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Tesla Solar Roof: Money Calc

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SageBrush

REJECT Fascism
May 7, 2015
14,862
21,485
New Mexico
Elon has said in the past that the new solar roof will pay for itself over time.
Electrek now reports pricing, so I thought it time to see if I could validate Elon's statement

Assumptions:
12% efficiency
20% generation capacity
Half of roof PV
15% average PV degradation

Calc:
  • At $21.85 a square foot, $235 a square meter
  • 30 years of sunlight, 5 hours normal a day: 54750 kwh
  • At 12% efficiency, 6570 kWh
  • At 50% roof PV, 6570*0.5 = 3285 kWh
  • 15% degradation, 3285*0.85 = 2792 kWh
Well. If the reported cost includes installation this is exciting stuff. And if not, the material is free which is also pretty compelling.