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Solar Roof

tesla.com

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Re: Solar Roof

#451

Post by ed_balls »

thatwebdude wrote: post #437
ed_balls wrote: post #203

Apart from people buying these for status there is another market - Hawaii and other remote places where prices are from 2x to 5x comparing to California.

Interesting it to be considered a status symbol; 90% of people walking by will think it's just a normal roof. I can spend pennies for that (comparatively). Now, if I had an array of panels on my normal roof; at least >90% of people would know what they is and be "impressed". However impressed people get about roofs, that is.

You can brag in front of friends and family - people you care about.

Re: Solar Roof

#452

Post by toomuchtodo »

mathgeek wrote: post #276
toomuchtodo wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Did you take into account the 30% federal tax credit on that 30k? EDIT: That's sort of the kicker. A regular roof does not get a 30% federal tax credit (plus possible state incentives), nor does it produce power for 30+ years, nor does it have a lifetime warranty. If you can obtain low cost financing, you almost always come out ahead.

> Did you take into account the 30% federal tax credit on that 30k? If I understand the tax credit correctly, it's only available if you're paying that much in taxes otherwise. For a $60k roof, you have to already be paying $18k in taxes to take full advantage of the credit. That's an important detail for some.

The tax credit can be carried forward multiple years until your tax liability has exhausted the credit balance.

Re: Solar Roof

#453

Post by pdabbadabba »

pyoung wrote: post #450
pdabbadabba wrote: post #438

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What makes you think that? I'm a little skeptical because Sunroof doesn't cover my address, but I have no problem getting an estimate.

They have a link to sunroof below their estimate. Not sure what happens if you aren't covered by sunroof, but their are a ton of solar estimation tools out there that will give you a rough idea of your potential just based on lat/lon.

Random number generator, I guess. :)

Re: Solar Roof

#454

Post by mavhc »

fpgaminer wrote: post #346
ch4ch4 wrote: post #185

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sharing power via net metering is better (for the environment) because there's no conversion loss from charging a battery.

Perhaps I'm not understanding the argument. My interpretation is that y'all want me to dump all my excess power during the day into the grid, to power other homes that don't have panels, instead of charging a battery. And that's somehow better for environment. But ... when night falls, and I'm not generating any more power, where am I supposed to get power? Do I just live without power every night? And everyone else…

My points are: 1. To go completely off grid, compared to 80% off, takes many more batteries, and is therefore inefficient.

2. Using those batteries a lot every night wears them out more.

3. There are many alternatives to fossil fuels at night, wind, tidal, solar salt heating, nuclear, biofuels. Whether it's better to share or store would depend on many factors.

a) What power sources are used on your grid b) What the demand is at each point in the day c) The transmission efficiency vs the battery conversion efficiency d) The resource cost of the batteries

Re: Solar Roof

#455

Post by Vik1ng »

noneeeed wrote: post #448
mathgeek wrote: post #282

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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

From all the comments I've read, it really sounds like it's going to make more sense outside of the US. Here in the UK the vast majority of roofs are either clay tiles or slates which are expected to last 50 or more years, but the US seems to largely fit cheaper asphalt shingles and replace them more often. At the moment our slate roof is fine, but when it needs replacing I'll certainly look into the Tesla tiles. Hop…

But that does not make more sense. If they last 50 years, but your solar roof only has a 30 year warranty then you might look at a complete solar roof replacement, while your average roof would still be good another 20-30 years.
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