Tesla Solar Roof Covering Well Worth It?
this video is brought to you by dandelion energy well we haven’t heard much about the Tesla solar roof since its unveiling in October of 2016 until the model Y event just recently where Elon said this this is definitely gonna be the year of the solar roof so great possibly we’re gonna start seeing more solar roofs and batteries and everything else from Tesla this year so I thought it was a good time now just to have a look see what it might cost you and how that sucks up against your other options out there let’s go the Tesla solar roof replacing your regular roof with these tiles that have the solar cells built into them the idea is that you can have a normal looking roof that also generates energy and this is pretty innovative in this space because to make a material that allows light through but is also durable and will withstand everything that a roof takes is kind of difficult in fact they even report that these are stronger than normal tiles and should last quite a bit longer
so this is the first time that we’ve seen someone integrate the cell into the tile itself but it’s not the first time that we’ve seen someone try to integrate solar panels into a flat kind of flush mount on your roof the tiles come in four different styles a textured glass tile a slate glass tile a Tuscan glass tile and a smooth glass tile which allows them to fit almost any style of home so as far as getting a Tesla solar roof they kind of have you covered for tiles but most homes in the United States have asphalt roofs which albeit aren’t as good-looking they are a lot cheaper and still very durable so what’s a Tesla solar really gonna cost you using data from a few different sources I found it looks like your typical asphalt roof will range from one to two dollars per square foot plus around three dollars per square foot to install so for a 1500 square foot home you’ll spend around $8,000 for an asphalt roof with all the extra materials and everything included now this is the cheap stuff if you wanted to do a slate tile which is someone to the Solar roof tiles that Tesla is offering you’d end up paying around fifteen to twenty thousand dollars for that same 1,500 square foot home
so even in the just regular roofing options you can spend quite a bit of money on deer different choices and while pricing on the Tesla’s whole roof is a bit elusive we do have some data here to see how it actually stacks up previously Tesla had a calculator which quoted me just over seventy five thousand dollars for 2,800 square feet of roof which is for a 2,000 square foot home now the energy breakdown in this showed essentially over 30 years I’d be making almost $60,000 due to the rising cost of energy but let’s be honest here there are a lot of sump shion’s in those calculations which may be why they took that calculator down now what they’re looking to do is ask you to get a quote which does make more sense because every every roof is different every home is different and the install process is kind of unique and another thing to consider before plopping down the money or even getting a quote for a tesla solar roof is that the gigafactory – in new york which produces these tiles and the power walls and a bunch of other energy products has been having issues the past couple years grow their scale in their manufacturing process and Elon says it’s for kind of one specific reason we have to basically allocate all resources to model three production because otherwise we’re gonna die which really makes sense right if Tesla didn’t figure out how to make the Model 3 and make that a success then they wouldn’t exist
so there would be no solar roofs there would be no batteries there’d be none of this stuff even possible for us today so let’s run through a couple different scenarios here and just see a side-by-side comparison of how these options stack up so the first option is if you don’t need a new roof let’s assume that you have a 3000 square foot home in California and you want to install an 8.
5 kilowatt solar panel system current prices put that at just over $26,000 now compare that to the Tesla solar roof you’re gonna spend almost fifty one thousand dollars for that same replacement that same unit but it’s also going to only deliver seventy-seven percent as much electricity with a six point two five kilowatt system so you’re gonna spend quite a bit more and not even get enough energy so in this case it really doesn’t make cents so let’s see what happens if you did need a new roof in our second scenario in this one we’re gonna add about eight thousand dollars to do an asphalt roof at about five dollars a square foot and that would come to thirty four thousand thirty dollars that is still thirty three percent cheaper than the fifty thousand almost fifty one thousand dollars you’d be spending with that Tesla solar roof and again you’re getting twenty three percent more energy from your system this brings us to option three that you just want it you just want this on your house now there are some risks here because it’s still very early days and they’re ramping up production delays and the time of install and all that kind of thing may take a lot more than a typical system would
so you’re gonna need not only to spend quite a bit more you’re going to need some patience and some endurance here if you have a family with small children this might be more than personally I would be willing to swallow but it is definitely one that will spark up some interesting conversations with your neighbors when they see what appears to be a normal but very stylish looking roof which also generates energy for your home so as far as the solar roof goes I’m really not sure it makes financial sense right now if you were building a new home or if you just want it hey more power to you spend your money how you want it’s not a bad idea right but clearly you can get you know better the same functionality for a lot cheaper using other options out there which includes Tesla themselves they offer these really cool solar panels that are really slam and lay flat on your roof and appear you know very aesthetically pleasing and are just as functional as regular solar panels so even they offer a you know a good alternative that is quite a bit cheaper
so I’m curious what you think are you in the market for this are you looking to kind of turn your home into one that’s more sustainable if so I have something else I want to tell you about and this brings up today’s sponsor dandelion energy is a Google back startup that is making it easier for people to switch to geothermal heating and cooling now this technology has been around forever but like solar panels in recent years the price is dropping fast making it a much better proposition for homeowners in fact currently homeowners are saving about 50% a month on heating and cooling by making this which in addition dandy-lion is bringing all the smart home features we’ve grown to love from products like nest into this new part of your home so if you want to save money on a fuel oil furnace and those high heating bills in the winter there check out dandelion energy I’ll put a link to their website in the description down below I also did an interview with Kathy the founder of dandelion energy which I’ll link to in the description down below it was really interesting to hear her story about how she used to work at Google X the the group that did the moonshot ideas came upon this and then left and brought another guy from Google with her to really kind of bring geothermal heating and cooling into you know the current modern tech appliances and things that were used to in our homes
so there’s some really good insights there if you’re interested in that go check it out and so that’s all for today I’m very curious to know what you guys are gonna do when it comes to solar and any of this stuff so please leave me a comment down below don’t forget when you free the data your mind will follow I’ll see you guys back in the next one so just as a demonstration video show what happens if you drop a drop a big weight on a conventional roof tiles and one of our pass tiles [Music] [Applause] [Music] – [Narrator] This video is brought to you by Dandelion Energy.
– Well we haven’t heard much about the Tesla solar roof since it’s unveiling in October of 2016 until the Model Y event just recently where Elon said this. – This is definitely going to be the year of the solar roof.
– So great, possibly, we’re gonna start seeing more solar roofs and batteries and everything else form Tesla this year. So I though it was a good time now just to have a look, see what it might cost you, and how that stacks up against your other options out there.
Let’s go. (upbeat music) The Tesla solar roof replaces your regular roof with these tiles that have the solar cells built into them. The idea is that you can have a normal looking roof that also generates energy, and this is pretty innovative in this space because to make a material that allow lights through but is also durable and will withstand everything that a roof takes, is kinda difficult.
In fact, they even report that these are stronger than normal tiles and should last quite a bit longer. So this is the first time that we’ve seen someone integrate the cell into the tile itself. But it’s not the first time we’ve seen someone try to integrate solar panels into a flat, kind of flush mount on your roof.
The tiles come in four different styles. A textured glass tile, a slate glass tile, a Tuscan glass tile, and a smooth glass tile, which allows them to fit almost any style of home. So as far as getting a Tesla solar roof, they kina have you covered for tiles.
But most homes in the United States have asphalt roofs, which all be it, aren’t as good looking, they are a lot cheaper and still very durable. So what’s a Tesla solar roof really gonna cost you? Using data from a few different sources I found, it looks like your typical asphalt roof will range from one to two dollars per square foot, plus around three dollars per square foot to install.
So for a 1500 square foot home, you’ll spend around $8000 for an asphalt roof with all the extra materials and everything included. Now this is the cheap stuff. If you wanted to do a slate tile, which is similar to the solar roof tile that Tesla’s offering, you’d end up paying around $15,000 to $20,000 for that same 1500 square foot home.
So even in the regular roofing options, you can spend quite a bit of money on your different choices. And while pricing on the Tesla solar roof is a bit elusive, we do have some data here to see how it actually stacks up.
Previously Tesla had a calculator which quoted me just over $75,000 for a 2800 square feet of roof, which is for a 2000 square foot home. Now the energy breakdown in this showed essentially over 30 years, I’d be making almost $60,000 due to the rising cost of energy.
But let’s be honest here, there are a lot of assumptions in this calculation which may be why they took that calculator down. Now what they’re looking to do is ask you to get a quote, which does make more sense because every roof is different, every home is different, and the install process is kinda unique.
And another thing to consider for plopping down the money or even getting a quote for a Tesla solar roof is that the Gigafactory 2 in New York, which produces these tiles and the power walls and a bunch of other energy products has been having issues the past couple years, grow their scale and their manufacturing process.
And Elon says it’s for kind of one specific reason. – We have to basically allocate all resources to model three production because otherwise we’re gonna die. – Which really makes sense right? If Tesla didn’t figure out how to make the model three and make that a success, then they wouldn’t exist, so there would be no solar roofs.
There would be no batteries. There would be none of this stuff even possible for us today. So let’s run through a couple different scenarios here and just see a side by side comparison of how these options stack up.
So the first option is, if you don’t need a new roof. Let’s assume you have a 3000 square foot home in California and you want to install an 8.5 kilowatt solar panel system. Current prices put that at just over $26,000.
Now compare that to the Tesla solar roof, you’re gonna spend almost $51,000 for that same replacement that same unit, but it’s also gonna only deliver 77% as much electricity with a 6.25 kilowatt system.
So you’re gonna spend quite a bit more and not even get enough energy. So in this case, it really doesn’t make sense. So let’s see what happens if you did need a new roof in our second scenario.
In this one, we’re gonna add about $8000 to do an asphalt roof at about five dollar a square foot and that would come to $34,030. That is still 33% cheaper than the $50,000 almost $51,000 you’d be spending with that Tesla solar roof and again, you’re getting 23% more energy from your system.
This brings us to option three, that you just want it. You just want this on your house. Now, there are some risks here, because it’s still very early days and they’re ramping up production and delays and the time of install and all that kind of thing, may take a lot more than a typical system would, so you’re gonna need not only to spend quite a bit more, you’re going to need some patience, some endurance here.
If you have a family with small children, this might be more than personally I would be willing to swallow, but it is definitely one that will spark up some interesting conversations with your neighbors when they see what appears to be a normal but very stylish looking roof, which also generates energy for your home.
So as far as a solar roof goes, I’m really not sure it makes financial sense. Right now, if you were building a new home or if you just want it, hey more power to you. Spend your money how you want.
It’s not a bad idea right? But clearly you can get better, the same functionality for a lot cheaper using other options out there. Which incudes Tesla themselves. They offer these really cool solar panels that are really slim and lay flat on your roof, and appear very aesthetically pleasing, and are just as functional as regular solar panels.
So even they offer a good alternative that is quite a bit cheaper. So I’m curious what you think. Are you in the market for this? Are you looking to kind of turn your home into one that’s more sustainable? If so, I have something else I want to tell you about.
And this brings up today’s sponsor. Dandelion Energy is a Google backed startup that is making it easier for people to switch to geothermal heating and cooling. Now this technology’s been around forever, but like solar panels in recent years, the price is dropping fast making it a much better proposition for home owners.
In fact, currently home owners are saving about 50% a month on heating and cooling by making the switch. In addition, Dandelion is bringing all the smart home features we’ve grown to love from products like Nest into this new part of your home.
So if you want to save money on a fuel oil furnace and those high heating bills in the winter there, check out Dandelion Energy. I’ll put a link to their website in the description down below. I also did an interview with Kathy, the founder of Dandelion Energy which I’ll link to in the description down below, it was really interesting to hear her story how she used to work at Google X, the group that did the moon shot ideas, came upon this and left and brought another guy from Google with her to really kind of bring geothermal heating and cooling into the current modern tech appliances and things that we’re used to in out homes.
So there’s some really good insights there if you’re interested in that. Go check it out. So that’s all for today. I’m very curious to know what you guys are gonna do when it comes to solar or any of the stuff, so please leave me a comment down below.
Don’t forget, when you free the data, your mind will follow. I’ll see you guys back in the next one. (upbeat music) – So just as a demonstration video, show what happens when you drop a big weight on a conventional roof tile and one of our glass tiles.
(clapping)
