kind of "regular / tight" timeline that a builder might box them into.

"Roof goes on at this week" is probably what needs to happen for your prospective builders, but I dont trust tesla to be able to meet such a timeline, possibly delaying your builder (and costing you money, since those resources are paid by the day).

If you choose a solar roof, you have to get " as much PV as you might ever want" up front, because adding to it will be virtually impossible. So, you need to build and get an accurate size for what you might need 10 years in the future.

Unlike a regular roof + solar panels, if you wanted to change out or add more powerful panels "later" 10-12 years down the road, with solar panels you can simply "take em down and put up new ones" not so much on a solar roof.

The aesthetics of the solar roof are very nice, if that look goes with your prospective home. the different colors etc have not been released yet, so the current color of the roof has to match what you are planning. Of course, if you are getting panels, they are going to cover up large portions of your roof anyway.

It boils down to "what is the driver for a solar roof"? for you. A solar roof will likely add time to your project, and be something your prospective builders dont want to deal with. If that is worth it to you for the integration, then perhaps its what you want. Solar panels are not as "integrated" looking, but have been around a while, and can be taken off and put up by a number of different companies, so you wont be married to one company / technology.

I think the solar roof has a lot of potential to be great, and am grateful for those who have taken the plunge to give their feedback. If it was me, and I was building a custom home, I would likely put on a regular roof and then get solar panels. I would also try to get the roof design to be pretty optimal for panels from a direction etc point of view as well as perhaps not seeing the panels from the street or something.

 

[wjgjr]

Unlike a regular roof + solar panels, if you wanted to change out or add more powerful panels "later" 10-12 years down the road, with solar panels you can simply "take em down and put up new ones" not so much on a solar roof.

I agree with a lot of you points, and I think it is clear that the biggest practical hurdle is just going to be the logistics of scheduling the install. That is where I do wonder if one of the 3rd-party installers might be better suited to this kind of job, assuming there is one in the area.

I quote the above because it is one area where that might not end up being true. With solar panels, you can certainly take them down and put up new ones, though there is no guarantee they will be simple replacements - if dimensions of the available panels have changed (and certainly with Tesla, they have frequently) there is no guarantee that it will be as easy as a swap on the existing hardware. With the solar roof, there are a lot of unknowns, so I absolutely would not count on any ability to upgrade the performance, but it is at least possible that Tesla will continue to manufacture the same size shingles, which would allow the option to swap in new, better ones down the line, potentially without much difference in effort than panels.

 

[jboy210]

Why I just installed a new asphalt roof. Simple!

I don't like the look of asphalt roofs. Also, it would likely reduce the home's market value since almost every home in the neighborhood has a tile or slate roof.

 

[h2ofun]

I don't like the look of asphalt roofs. Also, it would likely reduce the home's market value since almost every home in the neighborhood has a tile or slate roof.

Might be true, but I live on a lake with multi million dollar homes, and most have alphalt roofs and no one thinks twice about it, or at least the ones I interface with.

 

[jboy210]

Might be true, but I live on a lake with multi million dollar homes, and most have alphalt roofs and no one thinks twice about it, or at least the ones I interface with.

Same price range by me. But ours was a housing track of 40 homes that were built with tile, slate, or wood shake roofs (yikes!). So an asphalt shingle roof stands out. Seems a lot of the pressure to stay with the nicer roof is from the newer buyers that paid those big prices. Most of us old-timers paid 1/5 or less of the current market value.

But it does not impact me, since I don't like the look of shingle roofs when compared to tile, slate, etc.

 

[camminich]

Saying solar is new, or unstable, is pretty much the same argument against an electric car. Yes, in a few years something better may be developed, and it may even cost less. I think for each person/family considering this they need to determine what their comfortable buy price will be and then make a plan.

I knew based on my annual energy cost I needed to be under $1.89 per watt install cost to accomplish about a 7 year break even on solar. That was my comfort level. For me, that meant this last year was the time to buy. The newer (but not latest) 320watt panels combined with the federal tax incentive plus local incentives got my per watt down under $1.87 prior to fed tax credit ($1.38 with credit). I have a 14kw grid tied system that can fully power my home and push energy back into the grid. My local power company provides an annual credit program that will allow me to "store" power with a rollover in March each year. That way I can overproduce in the summer, and draw back in the winter. I am at a net 0 power consumption on the year, this year will be about 3% overage back into the system.

Solar was a good investment for me. I plan on keeping my house for the next 20+ years, I am very lucky to have an open southern exposure, and although living in the PNW, we still get a lot of summer sun.

It's not for everyone, but in my opinion, it's also not something your builder should be telling you is or is not a good idea. I would recommend continuing to do what your plan is. Research your cost and determine what's going to work best for you. Also check with your power company to find out what their plans are for grid tied solar system.