Tesla Solar Roof Price Hike. Breakeven Point = Never

Yes, I agree, there is no one size fits all approach that works...In Florida you don't want any tree's within striking distance of the house, so insulation and other strategies work just as well...I've seen tree branches fall on roofs too many times to trust them...Being a retired HVAC guy I understand the difference insulation and reflective surfaces make and use them to keep cooling costs manageable...

Same here.

When I moved into my current house I cut down any tree that could reach the house during a hurricane.

I then replaced the black shingles with a new semi-white shingle and upgraded the attic insulation.

I then replaced the old AC system with a new heat pump.

My electric bill dropped by an average of $250.00/month.

Fortunately, I don't have to deal with hurricanes! When I moved in to my current house, I also cut down a tree that was leaning toward the house, but I planted three others, of relatively low-growing varieties, to get the shade back.

I recently (two years ago) replaced the roof with a pure white one, and that made a very noticeable difference in summer cooling needs.

One of the main things that made me choose this house was the fact that it had A/C. At that time (1970), few small houses had A/C in our area. That Carrier A/C was installed in 1962, and still works just fine!

If I could lower my electric bill by $250, The electric company would be paying me about half that amount each month!

With interest rates so low at the moment it is so easy to justify alterations that save expenditure on energy. "Carpe diem".

Do you mean you dropped your average to $250 a month? How much was it before?

In Montreal (Quebec), with a house built in 2000, and a heat pump, I pay about $190 a month for all the energy (only electricity, no wood burning allowed). I thank mature trees on the south and west sides as well as lower electricity cost at ~$0.10/kwh.

The house has two stories + finished basement. Each floor is about 1000sq.ft. Exterior wall are 2x6 with mineral wool insulation and interior moisture barrier. Black roof but light grey and white exterior finish. Double glass windows.

How do you guys compare?

My bill averaged about $400.00 per month before. During the summer the bill could get above $500.00 before improvements.

My bill now averages about $150.00 per month. During a couple of the summer months it will climb to $250.00 but during the winter it runs $70.00 to $80.00 per month.

OK $150 per month average is very good for all your energy needs.

Congratulation! You are a high performer!

I average around $130 per month with about 1500sqft...

That sounds good. Is it 1500sq.ft per floor or total? Basement or slab? Where about?

That's total conditioned space...This is a manufactured house with insulation above and below, with a double roof....Located in central Florida...The A/C was replaced about 2 years ago...I'm quite pleased as this is about the same as the condo I had before, and it had only one exposed wall...Both are 2 bd 2 ba and the condo was slightly less floorspace...

It proves how much energy can be saved simply with better insulation and building renovations. That is most likely a better investment than installing solar panels or wind mills...

You did good. I hope that others will do the same.

It's interesting to compare energy costs.

My house is approx. 1800 sq ft over 3 floors and I pay £135 (US$190) per month.

1940s brick built - cavity wall.

I pay 3.609p(5.0c)/kWh gas, 16.63p(22.9c)/kWh electric and 56.4p(77.8c)/day standing charge.

(£1:US$1.38)

Would it be advantageous to blow some insulation in the wall cavities to bring your energy consumption even lower? Less green gas production. You might find financial help for this investment.

Yeah - the cavities were insulated 20 years ago under a government-subsidised scheme. It's made a big difference - that and replacing the 'crittal' metal framed single glazing with UPVC double-glazed units, and LED lighting.

Our house is 2317 sq ft single floor under air. It was built in 1990, but as I stated, I have upgraded some things, including double-pane windows.

We keep the AC at 75 F when we're home and 78 F when we're not home.

We also have a well so we have a 220 VAC pump. We also have a pool, so a pool pump which has to run for a few hours daily.

My electricity bill this month was $100.08 USD.

Wait..if living in caves will also do just ok?

You wouldn't want to be the unlucky Australians who ordered new Tesla cars from Tesla and were billed for the vehicle. So they paid the Account but the Tesla website had been hacked and their funds have been stolen to the tune of 60K$ to one customer and an undisclosed amount to another customer.

This made the Aussie news and there was talk of up to 3M$ being syphoned off. Beware when ordering a solar roof online me thinks, all that is green may be your colour not the money.

Hey, now don't be busting on poor little Elon; somebody has to pay for all those glorious fireworks fails down by Brownsville, TX. (History says it surely it won't be Elon himself.)

It is truly a shame that here it is 2021 and still, no one can offer a dependable, affordable, residential solar system. It's like electric cars waiting for descent batteries at a descent price. Digital motor control has been around for decades.

Maybe a new strategy will replace this demand. Two recent developments might offer an alternative. First is the demand from the residence for heating and cooling. Passive techniques for radiating mid range IR can lower surface temps below ambient temps now. The surface can radiate this heat before it is absorbed inside. Second, by mixing amorphous and crystal structure materials, we can improve the thermometric effect. We could let the top of a roof get hot, and cool the bottom for a relativity large temp difference. Some of those IR radiative techniques can lower down to the dew point.

So, instead of converting sunlight directly into juice, we might heat one side and cool the other for our juice.