What maintenance? Other than a washing which had minimal impact, we have done no maintenance.
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Under performance
- Thread starter GuyHall
- Start date
It all depends on where you are standing. If I were younger and needed a new roof I would look at it from a cost benefit angle in the long run. At my age, the long run is ten years
.I walk on mine a lot for various reasons. Not sure I would want to walk on a tesla roof. It is a LONG way down from my roofs if one were to slip.
So, what is the ROI for these roofs?It all depends on where you are standing. If I were younger and needed a new roof I would look at it from a cost benefit angle in the long run. At my age, the long run is ten years
You can definitely walk on the roof. Just don't do it when it is wet because it is get's slippery.
True story. I asked the guys installing it if I could walk on it since our previous tile roofs broke often when you walked on them. The guy installing it was about 220 lbs. He jumped up and down on the solar tiles, looked at me, and said "Yep, you can walk on them". Case closed.
Don't know about ROI. But price-wise it was a wash for us. We priced the Tesla Solar roof and another tile roof plus Panasonic Solar panel, SE inverters and optimizers from Petersendean. SolarRoof was about $1,000 less. Both have/had 25-year warranty. But Petersendean warranty might be worth zero since they went bankrupt.
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I agree with @jboy210 if I needed a new roof I would compare net cost after ITC. i have done serious ROI calculations during my career but since there is no revenue associated with a roof and the only monthly expense reduction is the energy savings from the solar generation, I would just look at payback term and compare that with the net cost of a new roof and separate solar panels. As I mentioned earlier, I am too old to be on the roof so that is not a factor for me.
I want the ability to walk, dry or wet. Just my needs. Reason I did not consider a metal roof
Not questioning the importance of that for you. That said, I expect that only a very small minority of homeowners have that particular need. For most, I would think that the general maintenance issues will, if anything, be less with the solar roof, particularly assuming Tesla makes good on their warranty.
That was what we looked at - comparing a new roof plus panels vs. the solar roof. For us, they were very close (I expect we were on the other side and could have saved a bit - but less than $1k - with panels) but the roof was attractive for other reasons (including having Tesla providing the warranty for everything for 25 years, which does have a value.)
One thing that does end up hurting the solar roof option (and does potentially apply to OP) is that the density of PV modules is lower, so it is more common to either not be able to cover one's entire usage or to have to use less ideal roof segments to cover usage. That can raise the price compared to an equal amount of panels.
Finally got our PTO and Tesla is examining the system to determine why it is under performing. I asked what happens if the problem cannot be rectified? If this is the case at the end of year if they don't generate the contracted amount, Tesla will reimburse the utility's charges for the gap.
Seems fair to me.
Seems fair to me.
That definitely seems low. March should really be just about 1/12 of the annual production for most people since the equinox is just after the middle of the month (so maybe very slightly under 1/12, though relatively cooler temps may offset this.) So, with your system, I would expect output around 2,100 kWh. While there definitely can be a range for a number of reasons, the ~1,200 kWh you are trending towards in March is way too low to be explained by weather or other variables that might depress production until the summer.
I agree with the point that it could be under-reporting (and not just under-producing) which could be double-checked by looking at data from the utility. In either case, it seems there is likely an issue with an inverter and/or string not working or not reporting its output.
I agree that seems very low for that size system. Either under reporting, or under production. It seems low enough that to me, that they definitely should send someone out to investigate. It looks like almost 1/2 of what you should have, in march.
My 8.7 kW sized PV install from 2015 in march is generating around 45kWh right now on a clear, sunny day. @GuyHall 's system is just about 3 times the size of mine, and still in CA. Even given the nature of elevation, shading, etc, that seems low enough that there is likely something going on.
My 8.7 kW sized PV install from 2015 in march is generating around 45kWh right now on a clear, sunny day. @GuyHall 's system is just about 3 times the size of mine, and still in CA. Even given the nature of elevation, shading, etc, that seems low enough that there is likely something going on.
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SoCalSolarRoof
Member
My solar roof had a panel that had arc'd and was keeping one of my strings from full output. I wouldn't worry about the December data, definitely have them look at the strings, I would guess there is an issue with one or more.
