Tesla Solar Roof | 1-Year Review 

I work for a solar/battery installer. If you really paid ~30k for the entire system (which I doubt) you got a hell of a deal.

In my book anything with an ROI less than 10 years is a no-brainer. Well done, thanks for the walkthrough.

I have heard that the people at Tesla are first rate folks to work with and their installers are equally as professional supporting a stellar product! Thanks for the honest review!

I think it's funny how no one asks about R.O.I. for other things like - a traditional furnace, big gas-guzzling pickup, RV, boat, jet ski, traditional roof, house painting, kitchen remodel etc. Solar is one of the few things you can buy that has a positive R.O.I. at some point. And right away gives you more control over your monthly costs.

Amazing! You did your homework, workedout if it was worth it, and in the end it was. But better yet, you shared your experience with others. Please make a video in another year, I would love to see how everything is going.

Absolutely outstanding summary. From beginning to end, you very logically explained this in layman's terms and answered every question I have ever had about Tesla's solar roof. Final question.....have you ever had to ask any of the contractors/installers, or Tesla to come back for any reason, positive or negative? Again, an outstanding job!

My neighbor paid $16k for a new asphalt roof. He thought I paid too much until I asked how long before his asphalt roof pays for itself. In twenty years he will have to replace his. My roof will have another 50 years and will be paying me. The gap below the tiles is vented and makes a thermal barrier and keeps roof and tiles cool, lowers cooling cost in summer. You can hear the air move. Looks great to.

Enjoyed the video, you covered a lot of questions and concerns 👍 Do you have an opinion about the way the shingles are clipped onto the roof for a home in a hurricane prone area? Any better or any worse than an asphalt shingle roof in a strong wind situation? Thanks again for taking the time to make the video .

I just subscribed. Good luck with the channel. Your first video was great information keep it up.

Great video - I think it's fair to consider the investment as the delta above what the asphalt roof would cost.

Great vid & review of ur gnarly Tesla solar roof install and setup. I think u covered a lot in this fairly. The ROI can probly be calculated in with resale value of the house capital also of course, which is sure to increase it value annually in that regard. I think it looks great and wish u the best, it would be good to get more updates down the track on how it is all surviving. Cheers

It's not just about physical durability it's about the degrading photonic cells, and from what I understand, it's about 25 years for the type twos. The only issue I see is that power companies need customers to be able to maintain the grid, so they have been fighting and refusing to allow people to install these. I have heard of far more rejections than installations.

Really wish we could of got such a great deal on solar roof. When we looked at it Tesla quoted us 90k dollars. Asphalt was 18k just didn’t make sense for us but glad it did for you

Excellent! Thanks for that! Very informative!

Thanks for this. A very detailed, informative, and well produced video.

Nice Ad Good for T. Watched whole vid. Great review. Super.

Wow this house uses a lot of electricity. Great informative video

Thanks! Good job explaining it. I'm glad you had a posiive experience.

Very nice video. I am curious ... are the non-active roof panels also glass or are they metal?

You have to periodically clean them too, and I do not know if hurricane-strength winds can catch the panels and rip your roof off. Which also means you have to replace your roof before getting those panels.

very good video. really. enjoyed every second of it

Thank you very much for a factual and sober review on your experiences with solar cells. I especially admire your calm, sober and clear narrative without giddiness and goofs (except for your little stunt on the roof at the beginning). Here you get sober and useful information in contrast to the many catchpenny or clipbate shows that abound on RU-vid.

What is the desk and treadmill you have? TY! Great vid!

very informative.... awsome review

The big concern will be how well the plastic clips will hold up. Plastic generally doesn't do well with lots of extreme heat/cold cycles. Will become brittle over the years. Hopefully the Tesla engineers didn't overlook that aspect & are using an advanced formulated plastic material that doesn't degrade from the thermal stresses.

Power outage - without battery backup the panels shut off to protect linemen. But with battery storage, during a power outage, dependent on the weather, the batteries can recharge the next day.

Thank you for the information !!

Great presentation, thank you. What is the electrical cost per kWh in your situation. I live in Washington city, Utah a,d the electricity cost is only 6.6 cents per kWh and it seems difficult to justify the ROI. What do you think?

If you install soft-start units on A/C system, fridgerators, freezers and other big high start current devices it can take the strain off your inverter and batteries! I think they are about $200-300.

If the panels are only held in place by clips (😳), how well would the roof hold up in hurricane/tornado prone areas? Especially with the air gap underneath. And can you still have skylight protrusions with this system in place?

Bro, you only have 200 subs, you should have 200,000. Great video and really well presented! We had 10 kw of solar on our last house and it paid for our annual electricity costs each year. Our ROI was about 8-9 years.

Curious how loud the roof is compared to an asphalt roof when raining?

Great video. What is the square footage of your house? We were told to look at 35.00 to 45.00 per square foot. Is that correct?

Question: You showed a photo of snow on the roof so I hope you can answer. How is it working through snow on the roof? That's my worry about roof solar as I live in Michigan and there could be snow on the roof for months with no way to clear it off so I've always wanted to know how that works with roof solar. I figured I'd need to set up an array on the ground where I could get to it and brush it off after a snow else I'd have no working solar most of the winter with it on the roof. Can you tell me how it's working for you? Thank you. Lastly, I saw a vid that there is a way that you can set it up to use your batteries first before pulling from the grid and charging the batteries first before power is sold to the grid. That way if the power goes out, you're still good to go for as long as the power is out, which is not always the case when it's connected to the grid, so have you looked into setting it up that way?

how much of it was subsidized? what is the full price with out subsidies?

How much does snow stay on the roof? How does it affect output? Great report!

When talking about return on investment, I find it interesting that no one ever mentions the value of the system itself. I mean, ten years down the line, you sell your house, the solar roof and the batteries adds its value to the house, doesn't it? If I were to buy a house with a solar roof and batteries already installed, I would certainly pay a premium for that.

did you get some subsidies for installing the solar system ?

very awesome video. very informative!

Great video for such a small channel.

How many square feet is your house? The roof replacement at least in Texas, is mostly covered by insurance when they're replaced.

Hi Thans for you information How long do solar panels last? I know they should be changed but I don't know the Tesla datathanks for information!

Do they come with roof heating to get rid of the snow....how often do you clean the roof for optimum efficiency and can you tell by monitoring something that you're roof needs cleaning like a percentage per panel Energy Efficiency. Next question how do you know if a roof panel stops working. And if something was to go wrong with the power wall what kind of warranty was Tesla offering

Great stuff! Thank you.

Sorry if I misunderstood but then you pay sometimes for the electric bill plus the solar panel? 2 bills? Correct me if Im wrong. Im thinking of getting them

What part of the country are you located? Wondering if in South Florida it would be a different scenario with more summer, less winter.

Excellent video!

Most power outages caused by excess usage is because of air conditioning when the temperature goes above 100 degrees. Everyone that puts solar on their roof reduces the chance of that happening. This is because on those days you are producing way more electricity than you need and your excess electricity is powering your neighbors AC. Which greatly reduces the strain on the local substation. When more than 50% of the houses get solar there starts having the possibility of pushing electricity backwards through the substation. I do not know if that can cause problems with some substations.

I started looking at solar here in AZ a year ago and quickly decided to go with Tesla Powerwalls so that if the grid went down, I'd still have power. My neighbor has no batteries so if the grid goes down, he is also out of power. I went with solar panels above a tile roof and that went up in Feb. The Powerwalls went in shortly after that. Then the waiting for the power company to get around to approve the complete install. That took 2 more months to occur. How far do you pull you batteries down before you switch back to grid power?

The people who ask about ROI, assume there is zero resale value to the system. WRONG!! You just need to laminate a few utility bills, and put them on the dining room table, when buyers look at your house. If you also make a graph with the amount of savings vs traditional electricity over 25 years, in this case, you are looking at least $100,000 difference COST OF OWNERSHIP vs a comparable non-solar house. And that’s IF the utility only goes up by 4% per year. Except where hydro produces the electricity, it will probably be closer to 10% per year. My ready response to question of ROI is “What’s your return on investment from the electric company now?” [SPOILER ALERT: it’s 0.0% - you are never going to see that money again; it’s gone!] The other thing to consider is that the ONLY reason fossil fuel generated electricity is so LOW (yes, low), is that the consumers pay absolutely nothing for dumping the waste around the world. Just because carbon dioxide is invisible doesn’t mean it’s harmless. We’re putting our CONVENIENCE laziness on future generations to clean up the mess we created since 1973. The first OPEC oil embargo should have been the wake-up call for the US, instead MOST People CONTINUE to hit snooze.

Have you considered getting a SPAN junction box? Really allows for tracking power used per circuit and you can even set priorities if on battery only.

Because of the durability of the shingles, do you get a break from your insurance? That should add into your return as well, right?

I think you double counted the cost of a normal roof when working out your ROI as you'd already deducted the insurance money from your cost. So your ROI will be about 20 yrs, probably less with electricity price rises outpacing time value of cash, but you'll most likely have to replace the inverters before then and maybe your batteries too putting you around breakeven over the the life of the system. At least you won't have to worry about electricity price hikes.

Great video....Curious...so why was your insurance company offering to pay YOU to have a new roof installed?

I'm only 3 minutes in so far (but watching) and will finish the video. I've actually had my roof installed since early July 2021. I've had PTO (permission to turn on) for 0 of the so far 16 months. The roof is installed and gorgeous (and working!) but I don't yet have the meter to measure what I put back to the grid. So I'm not officially operating. It sucks. But yes it's also generated a lot of talk, and conversations with neighbors. From my perspective this is completely on my utility (which is hot garbage, and the reason SE Pennsylvania has 0 superchargers).

Am I reading this right? 120k views, but only 334 Subscribers? If so, keep up the good work. Those Subs will pick up.

Are you paying more monthly for the solar roof that you did for the electricity and gas it is offsetting?

Great and thorough review. Thank you. I was just a little concerned at the beginning that you were going to slide off the roof screaming and get hurt.

I had it installed on my roof it is more expensive as normal solar but benefits of maintenance free roof is the best option

just a perfect video ... what else is there to tell .. oh .. maybe ... how about .. thank you :)

What is the maintenance like? Do you have to do anything to keep the solar roof performing optimally

Sounds like you ended up getting an absolutely smoking deal on your Tesla roof, bless you and your family! It not only damn near make you independent from the energy company it also added the novelty wow factor of the Tesla name associated with your house when you put it on the market, cant' beat that! Thanks for making and posting this well presented video!

For the return on investment on the Asphalt roof, that would have just been way less, since a regular roof is just an outlay.I'm interested to know if you're driving your Leaf for free now.

Great video. Where in the country do you live?

What is the maximum power your roof could be producing if ALL tiles were solar?

How does it work with temperatures below 0Cin winter. Have you experienced snow and how does this affect the roof and the amount of power it prpduces plus what is the upkeep of the roof looking then?

Everyone should install it, it’s maintenance and care will make the owner disciplined

Wow, had to put you on 2x playback, amazing how slowly you speak

Did I miss where are you from? From Arizona here thinking about going solar

That first shot would've been fine with just a voice over and didn't need you to nearly die! But the rest of the video was great and really useful. Annoyingly Tesla isn't in our area yet, because I'd love to get a solar roof when it's time to replace the current roof. Apparently our area doesn't allow battery storage either right now, which is the bigger dealbreaker when it comes to getting any solar for me.

mentioning the cost of asphalt shingles roof and subtracting it from the cost of the solar system is a key. Based on your experience, and factoring the delay in getting the permission, the time to contact Tesla would be 2 years before needing to replace the roof. (correct me if I am wrong).

Besides not having the cost of the shingle roof let's not forget the cost saved by not installing a stand-by generator that burns natural or propane gas. So, to me, this family got a free roof with long term electric bill saving benefits.

'As far as initial "offset" estimated by Tesla compared to the actual offset and kWh rating of the system compared to actual production, how ACCURATE were the estimates or ratings? We have a final design pending and currently have been presented a 20 kWh system to off set our usage by 64%. Not the numbers we were hoping for and they seem a bit conservative compared to my calculations.

Should you factor in the gasoline savings from your EV?

Thanks for the information, I dont know where you are located. It would be nice to have an estimated of where you are so we can figure out the total output of your system vs the latitude and altitude you are. Dont need to be too precise. I am in canada and Tesla system been something I've been looking upon

How big is your house? My electric bill in Texas is 5 times your yearly bill. You focused a lot on heat, so my guess is you are up north? You didn't mention any "sell back" of your extra electricity? Do you have that option?

i might be concerned with the "air gap" between the tiles and the roof depending on it's configuration. i.e. Can it be cleaned out or is it "self cleaning"? - Is it a haven for bug nests? - how much debris (leaf/dust buildup) does it collect? - blowing snow buildup? etc, etc.

You talked me out of wanting one, thankls.

I think I missed it what state is this in?😅

He said low, then said 30 stacks!!!!!!!!!!!!!! LMFAO. You got jacked bro

How did you go from gas forced air heat to electric? Base board heaters ? Maybe I missed something?

My AH insurance didn't propose any money to me, instead they ended our insurance contract due to older roof

What insurance company you got? I have never had any offer to give me anything towards a roof replacement.

The insurance company paid you to replace your roof?? Every one I’ve ever heard of just threatens to cancel

Nice review

Sometimes I giggle. You describe the cost of drying clothes in summer... I use my outside dryer... a washing line.

Very informative video. Thank you. Is that Your D and D sword.

Could you change the gas heating to electric, and then also change so that you only charge the batteries from the grid during the night when prices are lower?

Here in eu i just paid 130 euros for 180kw. You consume mine monthly stuff in 2 days. Imagine the ROI here!

Maybe talk about cleaning ? Do you have trees ? Do you clean weekly monthly ?? What do you use to clean ? I would think simple green ?

Fan-tastic... I was expecting $100,000 with 3 powerwalls / Roof... good to hear it finally happens... somewhere, somehow... endless Hoops

The quickest return on investment is not buying batteries. Just buy solar panels yourself and either have a non-solar local electrician put it up for you or do it yourself. You can have your solar power charge a smaller cheaper "solar generator" which you can use to charge everything that needs to be charged, and connect it to your refrigerator. All the battery power is not needed. Do electric consuming tasks when during the daytime when the system is active and sleep at night. This crazy system only gives them a day plus a bit in the winter of use if the power goes out. Not worth it for those rare times, and the day of storage isn't as comforting as a chord of wood.

Do you live in an area with snow? If so how do you clean off?

Well done.

Cool video! I did Tesla Solar (panels) + Powerwalls and I have buyer’s remorse about not doing the solar roof.

How's the heat pump for heating and cooling?

Do the solar panels shut off when there is a power outage?

How long does the roof underlayment (shark skin) warranty last?

sorry didn't hear in the video what state do you live in?

Did you mean 90kWh to heat your house in winter? Sounds like a whole lot of power, especially if your SCOP on your heat pumps is 3x or more