Our Solar City/Tesla installation has been scheduled for mid March! I was surprised it would take that long to get a crew and materials together to do the installation but at least we are now on the schedule. I asked for a newer install date if at all possible and they will give us a call if there is a cancellation. Probably not but that is a possibility.
The current federal government majority is not very supportive of alternative energy so they have proposed to cut out the tax incentive we were counting on for this install. The last information I read (today) is that these credits will stay until they phase out themselves in 2020.
The progress on our install has been interesting. The initial plan was very short on information. This was all, a diagram and list of types of equipment and where located. No details!
Solar City Engineering Plan
I don’t think this drawing is very true to the building elevation though as this is the architect’s drawing of the same roof area. But I suppose it is close enough. The central third of the house is about three degrees from true south so the garage roof is a bit east of south.
Dibble Res Roof
I suppose most consumers are not that interested in the details. I contacted the sales rep and he took some time to put together a complete list of components for the system! I was very impressed with the service.
Solar City Parts List
About the same time as I received this list, the building permit plans had been submitted and approved. They were posted for my address at the city building department and had much more detail. In addition to the site plan there is a side elevation.
Tesla SOLAR PLAN Side View
Another page has the electrical diagram.
Tesla SOLAR PLAN Electrical Diagram
A whole page of electrical calculations is included in this plan for the building permit.
Tesla SOLAR PLAN Calculations
Plus there are product sheets for the Delta Inverter, the Tesla solar panels, the ZS rail system, the Powerwall, and the Millbank power connectors. The building permit document is a much more satisfying proposal but it took me a month to realize it was posted and approved. Another document is a seven page engineering report with figures on the roof load due to the addition of the PV modules and tie down system. Nice to see this work from the Tesla engineers.
I noticed the permit had been issued as of November 9th, and a couple of emails from the product rep were not specific about the date of the install. I called the company directly and they noted that the paperwork was in order but had been delayed by extra information requested internally and the job could now be scheduled. So I’m glad that I went ahead and called since we still have to wait three months for the install.
After installation, the inspector has to give his stamp of approval and then the power company can take up to six weeks to basically turn on the system. Then Tesla will walk us through turning it on from our end. What a long process!