With new, I suppose Tesla roof is an option. Not sure if it is reasonable or not but at least something to consider. The idea with their product is that it is a roof and not panels on a roof. So it is way more expensive but it does double duty as the solar and the roof.
We built new and had panels on and it really wasn't much different than having solar put on an existing house. Yes - the calculations are different. But you presumably have an energy rater who can give you estimated bills. We sized somewhat based on that.
I am in NC which has different net metering rules than CA, but we also are encouraged financially not to overgenerate. We lose all credits on May 31st or so. So a battery doesn't help.
We did not engage in roof planning just because it was one more consideration that we didn't have the bandwith for at the time.
They did do some wiring before drywall but otherwise not much else. We did 50 odd panels giving us a net HERS of -7. With EVs, we have about $500 a year in electricity costs and lose about $50 in credits from relatively high generation each May. We generated 17 Mwh and used 13 Mwh last year. We would have had slightly better payback with a smaller system because of less lost credits and a maxed out utility credit. But then each extra panel was cheaper. My point is that there is no right size that all will agree on. Sometimes you are roof limited and other times you want the fastest payback and other times you want more generation even if it is a slightly longer payback.
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Small shelves on the backsplash
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