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Tesla’s new Solar Roof costs less than a new roof plus solar panels

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Re: Tesla’s new Solar Roof costs less than a new roof plus solar panels

#81

Post by tgtweak »

stevehawk wrote: post #68

Does anyone know the situation for putting these tiles on one side of the roof but not the other? I live in northern Indiana and would gladly put these on my southern facing roof, but my northern roof is particularly complex (a lot of joints/edges) and obviously not really ever going to get any sun.

I believe they have "dud" panels which are not power generating, as well as for edges and joints where a full solar tile wouldn't fit. I also imagine the cost they show is not for 2000sqft of generating panels.

Re: Tesla’s new Solar Roof costs less than a new roof plus solar panels

#82

Post by gameswithgo »

FlyingAvatar wrote: post #63
aphextron wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Cheaper than traditional roof plus solar. 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 reac…

Exactly how is that out of the reach of anyone but the wealthy? Amortized over 30 years, it's barely over $110 per month and for most homes would bring the electric bill to near zero.

if you have to pay up front it’s way too hard. loans have interest.

Re: Tesla’s new Solar Roof costs less than a new roof plus solar panels

#83

Post by caseysoftware »

buboard wrote: post #45
hokkos wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Incentiving rich people to buy expansive tech (and still at lost for the riches) help the technologies to ride the cost curve and bring it to the masses.

that can't be true as rich people are by definition a small minority. why not just give the subsidies directly to the companies

Because that disconnects the company from actual demand.

Production of early versions is always more expensive because of the research & development, creation/configuration of the machines, etc, etc but the marginal cost goes down drastically. The numbers work out even better as you can amortize those early costs over a larger and larger production run. This means v2 and later editions are cheaper.

It's text book "economies of scale"

Re: Tesla’s new Solar Roof costs less than a new roof plus solar panels

#84

Post by vostok »

tibiapejagala wrote: post #80
rootsudo wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I would also say that Rich people pave the way for adaption. For example, look at prices of flights. Before there was no "first class" everything was first class, now there are cabin options. While that example is a service, more proliferation of service == wider adaption == increased scale of economies == eventually prices come down for everyone.

The trickle-down of the left.

There is nothing left wing about this...

Re: Tesla’s new Solar Roof costs less than a new roof plus solar panels

#85

Post by ZeroGravitas »

I quite like this product and think it'll be a big thing.

I do wonder about a comparison to what I've seen recently, which is standard roofs with solar built in almost like skylights. Just big panels at the same level as the tiles, not placed on top in a retrofit.

Seems like it's a good compromise (as long as you can get panels that blend with the tiles, and that generate enough that you don't need the whole roof covered).

Re: Tesla’s new Solar Roof costs less than a new roof plus solar panels

#86

Post by Gwypaas »

twistedpair wrote: post #65
Someone1234 wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

UK roofs are made and ceramic and slate. US roofs are made of asphalt. Mostly because asphalt is inexpensive (particularly due to economies of scale/lack of them on ceramic). Ceramic lasts a lifetime, asphalt can be taken out by one bad hail storm. UK homes are made of brick. US homes are made of fiberboard and inexpensive woods. There's a reason why UK homes have lasted over one hundred years, and most US homes won'…

> most US homes won't last 50 That's wild a claim. I live in a 115 year old US house made of "inexpensive" wood and it's doing just fine, like the rest of the neighborhood.

Very much depends on how it is constructed. As a Swede 100% used to sturdy, well insulated wooden homes having lived in Texas for a while it felt like they were made of paper in comparison.

Then Sweden is also known for ridiculously high building standards, even compared to other European countries.

Re: Tesla’s new Solar Roof costs less than a new roof plus solar panels

#87

Post by madengr »

Someone1234 wrote: post #44
rjkennedy98 wrote: post #25

> It also lists $33,950 as the price after an $8,550 federal tax incentive. There is something absolutely astonishing about the fact that in America the way we have go about being eco-friendly is to give huge tax breaks to rich people to buy solar panels and electric vehicles. To think with all that money we could build better infrastructure and denser housing. Really boggles the mind.

Indeed. The electric vehicle incentives are very much designed that way. The rich get more money than the poor. The higher your income, the more you get back. I'd have to earn an extra $30K to get the full $7,500 (and switch from high deductible to traditional healthcare/cancel my HSA), whereas someone wealthier buying the same car gets every cent.

They didn’t “get” anything. It wasn’t the governments money to begin with. I bought an EV last year, and the government didn’t “give” me a damn cent. This is the liberal mindset of “the government owns my labor, and doles back my pay”.

This is right up there with gun “buy-backs”. You can’t buy something back that wasn’t yours to begin with.

Re: Tesla’s new Solar Roof costs less than a new roof plus solar panels

#88

Post by cjensen »

stevehawk wrote: post #68

Does anyone know the situation for putting these tiles on one side of the roof but not the other? I live in northern Indiana and would gladly put these on my southern facing roof, but my northern roof is particularly complex (a lot of joints/edges) and obviously not really ever going to get any sun.

They produce solar and non-solar tiles. The "non-solar" are tiles which match the aesthetic, but don't collect energy.

Re: Tesla’s new Solar Roof costs less than a new roof plus solar panels

#89

Post by tgtweak »

wil421 wrote: post #6

> 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 squ…

You could reshingle a roof for $3.50/sqft and it's not unheard of to get traditional solar installed at $1.50/W, ~$15,000 for a 10kw system.

$7000 + $15,000

Then you apply the federal credit after that.

This is for a grid-tie system, I don't think Tesla is pricing theirs with a powerwall here.

Edit: apparently they're pricing it with 2 powerwalls, still cheaper by a sizeable margin however.

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