Installing Tesla Solar Panels on my House

Here's my notes on the design, installation, and operation (for one year so far) of Tesla Solar Panels. If you are new to Solar, you probably should read some misc. background info to come up to speed. Here's my design process ... and installation - also see the page about the Tesla 7.6kW Inverter ... plus I would strongly encourage putting a "Critter Guard" around the solar panels so nothing builds a nest under them and/or nibbles on your wires.

So far it's working well and I'm glad I did it. However, from a pure economic point of view, I should have invested in the S&P500 instead. I knew that going in ... and while I could say I did it to go "green" (and certainly paid "green" to do that!), the primary reason for doing was to get a first-hand exposure and have fun playing with the data (LOL I'm not the only one! ;-) ... and that's been a big success as seen in the graphs below! ;-)

Speaking of economics, I'm often asked if it's "worth it." If your reason for installing solar is to "Save the Planet", then the question is already answered!

But it's not so clear cut if you are doing it for economic reasons - Here's my spreadsheet which has all my data/analysis. Note that it can be generically used (try it with your data!) and let me know what you think. People focus on how much electrical rates will go up, etc. ... but I believe the dominent factor will be NEM - Net Energy Metering ... which is how the utility company "settles up" with you for your excess energy produced.

I'm of the opinion that residential solar (added to existing roofs - managed by homeowners) makes less economic sense (for society) than doing utility solar (installed ground level with tracking - managed by people who actually know/pay attention, etc.).

One BIG MYSTERY is why the heck is my electrical usage ~20% less than the previous 5 years?!?
UPDATE and Include JSON for Grafana/POWERWALL Reference Xcel Solar Bank Occasional news