Time Lapse Video of Virginia Solar Roof Install

[trautmane2]

How bid was this system? What % was solar producing and what % was dummy tile?

This is a 9.94 kW system with 170 430mm x 1140mm PV tiles which works out to roughly 900 square feet if I converted everything correctly.
There is roughly 3000 square feet of dummy tile / metal roof - so one quarter PV, three quarters dummy.
I was limited in the amount of PV I could install because of the net metering arrangement in which my power company wants me to produce close to the amount of electricity I use annually and no more.

 

[gigawatt1010]

Thanks @trautmane2 and @wjgjr !

Yes, I remember reading your post about looking up your town's bldg department's website searching for your permit. Also I remember reading up on @wjgjr's post regarding his system.

I am done waiting for this and it made it less stressful. I agree on potentially having a price change (discount) the longer I wait. Or maybe a GW3 or PW3.. LOL

Good luck with both your systems. Curious how they perform in East Coast winter.

 

[kegardengirl]

Greetings, I am in Ashburn VA and would love to see your new roof! We are planning for a new home construction in The Plains and would like to see if Tesla would install out that way. I have reached out to Tesla but have not received any responses as yet. The order website is only for existing homes. Might you have a contact you can share?

Thanks,
Karla

My solar roof install finished up last week. I'm eagerly waiting for my gutters to be installed this week and ultimately PTO.

Here is a time lapse video of my install so far:

This was my first time using my son's GoPro with iMovie, so cinematography could definitely be improved.
The video is also a little too long (7.5 minutes) for most normal folks .
Maybe ok for the fans here though ...

 

[trautmane2]

I have reached out to Tesla but have not received any responses as yet. The order website is only for existing homes. Might you have a contact you can share?

Communications with Tesla can be difficult, especially early on - you'll need a lot of patience. Coordinating through new construction with other contractors and trying to work within specific time constraints further complicates the process. This thread New construction solar roof discusses some of the challenges.

My recommendation is to call Tesla's solar customer service line ( 1-888-765-2489, Mon-Fri, 7am-5pm PST ) and wait on the phone (could be for a while) until you can talk with a project advisor. That's really the only way I was able to get help until my install actually started. The advisors are based in Las Vegas.

 

[funkadelic]

My solar roof install finished up last week. I'm eagerly waiting for my gutters to be installed this week and ultimately PTO.

Here is a time lapse video of my install so far:

This was my first time using my son's GoPro with iMovie, so cinematography could definitely be improved.
The video is also a little too long (7.5 minutes) for most normal folks .
Maybe ok for the fans here though ...

Thanks for the video. My roof tear off was originally supposed to be today, but alas the weather didn't cooperate as rain is expected tonight. My PM notified me that they were out of the Cobalt underlayment and they were going to use the Firestone underlayment instead, but from what I can tell, the differences mainly affect the installers (colbalt needs only 1 layer vs firestone 2 layers, firestone is more slippery).

 

[trautmane2]

but from what I can tell, the differences mainly affect the installers (colbalt needs only 1 layer vs firestone 2 layers, firestone is more slippery)

Yes - I think that's probably true. Tesla's warranty is the same (actually might be better even - lifetime - for some of the early installs) and there are many here on the forum that have Firestone.

 

[RobotWizard]

Congrats! Looks great! Please keep updating us on functionality and any issues you come across during the first year of ownership.

 

[trautmane2]

I got PTO yesterday - yay! I don't have powerwalls, so to see more than just solar production in the Tesla app I asked Tesla to install a power blaster which they kindly did. However after turning everything on, I only saw solar production in the app. Others in the forum have had the same issue. I needed to call Tesla customer support and ask them to "register" my power blaster. The customer support person told me it might take up to 24 hours for everything to work. My app updated almost instantly, but the numbers for solar and grid seemed to be initially flipped. I planned to sort through the problem this morning, but when I checked everything seems to be working:

It's a cloudy day near the solstice, so the numbers are pathetic but I'm still excited!

 

[macbeth]

This is a 9.94 kW system with 170 430mm x 1140mm PV tiles which works out to roughly 900 square feet if I converted everything correctly.
There is roughly 3000 square feet of dummy tile / metal roof - so one quarter PV, three quarters dummy.
I was limited in the amount of PV I could install because of the net metering arrangement in which my power company wants me to produce close to the amount of electricity I use annually and no more.

This is great, thank you for the information.

 

[Euphony010]

Congrats on the install!

They just wrapped up installing my solar roof the day before Christmas Eve - a small (about a third the size of your install) system in Arlington. This was an order that I placed on August 31st and had no expectation of the install happening before spring time, but they emailed the first week of December and said they were prepared to make it happen.

I'm going to look into what the power blaster add-on mentioned in the thread would do for me...

Enjoy!

 

[trautmane2]

This was an order that I placed on August 31st and had no expectation of the install happening before spring time

Congrats on your install! Yeah - my installers mentioned they were trying to get in as many installs as possible before the end of the year. I think the goal was to complete 10 roofs in the DC area in December.

I'm going to look into what the power blaster add-on mentioned in the thread would do for me...

I'm glad I have the power blaster, just because I like to geek out over the numbers. Without it, I think you are only able to see solar production - no home usage. From what I've read here on the forum, you can purchase and set up equivalent monitoring capability with something like this:
https://www.amazon.com/Neurio-Technology-W1-Hem-Energy-Monitor/dp/B07KMF9SZL

Seems like it should be possible to integrate with Tesla's app too, but I'm not sure.

 

[Euphony010]

@trautmane2 I assume you are on Dominion power? How may days/weeks did it take to get Dominion to inspect and grant PTO? My Tesla install wrapped up on day before Christmas Eve, and local gov has passed their inspection, but waiting on Dominion. Tesla PM estimated 2-3 weeks wait for Dominion, which might include some kind of alteration or replacement of my meter.

Thanks!

 

[trautmane2]

How may days/weeks did it take to get Dominion to inspect and grant PTO?

I was given the same 2-3 week estimate as you by my Tesla install PM.

Here's how my timeline actually went:

Dec. 4: the PV/electrical portions of my roof were completed and passed county electrical inspection
Dec. 5: Tesla sent one text stating my "system has passed inspection" and a second text stating "your invoice is now available".
After receiving the invoice, I paid half the balance via credit card (because of limits on the card).
Dec. 8: Tesla sent a third text stating "we recently submitted your project for utility approval".
Dec. 9: Roofers finished the non-PV portions of my roof.
Dec. 15: I paid the remainder of my balance via credit card.
Dec. 16: Dominion Energy upgraded my meter.
Dec. 17: Dominion emailed me "Authorization to Interconnect" and Tesla sent a final text stating "you are ready to power on your Tesla system".

My Tesla install PM told me that the timing of payment would not affect PTO. I'm still not sure whether that was correct since everything finalized as soon as I completed payment. Maybe just a coincidence? My payment was drawn out because I wanted to use a single credit card that had a higher reward amount but a lower maximum.

 

[Euphony010]

Thanks, @trautmane2 !