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Tesla Solar vs ....[third party competitors]
- Thread starter G2bme
- Start date
I'm starting the process with Tesla today. I'm a bit upset that at most Tesla was able to design a 9.6 kW system whereas competitors came in at 12.8 kW max. I signed up today because they gave me the best price, and was assigned March 14 as the Site Assessment date...nearly 30 days out. Then it will take another 3 weeks for them to come up with the "planset", and another couple weeks to submit the application to the utility company. Really cutting it close here.
That doesnt sound like cutting it close (if you are talking about NEM 3.0. that sounds like "too long"
California: Tesla Solar "guarantees" NEM2 eligibility for designs finalized before March 15
Like many I've been exploring the idea of adding additional solar to my home prior to the NEM3 rules kicking in. I have an existing 7.6kw SunPower microinverter system with 2x Powerwall 2s, both installed by a local third party. I approached them recently looking to add about ~5kw of additional...
teslamotorsclub.com
It also sounds like "Its not the size I wanted, nor the speed I wanted, but the price was right so that was most important to me", so I am also going to assume that the price being right includes a desire for NEM 2.0.
The only other feedback I have is what I said a bit earlier in this thread in post #207
The only other feedback I will say is, any customer service feedback on teslas process or lack thereof will be moved to the thread that contains that, which is stickied at the top of this subforum, and for reference is here:
Discussion: Tesla Energy / Auto Customer Service
The couple say they have now faced 18 months of recurring, damaging leaks, a severe mold infestation that forced them out of their home for three months, and an ongoing dispute with Tesla over how much money Tesla will pay for repairs...
I wish you the best in getting accomplished what you are trying to get accomplished, in the time frame you desire.
To reiterate what the above said, March 14th + 3wks brings you to April 4th. I think that only gives you about a week to get the permit filed in time, right? If so, it's not going to happen...
What they are doing now is prior to filing for permits, they apply for the utility application. But that in itself takes a "couple" weeks per the Tesla representative. So April 4th + 2 weeks = April 18th which just misses the deadline. I feel like I'm playing with fire here. I do have other options with other installers who promise to get it done if I give them the go ahead by March 1st, but they all cost $20,000 more for nearly the same system.
100% can relate as I'm waiting for my permit to be submitted or whatever comes after the initial site visit. The initial site visit was on the 3rd, and the inspector told me verbally that I won't have any issues. He also said that I would hear back within two weeks, and if you do the quick math you would realize that is today (crickets so far).
Not sure how this will be handled, but I think the wording is that everything has to be in good standing order and IOU approved so if it's not approved, I don't know how solid anyone has to fight to still be in NEM2.0 if there are any issues found after they submit all the docs.
We'll all see in a couple months. Maybe with pressure from people, IOUs will not make things that hard and allow some leeway if things weren't filed correctly.
I think from earlier math, if you don't get NEM2.0 and have no plans for batteries, expect that your solar now will be closer to $10/kW since your net metering will drop from 1:1 to 1:0.25 or 1:0.13 (in San Diego). I don't think the numbers will ever pencil out.
I don't know if people just don't try looking for other installers (there are a lot posted on solar reddit), but my system was ~$0.05 more not going with Tesla solar. I'm sure prices are higher now, there is a massive backlog and installers can pick/choose work, but I see enough posts on the solar reddit that it doesn't seem prices are insane for many parts of CA.
We'll all see how this all plays out, but if the deadline passes, I assume most people will simply not go solar at all so that's the main risk I see (know that you simply will not get solar at all if you don't get NEM2.0 or until they change NEM3.0).
I don't think people invest in solar energy for their houses with the purpose of selling back the excess. That's just a side benefit...the return on the investment is still very much there and intact.
Depends on how you ask the question. If one is all electric, like, if I cannot sell back in the summer at a decent price, then to buy back in the winter at a high price probably makes the numbers such that solar makes no sense.
If one uses all their solar per month and sends no back, then yep, the change is a do not care. But how many are like this?
Not to sell back excess to make $$, but to sell back excess to zero out their bill over a year via generation credits for oneself.
Without the 1:1 and soon to be 1 : 0.13 metering in San Diego, the credit you get back is so miniscule that for a lot of folks, the $$ upfront is too high for a common person and they will still have bills each month since they won't be able to generate enough to zero it out under NEM3.0.
Even for many NEM2.0 installs, at the end of the year, those installs were generally sized/speced/IOU allowed to cover 100% energy use assuming excess generation in fall/spring, but you're now thinking that with the NEM3.0 change, you will still be like that?
Do the math, a person simply can't generate much/any credits when they are selling at 13-25%, but forced to pay at 100% cost of what the IOUs will soon charge during peak when there is no sun (for no ESS installs).
This is complete nonsense.
If a homeowner doesn't intend to sell excess, then they will bank no credits. Energy bills will still be high since power is still consumed when the sun isn't high in the sky, and payoff or break-even point extends beyond a decade.
If self-sufficiency is required in addition to not selling excess, a giant array of batteries will be required and an accompanying giant solar array to charge them, at which point there is no payoff over never installing anything and staying connected to the grid.
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A big issue is people who could have ordered a profitable solar system last year failed to do so, and put it off till the last minute to be Grandfathered into a rapidly closing window.
Solar sales people will say what they need to say to get an order. They have no control over the speed of installation or how your Utility rates will end up. Imagine there are a mass of people and companies trying to cram every deal possible into the Utilities before the rules change.
Going to be some confusion and nail biting until the exact documents are signed off.
Solar companies and their customers have a tremendous interest in getting everything approved prior to the deadline. Utilities have every incentive to slow down the processing to increase future profits.
In the case of Tesla Solar, I imagine that due to them often being the lowest cost option, that they are getting slammed with last minute orders, and processing them as fast as possible. Since they do most of the work behind the scenes, customers are going to be getting crazy trying to get daily updates from a company that tends to go radio silent until things are finalized.
Solar sales people will say what they need to say to get an order. They have no control over the speed of installation or how your Utility rates will end up. Imagine there are a mass of people and companies trying to cram every deal possible into the Utilities before the rules change.
Going to be some confusion and nail biting until the exact documents are signed off.
Solar companies and their customers have a tremendous interest in getting everything approved prior to the deadline. Utilities have every incentive to slow down the processing to increase future profits.
In the case of Tesla Solar, I imagine that due to them often being the lowest cost option, that they are getting slammed with last minute orders, and processing them as fast as possible. Since they do most of the work behind the scenes, customers are going to be getting crazy trying to get daily updates from a company that tends to go radio silent until things are finalized.
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