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No One Saw Tesla’s Solar Roof Coming

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Re: No One Saw Tesla’s Solar Roof Coming

#2
Roof top solar is critical for electrification of transportation since more demands would be placed on grid. SolarPV and EV go hand in hand. This product addresses many of the objections about aesthetics of Solar. TSLA has solid vision, hopefully they execute it and execute it well.

Re: No One Saw Tesla’s Solar Roof Coming

#3
'No one saw Tesla's solar roof coming...'

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_shingle

Solar shingles, also called photovoltaic shingles, are solar panels or solar modules designed to look like and function as conventional roofing materials, such as asphalt shingle or slate, while also producing electricity. Solar shingles are a type of solar energy solution known as building-integrated photovoltaics (BIPV).

There are several varieties of solar shingles, including shingle-sized solid panels that take the place of a number of conventional shingles in a strip, semi-rigid designs containing several silicon solar cells that are sized more like conventional shingles, and newer systems using various thin-film solar cell technologies that match conventional shingles both in size and flexibility. There are also products using a more traditional number of silicon solar cells per panel reaching as much as 100 watts DC rating per shingle.[1]

Solar shingles are manufactured by several companies[2] but the two main manufacturers of solar roof shingles are Dow and CertainTeed.[3] Other active companies in the US include SunTegra Solar Roof Systems,[4] and Atlantis Energy Systems (asphalt and slate systems),[5]

Unisolar went bankrupt a few years ago....

Re: No One Saw Tesla’s Solar Roof Coming

#4
Huh? Solar shingles have been around since 2005. Dow and CertainTeed Products are the big makers. Here's a nice example of a house with a solar shingle roof.[1]

There's been an aesthetic problem with mixing solar and non-solar shingles, because the colors didn't quite match. But that was mostly because solar shingles were a retrofit, not original equipment, and not an entire roof replacement.

[1] http://texastinyhomes.com/integrated-solar/

Re: No One Saw Tesla’s Solar Roof Coming

#5
I think it's interesting looking at it from the other end - as a homeowner, I can tell you that roofing is an expensive proposition.

If this can be competitive with traditional roofing and have a longer life expectancy, I'd buy in a heartbeat.

It has the potential to displace thousands of tons of asphalt shingles per year with the equivalent of recyclable glass, which is pretty fantastic. The embodied energy of production for the tar hydrocarbons in current roofing materials are pretty nasty, and they don't just disappear when they wear out.

Re: No One Saw Tesla’s Solar Roof Coming

#6
That's brilliant. It fixes that huge objection we all have to solar on our houses - and it is not the product itself but that it is a innovative solution to a problem "everyone" has looked at and said "nah I don't want that rubbish on my roof" and nearly turned it on its head

It's just one more example of why discounting Elon might be a bad idea.

If only I had bought tesla a few years ago ...

Re: No One Saw Tesla’s Solar Roof Coming

#7
post #2

Roof top solar is critical for electrification of transportation since more demands would be placed on grid. SolarPV and EV go hand in hand. This product addresses many of the objections about aesthetics of Solar. TSLA has solid vision, hopefully they execute it and execute it well.

Home PV and EV doesn't go hand in hand for everyone that uses their EV to commute to work, though. I guess that represents a significant fraction of the vehicle park.

Re: No One Saw Tesla’s Solar Roof Coming

#8

I think it's interesting looking at it from the other end - as a homeowner, I can tell you that roofing is an expensive proposition. If this can be competitive with traditional roofing and have a longer life expectancy, I'd buy in a heartbeat. It has the potential to displace thousands of tons of asphalt shingles per year with the equivalent of recyclable glass, which is pretty fantastic. The embodied energy of produ…

I need to replace my roof and I've been quoted almost $20k. If these are within $5k of that price, then I will jump on it.

Re: No One Saw Tesla’s Solar Roof Coming

#9

That's brilliant. It fixes that huge objection we all have to solar on our houses - and it is not the product itself but that it is a innovative solution to a problem "everyone" has looked at and said "nah I don't want that rubbish on my roof" and nearly turned it on its head It's just one more example of why discounting Elon might be a bad idea. If only I had bought tesla a few years ago ...

nah I don't want that rubbish on my roof

I literally haven't seen my panels since the last time I went up on the roof. Granted, this depends a lot on how steep your roof is, but the appearance of the panels did really not go into our decision to install them.

Re: No One Saw Tesla’s Solar Roof Coming

#10

'No one saw Tesla's solar roof coming...' https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_shingle Solar shingles, also called photovoltaic shingles, are solar panels or solar modules designed to look like and function as conventional roofing materials, such as asphalt shingle or slate, while also producing electricity. Solar shingles are a type of solar energy solution known as building-integrated photovoltaics (BIPV). There are…

I am not debating this, but this feels eerily like some feature PC/Windows has but when it is introduced by Apple say, tablets becomes the rage. No it does not have to be original, originality is over-rated. Tesla has packaged it well, and to say the least in a non-intrusive and colorful way, just like what Apple (used to do?) does with its products. I looked at DOW solar shingles, there were talk about how unmitigated disaster they were on forums, may be it is just hear-say. Tesla has the power to persuade than DOW, at least for now. Without taking Credit from DOW and others, may be this is the time of Solar Shingles.
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