We found an interesting post by Barry Cinnamon on Green Tech Media last week regarding a cost estimate of Tesla tiles. He has been trying to run the numbers since Tesla’s announcements which, to be honest, do not give much away. He thinks each shingle will contain a 6” solar cell producing approximately 6 watts.
Factoring Labor into a Cost Estimate of Tesla Tiles
Barry comes from a solar panel background. Thus his thoughts soon turn to the details of installation. He figures we would need 1,000 shingles to produce 6 kilowatts, and 2,000 connectors to join them up. The balance of the roof surface would presumably be matching dummies.
Given the high labor cost associated with wiring up 1,000 shingles, Barry assumes Tesla will produce pre-assembled panels of 24 individual cells so abutted as appearing to be individual ones. This is the general industry standard. He goes on to guess how much this would cost.
Cost Estimate of Tesla Tiles Using Tesla’s Clue
Firstly, we do have a clue in Tesla’s comment that a solar tiled roof will be cheaper than a regular one after factoring in projected utility bill savings.
Re-roofing an existing 2,000 square foot roof with quality shingles could cost between $12,000 and $15,000 which provides a start. However a new home would be lower at $10,000 because we would not have to remove the existing tiles
The Breakpoints this Cost Estimate Suggests
Barry Cinnamon suggests a Tesla installation on a new home will pay back in 8.2 years. He compares this to 6.5 for regular solar and 11 years for a Tesla retrofit. Solar panels generally come with a 20 to 25 year warranty and can last for 30 years. Tesla says its tiles are in durable, long lasting tempered-glass. However it would need to warrant them for 30 years on a straight cost comparison basis.
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