• There has been a recent cluster of spammers accessing BARFer accounts and posting spam. To safeguard your account, please consider changing your password. It would be even better to take the additional step of enabling 2 Factor Authentication (2FA) on your BARF account. Read more here.

Who's gone Solar

Well, this is good. I contacted Tesla through my account (email) and just received the following reply.

Our team is aware of the two issues you mentioned. The scheduling order is currently in the pipleline. You should receive a scheduled date and time within 48 hours for this repair. Our team is expected it to take 3 hours to complete the repair.
Click to expand...

I wasn't able to ask the crew about these issues when they were on site, as I wasn't aware they would be left like that, and since I had to leave before they were done. Good to see they were already planning on repairing those areas.
 
Just got a confirmation from PGE that our application, (which was in before the deadline), is NEM2 eligible which is nice.

Our site inspection was done last week; it was a big nothing that took all of 30 minutes.

This was part of the message though with the last piece being the most interesting.

Contractor steps to maintain NEM2 eligibility:

• If there are follow up questions regarding your application, respond to inquiries (usually by email) from PG&E regarding your NEM2 application.

• If there is a deficiency notice, resolve the deficiency (other than a missing building permit) within one year to retain NEM2 eligibility.

• Do not make any changes to your application unless you are correcting a deficiency.

• The system must be installed and the final inspection clearance/building permit must be submitted to PG&E before April 15, 2026.
Click to expand...
 
bojangle said:
Well, this is good. I contacted Tesla through my account (email) and just received the following reply.

I wasn't able to ask the crew about these issues when they were on site, as I wasn't aware they would be left like that, and since I had to leave before they were done. Good to see they were already planning on repairing those areas.
Click to expand...

that's good. I hope they planned to do repairs before you asked abou tit...

It shouldn't be your responsibility to hire a professional then monitor their every move to make sure they are being professional.
 
Tesla is coming out tomorrow to make the repairs to the wall. They also scheduled the city inspection for tomorrow as well. Things are moving right along.

Once the inspection is approved, I'll have to pay, and the they seek approval from PG&E to power the system on. Hopefully I'll be live really soon.
 
I am about to replace my roof, and thinking of installing solar panels. The roof installers claim that if you install panels and roof at the same time, both the panels and the roof are eligible for the federal 30% tax credit. Yet the relevant DOE webpage explicitly states in one of the FAQs that the roof itself is not eligible for the credit, and this seems to be corroborated by IRS Form 5695, although the language there is not as clear.

Have any of you guys been able to get a credit for the roof if you installed it at the same time as the panels?
 
In general, the internet leans no on this one John.

https://ttlc.intuit.com/community/t...scussion/solar-tax-credit-new-roof/00/2621263

https://ttlc.intuit.com/community/s...elated-to-a-re-roof-if-i-get/00/383796/page/3

If you have an accountant, they might be willing to vouch for the "required for solar" and push the boundary as bit. As listed in the second article, things like support and framing might be more compelling than just shingles.

The real question is will you get audited and if so, how comfortable do you feel standing that ground?
 
Thanks for the links, that doesn't look good, but confirms what DoE and IRS allude to.

I don't have an accountant, but I have been audited three times in the last seven tax years, and although I was right in all three cases, I feel that I have a target on my back.

It looks like I will be going without solar panels.
 
johnkol said:
Thanks for the links, that doesn't look good, but confirms what DoE and IRS allude to.

I don't have an accountant, but I have been audited three times in the last seven tax years, and although I was right in all three cases, I feel that I have a target on my back.

It looks like I will be going without solar panels.
Click to expand...

I think probably if you go with the Tesla solar roof, the whole think should qualify for the 30% federal tax credit. The solar roof is a lot more expensive than just doing solar panels alone (or surely more expensive than a roof replacement alone). But it might make sense if you happen to need a new roof and also want solar at the same time. Especially with the tax credit. Might be worth looking into.

EDIT:

Well, this is straight from their web site.

The Federal Investment Tax Credit (ITC) will apply to the cost of the solar portion of Solar Roof as well as the cost of Powerwall. The incentive amount is equivalent to a percentage of the eligible costs. To qualify for the Federal Investment Tax Credit in a particular year, the eligible solar equipment must be installed by December 31st of that year. You should always consult your tax professional for your situation.
Click to expand...

Looks like the tax credit only applies to the solar portion, not the entire project.
 
Last edited:
Update on my project. The money was just taken out of my account this evening. Now I just have to wait for Tesla to get approval from PG&E for me to turn my system on. All ready to go in time for summer.
 
So how much power are you guys producing daily? My system was turned on in November, and had a rainy season right off the bat, but my system is now constantly producing 43-44 kwh a day with 16 panels.

I'm in Sacramento with SMUD. They would only approve a system based on previous power usage, so couldn't get extra panels for a future EV purchase. I have no true-up, just deduct it off my bill and any unused credits roll over every month. I just have to pay a connection fee, which is required regardless if the home is equipped with solar.

So far so good, with it being Sacramento, it's hotter than the bay and we can now have our A/C on a lot more during the day. We also made adjustments to our cleaning schedule since we don't have a battery, like using the washer, dryer, and dishwasher during the day. It obviously helps to work from home for that scenario.
 
Last edited:
bojangle said:
I think probably if you go with the Tesla solar roof, the whole think should qualify for the 30% federal tax credit. The solar roof is a lot more expensive than just doing solar panels alone (or surely more expensive than a roof replacement alone). But it might make sense if you happen to need a new roof and also want solar at the same time. Especially with the tax credit. Might be worth looking into.
Click to expand...

You are right, the Tesla tile roof is indeed eligible for the 30% tax credit; I had looked into it, but the cost is out of this world: for a 6.0kW roof, the cost is $78k, whereas the cost for just regular Tesla solar panels is $12k (both prices after the 30% tax credit). Of course with Tesla tiles you also get a roof, which would have cost about $25k, so the extra cost for the Tesla solar roof novelty is about $53k; even the solar panels do not pay for themselves in my situation (under the new NEM 3.0 structure), imagine what a money pit the Tesla tile roof is.
 
johnkol said:
You are right, the Tesla tile roof is indeed eligible for the 30% tax credit; I had looked into it, but the cost is out of this world: for a 6.0kW roof, the cost is $78k, whereas the cost for just regular Tesla solar panels is $12k (both prices after the 30% tax credit). Of course with Tesla tiles you also get a roof, which would have cost about $25k, so the extra cost for the Tesla solar roof novelty is about $53k; even the solar panels do not pay for themselves in my situation (under the new NEM 3.0 structure), imagine what a money pit the Tesla tile roof is.
Click to expand...

Wow! Yeah, totally not worth that price. They must be making a killing off those.
 
Shingles scheduled for delivery this Thursday morning. Leaving for the Kernville rally as soon as they're finished and gone, so I will have exactly two weeks to get the roof done once I return. :laughing

I figure I'll throw a couple hours at it after work everyday, then button it up next weekend if needed.
 
bojangle said:
Wow! Yeah, totally not worth that price. They must be making a killing off those.
Click to expand...


It's also an inferior design, I think. Once I got my panels installed, I learned that a massive benefit of solar is that it acts like a giant 'hat' for your home, and greatly reduces the penetration of solar heat into the home's structure. So not only are you making power, but you also don't need to run your AC nearly as much. A hot solar panel built into your roof isn't going to give nearly the same benefit.
 
TwistedGRAY said:
Did they imply that PG&E would 'flip the switch' soon? We're still a week and a half away from Elon showing up here, so I'm curious what your timeline will look like.
Click to expand...

I think their literature says it can take up to 8 weeks, but the Tesla employee said that since there was no powerwall battery involved, approvals are usually quicker, like maybe a couple of weeks.

It's not that PG&E is flipping a switch. I will be doing that at the house. I can do that now. I just don't have utility approval, and you need that first.

On my Tesla Account: "Your application is submitted. We're waiting for your utility to approve connecting your system to the grid. We'll let you know once we've received approval."

mercurial said:
It's also an inferior design, I think. Once I got my panels installed, I learned that a massive benefit of solar is that it acts like a giant 'hat' for your home, and greatly reduces the penetration of solar heat into the home's structure. So not only are you making power, but you also don't need to run your AC nearly as much. A hot solar panel built into your roof isn't going to give nearly the same benefit.
Click to expand...

Yeah, true, good point.
 
Not sure if it's been mentioned here yet, but my recent solar installation includes a device that diverts otherwise unused solar power to the hot water heater. If you have an electric water heater this is probably your biggest single use of electricity, and with a diverter you won't pay anything for it unless you have an extended period of cloudiness.

The one I use (Catch Power) is specific to the Australian market, but here's an article that talks about them more generally.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top