In today’s times having the lowest carbon footprint seems particularly important, whether this means getting an electric car, solar panels installed on your home or upping the amount you recycle things or use recycled things.
Using solar panels to take some of the load, or all of the load, for the energy you use at home is a great idea to get the ball rolling when it comes to reducing your carbon footprint.
When looking at installing solar panels at your home there are several options, but here we’re looking to explore the option of Tesla’s Solar Roof.
Essentially the Tesla Solar Roof is a bunch of solar panels designed to look like roof tiles and replace the existing roof on your home. This combined with the Tesla Powerwall is intended to reduce your energy bill significantly, while using renewable energy.
» MORE: Tesla Solar Equipment Buyers Guide
Tesla Solar Roof
So now that we’ve established the Tesla Solar Roof is essentially a roof for your home made up entirely of solar panels, it’s time to take a look at what it’s really about.
So, to start, the Solar Roof panels compared with other types of roof tiles, if you go to the Tesla website and have a look at the overview, you’ll see a video demonstration of a hammer hitting two different types of roof tiles, and the same hammer hitting a Tesla Solar Roof panel.
The video clearly demonstrates that the Tesla panel is much more durable in the face of impact and doesn’t break or crack when hit. Tesla also says that they’re durable to all weather conditions, claiming they are 3x more durable that traditional roof tiles, and that you get a 25-year warranty on the panels.
Another feature they mention is how they look, they’re so seamless and you can barely tell the difference between the Tesla Solar Roof and typical tiles.
So, when combined with the Tesla Powerwall, a large 13.5kWh battery bank mounted in your garage, it doesn’t matter if your roof isn’t in constant sunlight because the Powerwall is going to store as much energy as the solar panels produce and redistribute it evenly throughout the day/night to make sure that you don’t lose the power you’ve collected.
» MORE: A Guide to Tesla Roof and Powerwall Cost
Costs
When it comes to price efficiency there are a few things to consider, such as the initial purchase of the Solar Roof and the Powerwall, installation fees, time, maintenance of your current roof, does your current roof need changing or repairing anyway, tax rebates, and finally how much solar energy is saving you vs how much you’re spending currently.
Looking at the initial cost of installing the Solar Roof is quite daunting as it does seem really expensive at first. It breaks down by how big your roof is and how much energy your home requires to ultimately give you a total cost. However, Tesla doesn’t provide an estimate on their website but many sources online estimate that depending on the size of your home and energy consumption the Solar Roof will start at roughly $40,000 and for bigger homes will end up costing around $80,000, this is included with the installation fees. Keep in mind this is an entire new roof for your home, not just adding solar panels to your existing roof.
Consider your current roof: Is it in need of an upgrade? Is maintenance costing more than it should? If so then it could be more cost effective to replace your roof with a Tesla Solar Roof instead of replacing your roof and adding solar panels after, so this alone could make the investment worth it. Plus you get a Federal Tax Incentive that refunds you roughly 25% of the cost of the Tesla Solar Roof when you file your annual income tax.
Then finally, consider your current energy consumption and how much that is costing.
As the Solar Roof is guaranteed to reduce your energy bill, but time is also needed to be considered, as the Solar Roof is now a part of the property it’s going to be there for years, so does the initial investment and the savings over time outweigh the current spending on your power bills.
If you’re going off of savings alone, then in states where it’s constantly sunny, combined with rising energy pricing you’re looking at saving money on the bills over a 10-year period which seems very reasonable.
» MORE: Tesla Solar Maintenance – Here’s What They Don’t Tell You
Does Tesla Offer Discounts on Solar Roof?
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.
» MORE: Does Tesla Offer Discounts on Solar?
Conclusion
So, is the Tesla Solar Roof a good investment? There are two ways to look at it and both answers sway mostly towards yes. Pricing may have quite a high initial cost, after a deposit, purchase, installation and any extra you may require, you will be looking at $40,000-$80,000.
But such a large price tag comes with plenty of benefits, such as a new and more durable roof on your home, built in solar panels that reduce your energy bill every single month, increased overall value of your property, and all this comes with a 25-year warranty, so its built to last. Plus, you get a Federal Tax Incentive for installing solar products on your home that will refund you roughly 25% of the total cost of your Tesla Solar Roof.
So basically, when it comes to pricing, with all the perks and the savings estimated to be made, it’s worth the investment.
The second way to look at if the Tesla Solar Roof is worth it is to look at your carbon footprint. As fossil fuels become more expensive because they’re getting harder and harder to come by, this should be enough of an alarm to start looking at renewable energy.
By installing a Solar Roof, you’ll also gain a reputation of going green with your energy consumption, this may sound ridiculous but it’s definitely a perk of getting one installed on your home.
» MORE: Do You Have to Order Tesla Solar From Tesla?