Solar panels have become extremely popular amongst people who wish to be a little greener with regards to their energy consumption. And of course, one of the most famous names in modern engineering companies, Tesla, sells their own set of solar panels!
If you’re thinking of getting a set of Tesla solar panels for your house one question your mind might well be just how many watts can a Tesla solar panel produce? Well, don’t worry as you’ll find the answers you need right here!
Does Tesla Make Solar Panels?
Well, the answer to this question is both yes and no.
Is it possible to purchase Tesla-branded solar panels? Yes, it certainly is! Tesla has been selling Tesla-branded solar panels now for quite a number of years.
Tesla energy was founded in 2015 – originally created to produce their battery technology called the Powerwall. In 2016 Tesla acquired the company SolarCity, in a $2.6 billion deal. It was this acquisition that let Tesla energy become involved in solar energy generation.
Since then you’ve been able to purchase Tesla-branded solar panels, as well as other interesting technologies from Tesla such as the Tesla Solar Roof, which uses solar shingles instead of the larger solar panels that you may be more accustomed to.
Therefore, yes – Tesla makes solar panels, in the sense that you can buy Tesla-branded solar panels.
However, if the question you’re asking is “does Tesla actually manufacture the solar cells itself?” Then, the answer is no. Tesla-branded solar cells are actually manufactured by other companies.
Tesla actually partners with some of the most advanced electronic companies on the planet to acquire the solar cells necessary for their solar panels. The practice of sourcing solar cells from other companies actually dates back to before Tesla acquired SolarCity.
Until recently Tesla actually partnered with Panasonic in this regard. Panasonic would provide the solar cells that would be used in Tesla solar panels.
While this cooperative deal is no longer in place, Tesla will of course source their solar panels from somewhere else. It seems to be far more efficient for Tesla to purchase solar cells made by other companies than to create their own.
How Many Watts Do Tesla Solar Panels Make?
Tesla solar panels have been made with cells from many different manufacturers over the years, it’s possible that each individual panel may differ from others in terms of output wattage.
However, Tesla provides specs for its solar panels, and it’s probably fair to say that even despite possible fluctuations and variations, Tesla solar panels will all operate within a very close range to each other.
Therefore, it’s probably also reasonable to assume that at all Tesla solar panels can operate at roughly the same output wattage.
Each individual Tesla-branded solar panel has a rated output wattage of 400 watts. It’s reasonable to assume that each of your Tesla solar panels can output somewhere in the region of 400 watts, even if it’s not possible to give a precise measurement for each individual panel as it comes out at the factory.
However, for most people, a single solar panel simply isn’t enough to do very much. 400w might be enough to power a computer for example but maybe not the monitor that it’s attached to.
Therefore it’s most common for solar panels to be sold in larger areas and quantities. This is because a single 400-watt panel simply isn’t very much used, and is probably not worth fitting alone. But, an array of these panels can actually make a big difference when it comes to your energy consumption and costs!
This is actually for a relatively simple reason: the more solar panels that you have, the larger area that the sun is hitting – and therefore the more power you can produce with these panels!
Therefore, an individual solar panel produces 400 watts. However, the majority of these solar panels will not be installed on their own, but as part of a larger array of Tesla solar panels. It is actually probably more useful to look at how many watts the array that you have can produce.
And in fact, there is another reason that it may be more useful to consider these panels as part of an array rather than individually. When you have a larger array of panels you not only have a larger area for the sun to hit, but it also means that in less than ideal weather conditions you can still create a useful amount of power.
On a cloudy day, a 400-watt panel on its own may struggle to produce even 100 watts – but a larger array may well still be able to provide you with a useful amount of power, despite the clouds!
Tesla currently offers their panels in 4 differently sized packages – small, medium, large, and X-large. Each of these arrays of panels produces a different amount of power – Small obviously producing the least, and X-Large producing the most.
The smallest array of Tesla solar panels uses 12 of these panels to cover a roof area of approximately 260 square feet. This array of solar panels has a power rating of 4.8 kW. Of course, this output power assumes ideal conditions – in cloudier weather or during darker hours, this amount of power will likely be reduced significantly.
The next size of the array is the medium size. Tesla’s medium solar array uses 24 panels to cover a roof area of 520 square feet. This array can produce up to 9.6 kW.
Tesla’s large array uses 36 panels to cover a roof area of 780 square feet. These panels combine to produce an output power rating of 14.4 kW.
And, finally, the extra-large array. This mammoth array of solar panels uses 48 individual panels to cover a roof area of up to 1040 square feet. These 48 panels all combine to make a staggering 19.2 kW.
Does Tesla Offer Discounts on Solar Panels?
Tesla solar panels are already the lowest price solar panels on the market, but are there any other ways to save money when ordering?
In short, the only way to get a discount on Tesla solar panels is by using an existing Tesla owners “referral link” when ordering your Tesla solar panels.
Tesla has did this same “referral program” concept with it’s vehicles and essentially it allows new customers to get a discount on their purchase by using an existing customers personal referral link.
In regards to Tesla solar discounts, using a Tesla referral link when ordering will save you $300 off solar panels or $500 off solar roof.
The referral discounts are typically only available for a limited time before Tesla stops offering the discount, so take advantage of the savings while you can.
Conclusion
With so many different sizes of the array and so many different possible outputs, is it highly likely that there will be a Tesla solar panel array that suits your needs extremely well.
Light electricity users or those with smaller houses may well find that a small or medium array is more than enough for them – whereas, of course, those with larger houses may well be looking at the extra-large size. Whichever size you choose, a Tesla solar panel array could well be a great choice in helping to generate electricity for your home!