> Tesla’s Solar Roof website now includes a pricing estimator, which lists $42,500 as the total price for the average 2,000 square-foot home, with 10kW solar panels. It also lists $33,950 as the price after an $8,550 federal tax incentive. You can also enter your address and get an updated estimate that takes into account local costs and incentives, and add on any Powerwalls (with three as the default for a 2,000 square-foot roof).
$42k does not sound like the solar roof is cheaper than a traditional roof. What kind of roof are they comparing it to? A mini-mansion with terra-cotta shingles or asphalt shingles?
A quick google search and home advisor suggests it’s about half the price.
I find that really hard to believe. A new roof runs between 5-10k, and a 3kw solar system can be had for ~5k + labor. Even if they are including a power wall in that price it's still pretty steep.
Edit: It looks like they are actually quoting a 10kw system with 3 power walls (~40kwH storage) included, which at that point sounds about right at $40k. Still far beyond the reach of anyone but the wealthy, but not necessarily a bad deal if you're in the market.
If you shop around it's abundantly clear that the price of a new roof varies wildly. Some of it is materials. The guy offering 50 year warranty GAF super-premium install who spots loads of potential problems up front and factors them into the cost is going to run much higher. The guy who is just going to hire some rando non-english speaking guys from the 7-11 and toss on the cheapest possible materials without concern about the underlying structure is going to be like a 1/4 of that price.
$5-10k on a median sized single family home is the latter, especially if you're closer to the $5k mark. It is likely that you will have problems with the roof after it is installed, and the warranty is going to be garbage.
> The guy who is just going to hire some rando non-english speaking guys from the 7-11 and toss on the cheapest possible materials without concern about the underlying structure is going to be like a 1/4 of that price.
You’ve met my guy Serge! He’s actually quite good and I’ve used him on two different houses. He probably has twice the experience of the super premium guy in town.
It’s mostly nailing rocky tar sheets to wood, the guy who has done it a billion times (literally?) sometimes might be the better choice over the guy who bought into an exclusive contract with super premium company and went to their special school for the special product.
They might be good, they might not. It's a luck of the draw when you are hiring the guys just standing on the street corner the morning of the install.
Contractors that have their own dedicated install crews cost more, but are much more reliable.
Rolling my eyes here, bud. You’re missing the forest for the non-PC tree.
I met someone who could have been described as a “non-English-speaking roofer.” (Not Latino, fwiw.) He says he was essentially enslaved by the guy running the contracting company, and he had no recourse as no one spoke his language.
I think a case could be made in some situations that if your employees don't speak English and you don't speak whatever language they speak, you may get poorer construction outcomes. Even if the employees are experiences and smart.
My last house was a 1400sqft cape. Removal of 2 layers of shingles, building a cricket next to the chimney, new lead flashing around the chimney was $7k. I got quote from multiple contractors for roughly the same price. It really depends on the amount of roof.
Assuming you'll be in the same house for 30 years is a big gamble. What if you need to move in 5 or 10 years? You're house value doesn't go up $40k when you put $40k tesla roof on top.
I would bet a tesla roof actually reduces your house value. Imagine the cost of any roof maintenance, or trying to find a roofer who can work on it without just doing more damage.
It's hard, but not impossible. Your costs are higher than a traditional power company for 10 or 15 years until the panels are paid off, but then your costs are much lower than people with traditional grid hookup.
In terms of investment it doesn't beat the stock market, but you have the side benefit of killing the planet slightly less. You are also hedged against rate increases from your power company.
Labor is a significant part of the cost, both for a roof and for a solar installation. I assume only doing it once is one of the gains in cost-efficiency.
I just put in a 12kw system. It was $32k before federal rebate, and it was the cheapest bid by 5 different contractors. Not sure where your getting $15k
FWIW. The panels are $0.86/wh each with a micro-inverter that runs ~$160 per panel and 32 panels. So, ~$5000 for inverters, ~$11k for panels, which brings you to ~$16k and your not even tied into the power of the house, or adding the mandatory shutoff, or the new meters, or the Emphase system that tracks by the minute power consumption and usage of each panel, etc etc. So lets call the rest $4k
Total of parts ~$20k. $12k for construction in the Seattle area seems fair for a complex electrical install that includes a 10 year install and 25 year system warranty.
I think like many things, the last mile of work is way more expensive then people realize. Solar is more than the panels themselves
Note: I could have used cheaper panels, but they take up more roof. I could have also saved money by skipping the per-panel micro-inverters, but then the system is more brittle and less efficient
$42k does not sound like the solar roof is cheaper than a traditional roof. What kind of roof are they comparing it to? A mini-mansion with terra-cotta shingles or asphalt shingles?
A quick google search and home advisor suggests it’s about half the price.