This Tesla solar-powered in Texas house has it all

Tesla has made solar energy and power storage major factors of its business, with dozens of houses gaining the new technology in recent months. One publication recently spotted the ultimate solar installation outside of Houston, featuring an impressive combination of most of Tesla’s solar and energy storage products.

Texas-based solar installer Good Faith Energy just deployed the ultimate Tesla solar setup, featuring an 11,000 sq. ft. solar roof with a 30kW capacity, as reported by electrek. The Katy, Texas install also includes five Tesla Powerwalls for up to 67.5kWh of backup power and three of Tesla’s 7.6kW solar inverters.

Tesla uses third-party suppliers to install its solar and energy storage hardware, freeing up the company to focus on supplying hardware and scaling its production. One such piece of hardware is the aforementioned Tesla Powerwall, an energy storage product that the company pairs with solar panels and roofing.

The solar roof on the house looks very unique and is made up of a combination of solar and non-solar tiles, configured to maximize sun exposure to solar tiles. Other parts of the roof that will be more heavily shaded include the non-solar tiles, as can be seen in the figure below.

The Tesla solar tiles measure roughly 45 by 14 inches, rated for 72w. Five tiles add up to 360w, covering roughly the same square footage of most 360w solar panels, according to Good Faith Energy’s Director of Roofing Operations Jim Abercrombie.

Pricing on Tesla’s solar projects can be hard to determine since the company no longer offers online estimates, and they can vary significantly based on the specifics of a given roof. Good Faith Energy CEO Mohammed Abdalla provided some insight as to the cost model of the Katy, Texas solar install in a statement to electrek.

“The price of the Tesla Solar Roof varies quite dramatically based on a variety of factors including: Size of the roof, complexity of the roof, amount of PV or producing tiles, and the number of batteries,” said Abdalla.

“A roof with four planes can come in much lower in price than a similar sized house that is covered with ridges, valleys, turrets, and odd and complex shapes. In 2022, on average, our Tesla Solar Roof pricing came in between $35-$50/sq. ft., before the federal solar tax credit (assuming you qualify). This is about the cost of a luxury roof like slate or tile, plus the cost of a solar system added in. It isn’t just a roof, and it isn’t just a solar system. It is the only roof that looks this good, and can cover your electricity bill forever.”

At 11,000 sq. ft. and based on Abdalla’s $35-$50/sq. ft., electrek estimates the Katy, Texas solar roof costs between $385,000 and $550,000.

The install also comes just after Tesla received approval to debut its Virtual Power Plant program in Texas, so in time, this house should also be able to sell electricity back to the state’s electrical grid.

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