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May 26 2023
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free tesla solar panels

Can You Get Tesla Solar Panels for Free?

By How Much Do Solar Panels Save?, Solar Panel Cost No Comments

With a mission to “accelerate the world’s transition to sustainable energy,” Tesla has been a major player in the rooftop solar industry since 2016.

During that time, Tesla has offered a handful of leasing, renting, and financing options to reduce the solar panel cost barrier and increase adoption of its home solar and battery systems. Somewhere along the way, rumors sprung up that the company was offering free solar panels.

In this article, we’ll debunk the myth that homeowners can get free solar and battery equipment from Tesla and explore its origins.

Is Tesla solar free?

There’s no sense in beating around the bush: No, neither Elon Musk nor Tesla are giving away solar products for free,

In fact, it’s pretty easy to pinpoint where this misinformation began. In February 2023, at least two Facebook pages – operating under the names Solar Panel Rate and Adam Andersson – started running ads claiming that Elon Musk and/or Tesla was not only giving away free solar systems, but paying a certain amount of people to install and test new solar technology.

These claims have been debunked by Reuters and Lead Stories, a third-party fact checker for Facebook. Both instances are believed to be schemes for collecting personal information from social media users.

The Solar Panel Rate post mimicked a live breaking news broadcast that claimed Elon Musk was paying 100 homeowners to test free Tesla Home Technology. When clicked, it directed Facebook users to a website where they are asked to input their zip code to see if they qualify.

Facebook page falsely advertising tesla solar panels for free

According to the Facebook transparency report, the Solar Panel Rate page was created in October 2022 and is run by three page managers located in Indonesia. It had, at one time, 31 separate ads featuring the fake news broadcast.

Adam Andersson had several false ads circulating, including a staged “Dox News” broadcast featuring Elon Musk’s face and claims that homeowners are getting paid $2,591 to test solar technology as part of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).

These are not the first or only bogus social media ads for free solar panels, nor will they be the last.

Related reading: How Much Do Tesla Solar Panels Cost?

Solar incentives vs free solar panels

It’s worth noting that the Inflation Reduction Act did strengthen the 30% solar tax credit and other home electrification incentives. However, there is a big difference between incentives that reduce solar panel cost and giving away “free solar panels.”

There are also solar incentives offered through local governments and utility providers that can reduce the cost of solar. However, only a small number of niche programs for low-income and underserved communities cover the cost of solar entirely.

Is the Tesla Powerwall really free?

There’s another myth floating around the internet (especially YouTube) that homeowners can get a free Tesla Powerwall. This too is false: The Powerwall is not free, and neither Elon Musk nor Tesla are giving them away.

However, this myth is based more in reality than the free solar panels scam. That’s because, in the past, Tesla actually has given away free Powerwalls in two different ways.

First, in previous versions of Tesla’s solar panel referral program it would give away one Powerwall per referrer that made 10 or more referrals. This program applies only to Tesla customers that ordered solar panels between July 15, 2020 and September 17, 2021.

Second, Tesla offered free Powerwalls to Solar Roof customers that experienced sudden price increases in 2021 in an attempt to prevent them from canceling their contracts. This was a very niche scenario and, in many cases, the value of the Powerwall was less than the price increase of the Solar Roof.

Finally, it is possible for eligible Californian’s to use the Self-Generation Incentive Program (SGIP) rebate to cover part or all of the cost of buying home battery storage, including the Tesla Powerwall.

This rebate is worth up to $1,000 per kilowatt-hour of battery storage installed for homeowners that meet certain criteria, such as living in a Tier 2 or 3 firezone and having a life-threatening condition that requires a qualifying medical device. So, in theory, a 13.5 kWh Powerwall 2 could qualify for a $13,500 rebate which may or may not cover the entire cost of the battery and installation.

Does that mean Tesla is giving away free Powerwalls? No. Because the SGIP rebate applies to many brands of energy storage systems and is distributed through a government program.

The bottom line

As a rule of thumb, Tesla does not give away free products. And if it did, it probably would not recruit random Facebook pages and YouTubers to distribute such promotions.

There countless ads and scams promising free solar panels on the internet, and if you haven’t seen one yet, you certainly will after reading this article.

Some of these scams, like the ones mentioned above, are designed to collect and sell your information. Others twist the truth about government incentives to lure homeowners into signing lengthy solar lease agreements that aren’t as favorable as owning the system.

The best way to avoid free solar scams is to get multiple quotes from solar companies with good standing in your community. By comparing multiple quotes, you’ll get a sense of a fair price and easily be able to weed out scams.

 

May 26 2023
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How Much Is a Solar System for a 2,000 Sq Ft House?

By Solar Panel Cost Calculator, Solar Panel Cost No Comments

Home solar has many benefits, but it can be intimidating to start a project.

After all, it’s no secret that installing solar panels costs tens of thousands of dollars, and it can be nerve-racking to invite a parade of salespeople into your home just to get an actual number.

So, we analyzed thousands of solar systems purchased through solar.com in 2022 to give you a ballpark idea of how much solar panels cost per square foot for homes with 1,750 to 2,250 square feet of living space. We hope that sharing this data takes the edge off sticker shock and gives you the confidence to take the next step toward solar.

If you would like to compare binding solar quotes online (without the sales pitches), you can always start a project here.

How much do solar panels cost for a 2,000 square foot house?

Based on national averages, solar panels cost just over $20,000 for a house with 2,000 square feet of living space. The gross cost is closer to $29,000, but claiming the federal solar tax credit worth 30% of the project cost brings the net cost down to around $20,000.

The table below shows the average solar panel cost per square foot of living space for California, non-California states, and the US as a whole.

National average California average Non-CA average
Square feet of living space 1,979 1,982 1,977
Contract price of solar system $29,118 $28,940 $29,296
Price after 30% tax credit $20,382 $20,258 $20,507
Cost per square foot (before/after tax credit) $14.75 / $10.30 $14.65 / $10.22 $14.85 / $10.38

Figures are for informational purposes only and do not constitute binding quotes.

Of course, not everybody’s home is exactly 2,000 square feet. So, we broke the data into intervals of 100 square feet to get a more precise estimate based on home size.

By zooming in, we found:

  • Solar panel cost tends to increase as square footage increases
  • The cost per square foot decreases as the living space and system size increase

solar panel cost per square foot of living space, before and after the 30% tax credit

Of course, every home is unique, and the cost of solar panels varies based on your electricity consumption, sun exposure, equipment, and local incentives.

In fact, the square footage of your home isn’t a great indicator of the cost to power it with solar panels. After all, a person with two EVs and all electric appliances in a 1,000 square foot house would likely use far more electricity than a person with all gas cars and appliances in a 2,500 square foot house.

Typically, annual electricity consumption is a better indicator of the size and cost of a solar system.

 

 

How many solar panels are needed for a 2,000 sq ft home?

In addition to price, it’s nice to have a simple, round number of panels that will make up your system.

Again, there are a number of variables that impact how many panels make up a system. But, if we have the cost of the system, we can use some simple division to get down to a number of panels.

How Many Solar Panels Do I Need

So, let’s say the system costs $29,000 before the solar tax credit or any other incentives. First, we divide that by the average cost of solar panels, which is measured in price per Watt (PPW), to get the generating capacity of the system in Watts.

Since every project is different, we’re providing a range of price points.

Gross cost of system Price Per Watt Size of system
$29,000 $3 9,666 Watts
$29,000 $3.50 8,285 Watts
$29,000 $4 7,250 Watts
$29,000 $4.5 6,444 Watts
$29,000 $5 5,800 Watts

Once you have a system size, divide it by the power rating of the panels. Today, 400W is by far the most popular rating and considered the industry standard.

The number of 400W panels needed for a 2,000 square foot home ranges from 14 to 24 depending on the size of the system, as shown in the table below.

Size of system Number of 400W panels
9,666 Watts 24
8,285 Watts 21
7,250 Watts 18
6,444 Watts 16
5,800 Watts 14

Related reading: What Is the Cost of Solar for a 3 Bedroom House?

The bottom line

While living space isn’t a great indicator of how much a solar system will cost, the data provides a baseline net cost around $20,000 for solar for a 2,000 square foot home. Having a baseline cost estimate can help you identify solar scams, avoid sticker shock, and set savings goals for financing solar panels.

However, it’s important to note that the size, cost, and number of panels in a solar system depends on a variety of factors including your electricity consumption, sun exposure, and available incentives.

If you’d like to see exactly how much solar would cost for you, connect with a solar.com Energy Advisor to design a customer system and generate binding quotes.