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Would like to get a Tesla Solar Roof but it looks like I can’t. ???

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Issues and concerns:

It is a bit more expensive than was suggested on reveal. It also seem like it will be a bit cheaper in just a year or two if Tesla can stay afloat and gets the east coast factoring up and running. It’s a big investment and I can’t just upgrade in a few years.

I do need to replace my 25+ year old roof and I have a quote for about 5k with architectural shingles. The Tesla Roof price of the moment is $34k for a 1000 square foot roof.

My roof faces (East/West) the wrong way for solar and I’m unsure if I can generate enough electricity.

On the Tesla site I have to max out the slider to 50% to get $117 of energy per month. My average usage is $115 for the last year but I have months that get close to $190. So I guess the direction of the roof and the size makes the Tesla Roof unrealistic for the time being.

Even if I used the max output of the roof every month it would take like 19 years to break even.

The Google Project Sunroof says I need a 5kW system to generate $175 a month, that it would be $15 upfront and I’d break even in 8 years.

I do have a garage with a roof that faces North/South that I could also put the Tesla Roof on but that would probably increase the cost beyond the extra electricity it could produce.

The first pics of real installs look very nice and I really do want to go solar but this seems even more fiscally irresponsible than the $95k Model S setting in the garage.


Is there something I’m missing?
 
Solar doesn't work for me either (I just use the 100% wind power package). But what I did was install an Atas metal roof. This roof sits about 30 mm above the decking so there is always airflow so the sun never directly hits the roof. This saves a bundle on A/C costs.

This picture is from when you could actually see the roof from the street.
Side.jpg

Rear view.
Back.jpg
 
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Reactions: Kacey Green
What you can do is find someone to install the stanchions for solar before the roof install. Then when you do add solar it will be cheaper because the solar installer will not have to warrant the roof for leaks. Also a good installer can figure out how to maximize an east facing roof.