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Solar Roof

tesla.com

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Re: Solar Roof

#281

Post by rhino369 »

boucher wrote: post #205
blacksmith_tb wrote: post #152

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not necessarily - my home was built in 2013, with a metal roof and 5kW PV system. But because it's so efficient, I end up not just zeroing out my bill, but giving power to the grid for free (since I don't actually get paid for the power I generate, I just get credits). I have evened the odds out now to some degree with a plug-in hybrid, but I will have to see if in practice charging it will soak up some or all of the…

When home solar installations send excess power to the grid, they also do it in the middle of the day, when wholesale electricity prices are at their highest.

For now. When 10% of people have panels, that won't be true anymore.

Re: Solar Roof

#282

Post by mathgeek »

giarc wrote: post #48
SirLJ wrote: post #8

Tesla acquired SolarCity in November in a deal worth $2.1 billion. At the event, Musk said Tesla's roof would price competitively with normal roofs and could even cost less. "It's looking quite promising that a solar roof will actually cost less than a normal roof before you even take the value of electricity into account," Musk said at the event. "So the basic proposition would be: Would you like a roof that looks b…

I think he was specifically referring to slate and/or clay roofs, not asphalt shingle roofs.

Like most similar comparisons, it's essentially "our cheapest X will be the same as the most expensive of Y."

Re: Solar Roof

#283

Post by knz »

awkwardtortoise wrote: post #265
blakesterz wrote: post #2

Yikes. I just signed a contract for a new roof here last month, it's going to cost about $12k. Just did the estimate for the Tesla Solar roof... $80,300, so $87k if I want the battery too. I can barely afford the $12 right now, the $80 is just so far over it's not even close, even with how much I save over the years in electricity. That being said, I love these things, so hoping it gets cheaper in the coming years.

It's all flash and no substance. Elon Musk is a great salesman and marketer. I'll give him that. But just like their cars, this roof is for the wealthy people who want to look cool and earn some liberal points. It makes no financial sense for the vast majority of people. > That being said, I love these things, so hoping it gets cheaper in the coming years. Yep. Perhaps in the future.

> But just like their cars, this roof is for the wealthy people who want to look cool and earn some liberal points.

What does political affiliation have to do with this? People being excited about new and innovative technologies like electric cars, space travel, and solar roofs is great news for people reading a site like Hacker News - I don't think it would be out of line to suggest most new technology is marketed towards those with the disposable income to purchase it.

There is no need to make this into a "stupid liberals just trying to score points" issue.

Re: Solar Roof

#284

Post by tropo »

abc_lisper wrote: post #37

Where is the finance option?

It's at your bank, same as always. It's called a home equity loan, or, for new houses, a construction loan.

Tesla intends to provide this too. Don't expect a good rate if you feel a need to have Tesla finance the roof. Banks at least have other banks to compete with.

Re: Solar Roof

#285

Post by devrandomguy »

blacksmith_tb wrote: post #152
tlb wrote: post #75

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's the right question to ask. Home electricity costs around $0.15/kWh, while power plants sell electricity to the grid for around $0.03/kWh. The difference pays for installing and maintaining the grid and local distribution wires to your home. Depending where you are (I live in a forest, where a tree falls on the power lines a few times a year and they have to send out guys in a bucket truck to fix it) it's expensi…

Not necessarily - my home was built in 2013, with a metal roof and 5kW PV system. But because it's so efficient, I end up not just zeroing out my bill, but giving power to the grid for free (since I don't actually get paid for the power I generate, I just get credits). I have evened the odds out now to some degree with a plug-in hybrid, but I will have to see if in practice charging it will soak up some or all of the…

If you live uphill from work, then that car just might help to balance the load. Early in the morning, you leave with a minimal charge, and roll down to work on regenerative brakes while topping up the batteries. After work, you spend that charge and the minimum fuel necessary to get home. You charge your vehicle in the late afternoon, not long after peak sun. Your home power controller is configured to allocate 80% of the car's battery for household usage, overnight.

If you live downhill from work, however, then the only way to use that to your advantage would be to work an evening / night shift.

Re: Solar Roof

#286

Post by carleverett »

stratigos wrote: post #217

People are thinking way too much about how much this saves them at a personal level. I think people should instead be thinking about how we can save the existence of the entire species, and all other higher order forms of life on earth, rather than focusing on their individual tax breaks, savings, or other trivial concerns. Yes, your cash flow is rendered quite trivial if life on Earth ends. Invest in the Life Econom…

I agree with the sentiment, but I have to correct your idea that global warming is a species-ending problem.

The worst-case scenario of global warming (which might be inevitable given the current CO2 levels) is a 216 foot rise in sea level [1]. This will cause mass migration and be extremely expensive and unpleasant for society as a whole, but poses little threat of ending humanity.

NASA's JPL did a great lecture a few months ago talking about the current scientific consensus on the consequences of global warming - it's well worth the watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJYs8L84L4s&t=3714s

[1] http://www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/2013/09/rising-se...

Re: Solar Roof

#287

Post by mathgeek »

owenversteeg wrote: post #196
11thEarlOfMar wrote: post #186

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'll bite... No, we are not talking about minimum wage earners as very few can own homes. They are not in the solar roof market. The context is home owners. In the US the average new car cost is $33,560. A $35,000 electric car is within reason and available on the market. A roof is a 30 year investment. Cars are owned for much less time and auto transport is likely to transition to electric over the next decade or tw…

So firstly, I just wanted to say you seemed like the most self-aware of anybody I quoted. That aside though, c'mon. Sure, the average _new_ car cost might be $33k, but have you ever been poor? Or known anyone who is? Poor people don't buy cars... they buy used cars, use public transportation, walk or bike. Poor people cannot afford a seventy thousand dollar Tesla, or even a $35k hypothetical Tesla. And a lot of peopl…

I think a fair point here is that any electric car maker is not targeting the lowest income market. They are selling new cars, not used ones. The lowest income bracket is buying used cars, at best.

Re: Solar Roof

#288

Post by awkwardtortoise »

Matt3o12_ wrote: post #63

Does anyone understand how the warranty works? From their solar panel page[0], it says that there is a 30 year warranty for Power and Weatherization and a lifetime warranty. So, what does the lifetime cover? The only thing that can go wrong is that either the power module fails or the tile is damaged due to weather, which is both covered by the 30 year warranty. Nevertheless, a 30 year warranty is still pretty impres…

> Nevertheless, a 30 year warranty is still pretty impressive and even more so if it covers normal wear and tear from weather.

If Tesla is around in 30 years. Remember that Tesla was going to go bankrupt 9 years ago before government bailout. And warranties can become worthless when companies go bankrupt.

Re: Solar Roof

#289

Post by elihu »

IvanK_net wrote: post #45

I have always been a huge fan of a quick transition to sustainable energy sources. There is just one little thing I don't understand. Why they expect people to make electricity at their homes? You can buy a little piece of land in a dessert, put solar panels there and distribute the electricity to other places. And you don't have to climb on any roof during the installation or the maintenance. It is not profitable to…

Both approaches make sense. Large utility solar installations are a great way to generate electricity, but there are transmission losses to consider and there just aren't enough large scale solar projects yet to supply all the power that's consumed.

Rooftop solar gives you a way to be less dependent on the local utility for something you need to live a modern lifestyle. If you live somewhere where electric rates are high or power outages are common or most of the electricity comes from burning coal, you can now work around that by generating electricity locally.

It's sort of like storing a file locally versus storing it "in the cloud". Both approaches will probably work, but you might choose one or the other based on some weighted combination of reliability concerns, privacy concerns, available bandwidth, and whether you want to share the file across multiple computers or multiple users.

Re: Solar Roof

#290

Post by jakecopp »

tlb wrote: post #75
IvanK_net wrote: post #45

I have always been a huge fan of a quick transition to sustainable energy sources. There is just one little thing I don't understand. Why they expect people to make electricity at their homes? You can buy a little piece of land in a dessert, put solar panels there and distribute the electricity to other places. And you don't have to climb on any roof during the installation or the maintenance. It is not profitable to…

It's the right question to ask. Home electricity costs around $0.15/kWh, while power plants sell electricity to the grid for around $0.03/kWh. The difference pays for installing and maintaining the grid and local distribution wires to your home. Depending where you are (I live in a forest, where a tree falls on the power lines a few times a year and they have to send out guys in a bucket truck to fix it) it's expensi…

There's a really great 99% Invisible episode (podcast) going over all the economics & history of net metering for those interested!

http://99percentinvisible.org/episode/reversing-the-grid/

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