Tesla Solar Roof Review: Was it Worth It?

Aug 11, 2023

Tesla Solar Roof Review: Was it Worth It?

1 year with the Tesla solar roof

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0:00 I have not paid for electricity in a year
1:15 How does solar work
4:56 Why I picked the Tesla solar tiles
7:28 Numbers/specs time!
11:06 Summer
13:01 Fall
13:59 Winter
16:25 Spring
17:17 Eight Sleep
18:39 The money question
22:35 Quirks and Features
27:11 Conclusion

Content

0.2 -> [Music]

1.879 -> hi my name is Marquez Brownlee and I

4.68 -> have not paid for electricity

7.08 -> in a year I have a bunch of electrical

8.76 -> appliances computers game console TVs

12.54 -> air conditioning and I drive an electric

14.94 -> car to and from work every single day

16.8 -> and charge it home zero dollar bill so I

19.44 -> know I had a lot of questions about how

20.58 -> this stuff worked how much it cost how

22.68 -> much it generated a whole bunch of that

24.359 -> stuff before I got started and now I

27.96 -> finally have all the answers

29.939 -> let's get into it

33.42 -> so I have had solar panels on my roof at

36.54 -> home for the past 12 months now and I

38.88 -> waited this long specifically because

40.379 -> now I've seen all four seasons and I've

42.78 -> observed a wide variety of performance

45.12 -> and I've run all the numbers and I have

47.34 -> a lot of thoughts about them so I want

48.96 -> to share them so first of all for those

50.039 -> familiar there are a lot of options for

52.559 -> solar systems at home I like that

55.079 -> they're called solar systems too but

56.64 -> there are a lot of different companies

57.66 -> who make solar systems to power all the

60.42 -> electrical needs of a home including an

62.699 -> electric car so I know I wanted to do

64.32 -> this for a while since the whole point

66.18 -> for me was to be able to drive electric

69.36 -> for the foreseeable future and actually

71.46 -> be able to know that the energy is

73.619 -> coming from a sustainable Source the Sun

75.84 -> but first it's actually important to

77.22 -> understand that a big part a big part of

79.86 -> this solar system is batteries as well

83.64 -> so a normal house is connected to the

85.74 -> electrical grid and whenever something

87.18 -> in the house whether it's a light bulb

88.86 -> or a computer or an appliance calls for

91.259 -> electricity it pulls from the grid and

93.36 -> and Spins up a meter on the side of the

95.22 -> house that tallies how much you've

97.079 -> pulled then at the end of the month you

98.52 -> get billed for how much electricity

100.259 -> you've used great now if you just add

102.84 -> solar panels to this house when the sun

104.759 -> shines during the day on those tiles it

107.22 -> can use that electricity to directly

109.38 -> power things in the house now of course

111.479 -> if it's cloudy or if you have a bunch of

113.34 -> stuff on all at once and the demand is

115.259 -> more than the power from the Sun is

116.579 -> providing then it'll pull the rest of

118.38 -> what it needs from the grid and spin the

120.6 -> meter as well but most importantly as

123.36 -> soon as the sun goes down the

125.64 -> electricity generated goes to zero and

128.039 -> it just so happens that most people come

130.44 -> home from work as the sun is going down

132.48 -> and that's when they turn on all the

134.52 -> lights and do the laundry and charge the

136.5 -> car Etc so you're still going to be

138.12 -> pulling from the grid for most stuff now

140.64 -> that's actually fine for most people

142.02 -> because if the goal which a lot of

144.239 -> people's goal is is to have a zero

146.28 -> dollar electricity bill then this can

148.68 -> actually be accomplished because the

151.379 -> power company will hopefully depending

152.76 -> on where you live but ideally be running

154.86 -> something called net metering so what

157.44 -> this means is when the Sun Shines on the

159.72 -> roof and excess electricity is being

161.819 -> generated because nobody's home the

164.16 -> house actually spins the electrical

166.2 -> meter backwards as it sends extra

168.84 -> electricity back to the grid then when

172.019 -> the Sun goes down and you get home and

173.459 -> use a bunch of electricity from the grid

175.019 -> the meter spins back forwards and so

177.3 -> ideally the total usage is zero net zero

181.8 -> that's how you end up with the zero

183.12 -> dollar electricity bill which is super

184.8 -> cool but what if you want to sort of

187.2 -> graduate to the next level of

188.879 -> sustainability what if you want to be

190.56 -> completely independent of the grid

193.019 -> totally Off the Grid

194.58 -> well that's when batteries come in so

197.159 -> add battery storage to this system and

199.379 -> now the loop is complete so when the sun

202.68 -> shines during the day and you're not

204.12 -> home it fills up the batteries

206.04 -> effectively storing Sunshine energy and

209.22 -> then when you get home and the sun goes

210.9 -> down you can keep using that extra solar

213.599 -> energy that you stored with all the

215.34 -> electrical needs that you have until the

217.26 -> next morning when the sun comes out

219 -> again and starts filling up those

220.56 -> batteries again so with a system like

222.72 -> this you can theoretically not just have

224.22 -> a zero dollar power bill but never

226.379 -> actually pull from the Grid at all

228.18 -> you're completely self-sustainable you

230.4 -> never have to worry about a power outage

231.9 -> ever again you won't even know if a

234.18 -> power outage happens that is the Off the

237.12 -> Grid dream theoretically anyway at the

239.7 -> beginning of this process that was my

242.4 -> goal so there's a lot of different

243.9 -> options for solar system setups with

247.62 -> different solar tile manufacturers and

250.019 -> different battery manufacturers and

251.64 -> different companies that will install

253.08 -> all these things and there's a 1000

254.76 -> different combos that you could piece

256.799 -> together with different companies with

258.419 -> different offers in your area to make

260.88 -> something that works I kind of went with

263.88 -> kind of a crazy but also a made sense

266.88 -> solution which is just one company for

268.74 -> everything which would be Tesla so it is

270.66 -> a Tesla solar roof Tesla power walls for

273.479 -> batteries and then the Tesla app to

276.12 -> monitor and control everything and

278.4 -> really the main reason I went this route

279.54 -> was for Simplicity and integration this

281.82 -> I paid a price premium for this this was

284.04 -> not the cheapest option you can spec a

287.34 -> much cheaper combo of solar panels and

289.68 -> batteries and things like that

291.3 -> but just to have everything on the same

293.22 -> page and have everything talking to each

294.72 -> other seamlessly this made the most

296.58 -> sense so then once I decided to go with

298.199 -> Tesla then the other choice you might

299.52 -> have heard about is either solar panels

301.62 -> bolted to the roof or these actual solar

305.1 -> tiles which are new roof tiles that are

307.44 -> actually hundreds of tiny solar panels

309.78 -> themselves all interconnected to make a

312.12 -> normal looking roof that's actually a

313.74 -> giant solar panel and that is the one

316.44 -> that I went for and this is why I say

318.36 -> this is this was a crazy option because

319.86 -> I I did not actually need a new roof

322.919 -> most people who go with the solar tiles

325.56 -> option would either have an old roof

328.38 -> that needs replacing soon or they're

330.18 -> like about to build a new house and this

331.919 -> will be the new roof that they put on it

333.36 -> I wasn't in either of those situations

334.68 -> but also this was the way to get by far

336.96 -> the largest total array with the most

339.12 -> coverage with as many pitches as my roof

341.34 -> has and also aesthetically it looks

343.259 -> really good too I gotta say there's carb

345.24 -> appeal either way I make my decision I'm

347.699 -> going with the solar roof I'm going

349.38 -> Tesla's full integrated setup

351.3 -> from there

352.86 -> not gonna lie it is quite a process

355.02 -> there is a lot of uh of paperwork and

358.32 -> Hoops to jump through also with Tesla's

360.12 -> they've been kind of in and out of

362.16 -> reliability like over the years they've

363.9 -> been on and off with actually making

365.4 -> this product they've paused

366.72 -> installations for a while it was briefly

368.58 -> canceled and then it came back and there

370.86 -> were supply chain issues I remember

372.3 -> reading about all this and I was kind of

373.62 -> worried uh but for whatever reason when

375.78 -> I ordered which was in 2021 basically

378.72 -> everything went perfectly smooth as well

380.16 -> as it could have gone you get assigned a

383.1 -> a Tesla advisor just like for your

385.68 -> project for your solar project they walk

387.539 -> you through the whole process from the

389.52 -> paperwork with the town from beginning

391.139 -> to end so there was an ordering process

393.44 -> inspection a measuring process quotes

397.08 -> you know filling out paperwork with the

398.88 -> town you actually when you're first

400.08 -> trying to get an estimate you actually

401.16 -> submit your address and they go look on

403.08 -> Google Images and look at your roof with

405.539 -> satellite imagery and give you an

406.919 -> initial quote then once you're locked in

409.139 -> and you decide you want to go through

410.4 -> with it they'll actually come to your

411.479 -> home with professionals and actually

412.86 -> measure it and then give you a precise

414.3 -> real quote and then start to order all

416.4 -> the materials you eventually get to the

417.9 -> point where you get an install date you

419.699 -> start scheduling things out and then

422.1 -> they come through with all the boxes of

424.139 -> solar panels and they took up my whole

426.24 -> driveway for a couple days there are

427.62 -> people who have actually walked through

428.639 -> this entire process in great detail I'll

430.38 -> try to link a good one below on YouTube

431.699 -> but at the end of the day

433.979 -> for me the process I started when I

436.62 -> signed the purchase agreement which was

438.3 -> in November 2021 and finished with the

442.56 -> activation of the system in July 2022 so

447.36 -> eight months

449.84 -> but now that it's done uh we get to nerd

453.24 -> out about the numbers sorry in advance

455.88 -> to anyone who doesn't like numbers I

457.259 -> feel like that's really the only way to

458.759 -> explain how good it is and what's

460.919 -> happening with them so there's about to

463.319 -> be a lot of them let's get into it so

465.06 -> first of all the specs right so this is

466.979 -> a

468.199 -> 29.313 kilowatt solar array size your

471.78 -> boy's got a big roof and then there are

474.12 -> three power wall threes which totals 40

477.12 -> and a half kilowatt hours and then this

479.88 -> is the Tesla app where all of the

482.34 -> learnings and all the numbers happen

483.84 -> when the system first got activated I

486.06 -> just remember like seeing it light up in

487.979 -> the app for the first time the numbers

489.3 -> jump up and just kind of you just kind

492.3 -> of get I could stare at the app for a

493.8 -> while like I could really get lost in

495.18 -> the numbers maybe it's just because I'm

496.199 -> a numbers person but there's a lot going

498.599 -> on and that's it was exciting to see it

500.46 -> all in real time and learn a lot of

501.9 -> stuff so I think the app is really well

503.099 -> done and it lets you visualize how much

505.44 -> energy the solar array is currently

507.599 -> capturing how much energy the home is

509.879 -> using and the state of charge and power

512.099 -> output or input of the powerwall

514.68 -> batteries and then of course anything

516.06 -> happening with the electro grid so you

517.979 -> can see at this exact moment in time on

520.5 -> a sunny morning in July the panels are

522.659 -> bringing in seven kilowatts of power

524.459 -> five of which are powering the house the

527.16 -> last two of which are going into the

528.66 -> power walls which are 38 full and it's

531.6 -> not touching the Grid at all there's

533.58 -> already a lot of terms being thrown

535.019 -> around here here's a good way of

536.339 -> thinking about it kilowatts is a measure

539.1 -> of power so one kilowatt is a thousand

542.64 -> Watts a kilowatt hour though is a unit

545.58 -> of energy collected so a Tesla Model S

550.26 -> battery for example is a 100 roughly 100

552.779 -> kilowatt hours and so if that battery

555.48 -> were to Output a hundred kilowatts for

558.959 -> an hour then it would be at zero so for

560.82 -> my setup the power wall three each one

563.1 -> is about 13 and a half kilowatt hours

565.86 -> each so that totals forty and a half

568.14 -> kilowatt hours since I have three and

570.12 -> they support a maximum power output in

573.42 -> or out of 15 and a half kilowatts and

576.48 -> then the solar system being 29.3

579.36 -> kilowatts means that basically it seems

582.18 -> like the theoretical maximum of the

584.04 -> electricity that can be collected at any

585.48 -> one time is 29.3 kilowatts but as you're

588.36 -> about to see a little bit later that

589.92 -> number may or may not be accurate either

592.38 -> way just hanging out in the Tesla app

594.3 -> for a while which you do a lot for the

596.22 -> first few weeks I learned a lot I

598.74 -> learned a lot about what takes a lot of

600.24 -> energy what takes a little bit of energy

602.279 -> some of it which did surprise me I also

606.06 -> learned that sort of the basic like

607.86 -> existence level for this house is like 4

611.279 -> 100 watts of power just because things

613.74 -> are plugged in even if every light is

615.779 -> off it just sort of sits around 400

617.64 -> watts but you know charging a phone or

619.62 -> turning on a light or something like

621.12 -> that basically doesn't make a dent at

623.519 -> all it doesn't show up in the app uh

625.5 -> turning on a TV might only take about

627.54 -> 100 Watts uh or 0.1 kilowatts a computer

631.62 -> can pull three to 500 watts if it's

635.16 -> taking a lot of power but surprisingly

637.56 -> the big spikes come from the microwave

641.3 -> and the toaster for sure but the two

644.279 -> absolute biggest draws of electricity in

646.5 -> this house by far and I think probably

648.899 -> with a lot of others are number two air

652.14 -> conditioning

653.22 -> and number one buy a country mile is

657 -> charging the electric car

660.18 -> I think the best way to look at this is

661.98 -> actually by Seasons so like I said this

664.14 -> system got activated in July so in the

666.72 -> middle of the summer so typical summer

667.98 -> day in New Jersey is pretty awesome for

669.6 -> a solar customer the days are long we

672 -> get a lot of sun it's great this is what

674.82 -> a summer day looks like in the app and

677.519 -> this is a pretty good day for solar so

678.959 -> you can see the sunrise is around 6 a.m

681.3 -> the peak is around noon and then this

683.339 -> drop off till sunset around 8 to 9 p.m

686.339 -> it's a lot of sun and on this day it

688.74 -> generated a ridiculous 260 kilowatt

692.339 -> hours of electricity not all days are

695.339 -> going to look like perfect curves like

696.48 -> this by the way in fact the previous day

698.22 -> was pretty cloudy so you can see it only

700.079 -> generated 65 kilowatt hours the next

702.899 -> previous was better again but yeah a

705.24 -> typical summer day you know get around

706.8 -> 200 kilowatt hours from the Sun and then

709.14 -> I think this view is the most helpful it

711.24 -> looks kind of wild at first but you can

712.62 -> quickly tell how to read it it's

714.42 -> basically how much power the house is

716.16 -> taking and then where it's getting that

718.62 -> power from so over overnight you can see

721.56 -> these spikes from the house are where

723.6 -> I'm pulling from the grid this is

725.459 -> actually just air conditioning overnight

727.079 -> then when the sun comes out and the day

729.24 -> heats up and the air conditioner turns

731.04 -> on the lights and the appliances

732.18 -> everything comes on it starts drawing

734.1 -> more power but it's totally covered by

736.38 -> solar as you can see here and it's also

738.36 -> filling up the power walls with extra

739.68 -> solar as this happens so later in the

741.839 -> day when the Sun goes down that power

744.24 -> draw is also supplemented by the power

746.7 -> wall batteries there were a lot of

748.86 -> summer days like this on the absolute

751.079 -> best day in this time I think I

752.339 -> generated almost 300 kilowatt hours of

754.38 -> electricity but because of how much the

757.5 -> house is using from the AC to charging

760.86 -> the car every single day

762.68 -> frequently I'd use 200 plus kilowatt

766.079 -> hours of electricity during the day so

768.899 -> my net grid usage would typically in

771.6 -> these summer months be zero to slightly

774.36 -> negative maybe up to negative 50

776.459 -> kilowatt hours on a good day meaning I

778.44 -> would generate and sell back to the grid

779.82 -> 50 kilowatt hours more than I used solid

782.459 -> so after summer there is the fall which

784.62 -> you know the days are starting to get a

786.06 -> little bit shorter but also notably the

788.94 -> temperatures drop off quite a bit so

791.279 -> getting less a little bit less Sun but

793.8 -> also using a lot less air conditioning

795.899 -> so here is a normal fall day in the

798.42 -> middle of October production day by day

800.519 -> is dropping down now here into the low

802.92 -> hundreds uh this is a day that I got

805.079 -> just over 120 kilowatt hours of solar

807.66 -> pretty Cloud free day again as you can

809.82 -> tell by the graph and again if you look

811.56 -> at the home usage there's even smaller

813.54 -> spikes and a smaller curve of air

816.06 -> conditioning during the day so The

818.579 -> house's needs are actually completely

820.56 -> covered by solar and then once the sun

822.72 -> goes down and the power wall takes over

824.339 -> it actually did not touch the Grid at

827.1 -> all which is pretty sick and this was

828.72 -> actually very common throughout the fall

829.98 -> turns out the fall and the spring are

832.92 -> the times where I generated the most

834.839 -> excess electricity with basically

837.3 -> everyday ending with net negative and

839.639 -> then

840.3 -> there is winter and it turns out uh

843.72 -> winter can be a well in the Northeast

845.7 -> areas especially brutal on these setups

848.94 -> for a couple of reasons like first of

851.16 -> all as far as solar these are the days

852.42 -> when we're getting the days are the

854.22 -> shortest like the sun sets at like 4 P.M

856.56 -> which is insane but that's real but it

860.04 -> also turns out that most of the days are

863.399 -> cloudy I didn't really realize this like

866.579 -> truly until I started looking through

868.8 -> all the graphs but it's like one out of

871.079 -> every 10 days is actually sunny and I

873.899 -> you know I know it's cold and everything

875.22 -> but I didn't realize how many days in

876.899 -> the winter are just cloud cover all day

879.18 -> so then also my homes uh I'm pointing

881.88 -> like you can see it my home's air

883.32 -> conditioning is electric but my heating

885.6 -> is natural gas so my natural gas bill is

888.66 -> just going up and there's nothing my

890.22 -> solar can do about it but on top of all

891.779 -> that you got to think about the car and

893.639 -> electric cars are far less efficient in

896.88 -> the winter when it's cold than any other

899.399 -> time of the year battery trees have a

901.019 -> certain temperature they like to be at

902.399 -> they like to operate at that temperature

903.72 -> so they spend more extra energy getting

906.36 -> up to and staying at that temperature so

909.24 -> a normal drive for me might take say 15

912.18 -> percent of the battery on a commute

914.279 -> during the summer that same Drive during

917.1 -> the winter will take 20 25 30 of the

920.699 -> battery driving the exact same way just

922.92 -> because it's so cold so that is a lot

925.62 -> more electrical energy so here's what

928.32 -> some typical days in the winter would

930.18 -> look like literally only generating 20

933.36 -> to 70 kilowatt hours of electricity in a

936.3 -> whole day like cloudy days would

938.04 -> literally only be a handful and then for

940.8 -> home use so I actually went through this

942.72 -> phase of like maybe I should charge my

944.76 -> car less often to be off the grid more I

947.519 -> was kind of playing around with that so

949.079 -> I would charge like every two to three

950.459 -> days but it honestly doesn't really

951.839 -> matter you can sort of see which days I

954.06 -> actually plug the car in and to be fair

956.279 -> the power wall handled it but it did

958.62 -> empty it out so the next day I'm pulling

961.019 -> from the grid until the sun comes up so

963.66 -> it was basically like a lot of days

965.519 -> around zero and then every time I had to

967.74 -> plug in the car to fill back up there

969.12 -> would be a huge dent just a huge

971.1 -> positive net you stay on the calendar so

973.139 -> I actually had positive net grid usage

975.959 -> months for all of November December and

980.339 -> January so I was pulling from the grid

982.26 -> more than I produced solar all of those

984.18 -> months but then sure enough when we get

985.62 -> to Spring things flip super fast it

989.1 -> turns out if you were to guess which

990.839 -> month I would generate the most solar or

992.76 -> the most excess solar what would you

994.92 -> think you'd probably guess like sometime

996.66 -> in the peak of the Summer with the

997.92 -> longest day June July

999.959 -> uh for me it was May

1003.139 -> in May I used 6 500 kilowatt hours of

1006.38 -> electricity but I generated nearly 8 500

1010.579 -> kilowatt hours of electricity and I

1013.22 -> didn't even realize this is another

1014.24 -> thing you don't really know for real

1016.22 -> until you look at the data and I'm

1017.899 -> looking at the graphs and may had

1020.6 -> basically every single day sunny during

1022.88 -> that month I think I had one cloudy day

1024.86 -> in May but June and July we do get a lot

1029 -> more thunderstorms out here in the

1030.439 -> Northeast and that actually does take a

1032.54 -> real hit on total solar that's that's

1034.939 -> cloud cover so they didn't generate

1036.679 -> quite as much solar as May we're just

1039.02 -> learning weather patterns out here

1040.28 -> through graphs of solar generation uh

1042.439 -> this is also around the same month that

1044 -> I got the eight sleep so the eight sleep

1045.74 -> is a pod cover that fits on a mattress

1047.959 -> like a fitted sheet but it's temperature

1049.94 -> controlled so it can heat and cool each

1053.54 -> side of the bed independently they

1055.88 -> reached out around May to be a sponsor

1057.62 -> and I said yes so that's when I

1059.72 -> installed it I wouldn't say it it

1062 -> replaced the need for aircon positioning

1063.679 -> it didn't but it did actually

1065.059 -> legitimately decrease the total air

1067.82 -> conditioning you need when the bed is

1069.38 -> cooled off and the house doesn't have to

1071.059 -> be as cool so when it literally cools

1072.5 -> the bed before you get in stays cool the

1074.179 -> whole night for optimal sleep and then

1075.74 -> warms you up in the morning on autopilot

1077.419 -> every single day which is sweet so now

1079.4 -> that I know that air conditioning is the

1081.62 -> number two draw of electricity in my

1083.539 -> entire house and if you don't drive an

1085.22 -> electric car it's probably your number

1087.02 -> one draw then it's good to know that you

1089.419 -> can you can do something like this and

1091.34 -> obviously it'll take a lot less

1092.48 -> electricity from the wall than air

1094.58 -> conditioning would also if you're

1095.84 -> curious I talked about this on dope Tech

1097.34 -> but it's turned out to be pretty awesome

1098.72 -> obviously sleuth is super important and

1101.059 -> temperature is like top of the list for

1102.799 -> Sleep Quality falling asleep faster

1104.66 -> waking up less so investing in your

1106.94 -> sleep makes a ton of sense on top of

1108.62 -> maybe cutting into your AC use so if you

1110.9 -> want to get a pod cover for yourself you

1112.28 -> can actually use code MKBHD on their

1114.32 -> site and get 200 off so I'll leave a

1116.36 -> link in the description and next thing

1117.799 -> into eight sleep before sponsoring the

1119.24 -> video so it's time for the the big

1120.74 -> summary I've had this solar setup for a

1123.02 -> full year now all four seasons it's time

1125.96 -> to run the numbers see if it was really

1128.179 -> worth it and see if it's actually good

1130.1 -> so let's start with the money question

1131.299 -> here the this like I said was nowhere

1133.4 -> near the cheapest possible option of

1135.74 -> course going with solar panels and

1138.14 -> batteries a lot of different possible

1139.4 -> setups so my setup with the solar tiles

1142.16 -> all the materials all of the labor

1144.44 -> installation everything and the three

1146.24 -> batteries everything together was one

1148.94 -> hundred and twenty thousand nine hundred

1150.86 -> forty eight dollars and four cents but

1153.08 -> also as you can see there's a federal

1154.82 -> tax credit down here of nearly thirty

1157.22 -> thousand dollars bringing the total cost

1159.08 -> to me down to right around ninety three

1162.08 -> thousand dollars so the tax credit does

1165.799 -> fluctuate quite a bit uh it's actually

1168.98 -> gone up like a lot since I ordered like

1171.98 -> a year and a half ago whatever it was uh

1174.08 -> it's up to 30 now in New Jersey so it's

1176.66 -> called the uh New Jersey solar

1179.299 -> investment tax credit if I ordered today

1181.88 -> it would have been 8 thousand dollars

1183.74 -> more off

1185.24 -> but you know it's fine it's fine

1188 -> everything's fine I'm not mad it's fine

1189.32 -> but the main question you typically see

1190.46 -> with an investment like this is what is

1192.32 -> the payoff period how long does it take

1194.24 -> before that investment pays for itself

1196.7 -> in saved electricity so that's a good

1199.4 -> question and I had to do quite a bit of

1201.559 -> math here because every bill is

1204.32 -> different every week every month of

1206.48 -> electricity costs different amounts

1207.919 -> actually my provider literally has

1209.96 -> different electricity rates every single

1212.12 -> hour and there are different averages

1214.36 -> per day per week per season but if I do

1218.72 -> a sort of a sweeping average for each

1220.7 -> month and how much electricity I've been

1222.679 -> using the 54 megawatt hours of

1225.86 -> electricity that I've used in the past

1228.08 -> year would have cost about nine thousand

1231.5 -> six hundred sixty dollars so again

1233.539 -> that's a lot but obviously air

1235.22 -> conditioning takes up a lot and a lot of

1237.38 -> that is driving an electric car every

1239.48 -> single day so of course my gas bill has

1241.94 -> been zero dollars this whole time but

1243.38 -> you know that's where it comes from so

1245 -> if if you divide that out by the total

1247.64 -> cost that I paid it comes out to just

1249.74 -> under 10 years 9.6 years so if you if

1253.34 -> you Google like what's a good payback

1255.2 -> period for a solar setup the answer that

1257.419 -> the AI pops up with is like six to ten

1260.179 -> years which you know if I think about it

1261.919 -> it makes sense obviously and that's

1263.36 -> great because if the panels are

1265.22 -> warranted for 25 years and you pay them

1267.74 -> off in 10 years then they're just paying

1270.98 -> you extra for the next 15 years however

1273.14 -> long you're in that house which is great

1274.58 -> so mine being on the longer end of that

1276.32 -> am I mad at that not really I think

1278.66 -> that's fine

1280.22 -> um I also do know that there are a

1282.26 -> couple of things that could that I could

1284.84 -> that could have been different to make

1286.76 -> that payback period shorter actually the

1288.62 -> number one suggestion typically would be

1290.36 -> like okay if you want to make the

1291.86 -> payback period shorter get a less

1293.72 -> expensive setup and that would make

1296.539 -> sense but also you have to keep in mind

1297.919 -> the coverage really matters here so I

1300.38 -> could have gone with a much less

1301.52 -> expensive actually a solar panel array

1304.159 -> from Tesla on the same exact roof and

1307.1 -> because of all the pitches on the roof

1308.659 -> they estimated they could have put

1310.22 -> panels down on certain parts and it

1311.72 -> would have totaled a smaller 19 kilowatt

1313.88 -> array instead of the 29 kilowatts of the

1316.52 -> solar tiles I know that because that's

1318.14 -> actually what I first signed up for an

1319.46 -> estimate for as I was like juggling the

1321.32 -> idea in my head would that have had a

1323.48 -> shorter payback period or would that

1325.039 -> have been offset by much less

1326.659 -> electricity being produced and taking

1328.58 -> longer to pay for itself I don't know

1331.4 -> but the other part of that equation that

1332.78 -> I'm thinking about now is just like I

1334.94 -> should just use more electricity

1337.1 -> so that it pays for itself faster I want

1339.08 -> to get my values worth I am constantly

1341.419 -> in net negative so I can afford to use

1344.059 -> way more electricity and so I thought

1346.34 -> maybe about switching

1348.679 -> um you know various appliances that

1350.24 -> aren't electric yet maybe even switching

1353.12 -> heating to electrical so that may be in

1355.58 -> my future but now for all the

1358.6 -> miscellaneous weird quirks of having

1362.12 -> this brand new piece of tech on top of

1364.88 -> my house because believe me there are

1366.32 -> quite a few so first of all on the uh

1368.48 -> the zero dollar electricity bill

1371 -> for the whole year that is real which is

1373.4 -> pretty awesome but it's also interesting

1374.659 -> that I was able to achieve the zero

1376.7 -> dollar bill monthly but I also used

1380.179 -> positive net grid energy for those three

1383.419 -> months during the winter so you might be

1384.919 -> wondering wait a second how does that

1386.659 -> work and the answer is net metering

1388.76 -> credits it turns out they roll over

1390.98 -> month to month but then they get reset

1393.88 -> once per year so meaning when it was

1396.5 -> first activated and in the First full

1398.6 -> month of August I produced more than I

1400.58 -> used I ended the month with a credit of

1403.46 -> the difference which was negative 255

1406.4 -> kilowatt hours and it says that on the

1408.26 -> bill so that means the next month even

1409.7 -> if I used 255 kilowatt hours more than I

1413.539 -> produce with solar I would still have a

1415.22 -> zero dollar bill because I have that

1416.659 -> credit to play with but month after

1418.28 -> month after month during the summer and

1420.14 -> then the fall I was building up more and

1422 -> more negative credits so that by the

1423.62 -> time we got to Winter those three months

1426.5 -> in a row I was eating into the credit

1428.539 -> but I didn't eat all of it so I didn't

1430.4 -> get all the way back to zero so the bill

1432.32 -> was still zero dollars every month so

1434.179 -> then another fun thing uh power outages

1437.6 -> I have had a few power outages uh since

1441.38 -> getting the solar system installed most

1443.24 -> of them just because of thunderstorms

1444.38 -> and the grid going down for a bit I

1446.299 -> didn't even notice which was pretty sick

1448.22 -> I did not notice the lights didn't even

1450.08 -> flicker I didn't actually know until I

1452.539 -> got a notification on my phone from the

1454.4 -> Tesla app saying hey just so you know

1457.039 -> you're disconnected from the grid right

1459.08 -> now but you're running off of solar and

1460.76 -> or batteries right now so everything is

1462.799 -> good and you've got you know x amount of

1464.84 -> hours of backup left and it should get

1466.58 -> you till the next morning when the sun

1467.78 -> comes up again and there's even a storm

1469.58 -> watch feature that will preemptively

1471.08 -> make sure the power walls are full if it

1472.94 -> knows the big storm is coming and

1474.559 -> honestly there is a pretty sweet Peace

1476.179 -> of Mind knowing for a fact that if I

1479.419 -> don't charge the car the power walls

1481.88 -> have more than enough to just use the

1484.94 -> house like normal until the next morning

1486.799 -> air conditioning appliances literally

1489.26 -> whatever and it'll be fine and when the

1490.88 -> sum comes out again it'll start powering

1493.1 -> everything I could be completely off the

1495.26 -> grid for days or weeks at a time if I

1498.74 -> find somewhere else to charge the car

1500.12 -> now another fun fact in the winter in

1503.299 -> the Northeast you probably already know

1504.679 -> we get snow and apparently the surface

1508.82 -> of the solar tiles the solar roof uh

1512.059 -> stays just above freezing just a little

1514.52 -> bit warmer than a roof would which has

1518.539 -> some interesting side effects most

1520.22 -> notably when it snows a little bit uh

1522.32 -> the snow simply hits the roof and melts

1525.2 -> so it never actually accumulates on the

1527.539 -> roof and then the solar can continue to

1529.4 -> work I mean if it's cloudy you get a

1530.9 -> little bit of solar but it keeps working

1532.64 -> and then you're the only house that

1534.2 -> doesn't have a white roof because

1535.159 -> there's no no snow on it but when it

1537.02 -> snows heavy like like a lot which it

1540.919 -> does a few times what happens is it

1543.32 -> snows a ton and it actually does

1544.7 -> accumulate and then when it accumulates

1546.679 -> the outside layer kind of insulates the

1549.919 -> bottom and so the Bottom now has room to

1552.74 -> get warm again and so it warms up and

1554.72 -> creates a thin layer of water and then

1557.299 -> the whole thing just slides off of the

1560.539 -> roof like a sheet of ice like the whole

1563.24 -> accumulated layer slides off on the

1565.88 -> water so I didn't actually get videos of

1567.799 -> this happening with my own roof but

1569.059 -> there are some YouTube videos of this

1570.5 -> happening on YouTube it's kind of crazy

1572.419 -> literally the whole roof section slides

1574.94 -> off in sheets and it actually lands in

1577.88 -> piles around the house sometimes

1580.159 -> blocking a door or a driveway it's not a

1582.679 -> small deal it was a little bit

1584.179 -> frightening the first time it happened

1585.32 -> because I didn't realize what that loud

1587 -> booming noise was I was like is there is

1589.52 -> there thunder in the in a snowstorm

1592.1 -> that's kind of weird but then I like see

1594.679 -> it in the window like sliding off of the

1597.02 -> roof which is crazy then it piles up

1598.52 -> around the door and then then it I gotta

1600.919 -> shovel it but then last but not least

1602.299 -> the fun fact uh I lied to you all uh the

1606.26 -> the zero that sounds silly the zero

1608.539 -> dollar power bill

1609.86 -> is actually kind of a lie because my

1612.32 -> power company ruined it every month for

1614.72 -> the past 12 months my electricity bill

1616.46 -> has been

1617.679 -> 5.75

1619.299 -> that's just because I have zeroed out

1621.98 -> all the charges thanks to that metering

1623.779 -> but they charge 575 every month

1626.539 -> basically just to have an account

1629.6 -> so

1630.74 -> thanks guys so let's just to wrap

1633.02 -> everything up here my one year

1634.52 -> conclusion uh this is an awesome piece

1638.179 -> of bleeding edge Tech you can tell it's

1640.94 -> bleeding edge because it's still rapidly

1643.279 -> evolving over time and it's still very

1645.98 -> expensive so for early adopters like me

1648.62 -> who are willing to take the plunge

1650 -> willing to take that risk a little bit

1652.1 -> it can be really awesome it kind of

1654.86 -> reminds me of electric cars there are a

1656.48 -> lot more affordable solar setups out

1658.88 -> there that are making a meaningful

1660.5 -> difference for a lot of people in a lot

1662.419 -> of different situations all over the

1663.86 -> world there's also much more massive

1666.26 -> huge solar setups as well but I think we

1668.96 -> can kind of all get behind a technology

1671.679 -> making more sustainable energy more

1675.32 -> useful more efficient and More Beautiful

1677.96 -> over time I definitely learned a lot

1680.24 -> with this process mostly in like how

1682.4 -> much electricity certain things

1683.9 -> specifically use but also how much

1685.7 -> electricity a roof with solar panels on

1688.279 -> it can collect in different times of

1690.74 -> year different seasons and different

1692.059 -> situations but I don't think honestly I

1694.279 -> don't think I would change a thing I

1695.48 -> don't think I would change anything in

1696.799 -> what I did

1698.059 -> I've been probably waiting like six

1700.4 -> months to get a little more of a federal

1702.44 -> tax credit but I'll hit one last thing

1704.12 -> it was briefly mentioned in like a Tesla

1708.679 -> earnings call I think it was that uh or

1710.96 -> maybe Elon just said it randomly but

1712.82 -> that Tesla vehicles in a year or two by

1715.58 -> 2025 would all support bi-directional

1717.74 -> charging which would be amazing I don't

1722.059 -> know that that's actually going to

1723.38 -> happen but having the cars be able to

1726.08 -> not just charge other cars but even

1728.659 -> potentially serve as your House's backup

1731.48 -> battery would be pretty incredible these

1734.299 -> car batteries as we're learning are

1736.7 -> already way bigger and can support way

1739.34 -> more power output than any power wall

1741.559 -> any home battery one model S battery is

1744.74 -> equivalent to like seven or eight power

1747.14 -> walls so who knows if Tesla actually

1748.82 -> does or not but as of today with the

1750.74 -> right box on the wall with the right

1752.059 -> inverter the F-150 Lightning which has

1753.98 -> an even bigger battery can actually be

1756.14 -> your House's backup battery so I think

1757.88 -> the number of EVS that support this

1760.399 -> feature should only be slowly going up

1762.98 -> but I think ideally there's a world in

1765.44 -> the future where instead of needing like

1768.32 -> a huge no the current thing needing a

1770.48 -> big solar setup and all these fancy

1771.98 -> batteries all you really need is a small

1773.659 -> solar OA an inverter and your car

1776.84 -> battery and you have of the ability to

1780.02 -> be completely functional during any

1782.539 -> extended power outage or any emergency

1784.399 -> because we live in a world where there's

1786.5 -> another news story every week about the

1788.299 -> electrical grid being taxed and how

1790.279 -> these heat waves are running people's

1792.44 -> grids and air conditioners into the

1793.94 -> ground and too much of it is causing

1795.62 -> blackouts and literally actually deaths

1797.899 -> so any strain that we can take off the

1799.94 -> grid is a win and anything we can do to

1802.76 -> operate on clean sustainable energy is a

1806.36 -> win for everybody so thanks for watching

1807.86 -> I'll hang out in the comments for a

1809.179 -> while but feel free to subscribe if you

1810.799 -> enjoyed videos like this and the amount

1812.72 -> of work that goes into these videos on

1814.159 -> any kind of bleeding edge Tech and stuff

1815.659 -> like this in the future and let me know

1817.64 -> what you're interested in seeing next in

1819.08 -> the comments alright catch you guys in

1821.24 -> the next one

1823.52 -> foreign

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UJeSWbR6W04