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Will Tesla move panels/ change the mounting angles after install?

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vickh

Active Member
Dec 16, 2018
4,610
1,239
az
I'm barely getting 5kwh a day and paying $50/month for my unobstructed 12 panel rental. It was up to 20kwh over the summer.

Problem is that they face NW. If it doesn't improve much by next summer, I'm debating having Tesla take them down (zero removal fee). Is there a way to move panels/ change the mounting angles instead ?
 
not that I have heard. That is basically re installing them. BTW, everyone has less production (a lot less ) during winter. You need to look at 1 years worth of production, and see if it matches what they told you. I am getting around 15 kWh a day right now. Its been a bit cloudy, but my december and january production is between 15-21 kWh while my may - june production is 45-54 kWh a day.

TL ; DR ... this is expected, and normal.
 
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I agree that looking at a year's worth of production is the way to go. In the meantime, something relatively easy to do is use PVWatts. Even if it doesn't give you the same number as Tesla, it can give you a good sense of how you are tracking. For example, if Tesla provided an annual estimate of 5,000 kWh and PVWatts said 6,000 kWh, you can take each monthly total from PVWatts and multiply by 5,000/6,000 to get the rough Tesla equivalent for the month. This will give you an earlier indication of if you are tracking towards the annual number.

PVWatts also nicely illustrates how dramatic the difference can be at different times of year - my south-facing shingles are estimated to produce about 66% of their June number in December, while the north-facing ones only produce 11%. So, I can imagine with NW-facing panels that 20%-25% is not unreasonable, and I would assume it was factored in to the annual calculations.

With all that said, it might be an interesting option to offer billing based on month/season - rather than $50/month, vary from $25-$75/month so you do not have months where you are paying significantly more than you produce.
 
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I'm barely getting 5kwh a day and paying $50/month for my unobstructed 12 panel rental. It was up to 20kwh over the summer.

Problem is that they face NW. If it doesn't improve much by next summer, I'm debating having Tesla take them down (zero removal fee). Is there a way to move panels/ change the mounting angles instead ?

I got 80 in the summer and below 20 now. It is normal.
 
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No idea if they allow that, but if they do, that is the hugest loophole ever.

Yeah, I'll reach out to them to check early next year after their year-end push. Worst case I have them take it down. Glad I signed up during the free takedown period.

I'm not questioning normal. I just did the math wrong by looking at my Tesla summer production +/- ~25% not 75%