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No One Saw Tesla’s Solar Roof Coming
111–120 of 290 posts
Re: No One Saw Tesla’s Solar Roof Coming
#112Earlier quoted context omitted.
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.
But perception is reality. Both homes and cars are largely purchased on appearance.
I don't know... maybe I'm weird, but if I looked at a house and saw it had PV, I would immediately be more interested.
Re: No One Saw Tesla’s Solar Roof Coming
#113Side topic, but I wonder if there's a pivot point coming where household appliances could be offered in DC versions. It would be great to avoid the inverter efficiency loss / point of failure. Could there be a standard DC interior wiring system with line voltage for the fridge / dishwasher / laundry machines and let's say LED lights, phone chargers, etc? The need for AC power is just an artifact of long transmission…
High-voltage DC is actually more efficient for long-distance transport, and makes it easier to interconnect grids. Efficiency is not why we use AC. Installation cost and history is, because you need converters everywhere you connect it to an AC grid. Up until recently a lot of standard pieces of equipment weren't practical for HVDC lines. Electrical breakers, for instance: They existed, but tended to have short lifes…
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Re: No One Saw Tesla’s Solar Roof Coming
#114I'm sure i'm not the only one who feels like this is possibly the iphone moment of Solarcity/Tesla: an old-ish idea, made sexy and tasty to consumers, together with technology reaching a tipping point(and also Musk again finding a way to maximally exploit government subsidies for clean tech.) The tesla car itself could count as well, but felt less "design driven" imo. If this fails, everyone will call it obviously du…
> I'm sure i'm not the only one who feels like this is possibly the iphone moment of Solarcity/Tesla: an old-ish idea, made sexy and tasty to consumers, together with technology reaching a tipping point Except one ingredient is missing: most people cannot afford one, even if they tried really hard.
Like any new technology early adopters pay way more, because economies of scale have yet to be achieved. Musk knows this, same with Tesla, he is marketing to a high-income target market first, because they are the ideal early adopters and it's easier to scale down rather than scale up features in a product.
And factoring in subsidies, electricity cost savings over a period 5-10 years, it might be more affordable than you think.
Re: No One Saw Tesla’s Solar Roof Coming
#115Asphalt shingles need to be replaced, depending on climate and other factors that cause them to degrade, every 10(?) to 20 years.
Thus at least 5% of the total roofing market in existing residential houses, is a potential customer each year.
Re: No One Saw Tesla’s Solar Roof Coming
#116Earlier quoted context omitted.
Those shingles look awful, eg. http://roofpedia.com/solar-roof-shingles/#pictures . Are there existing solar shingles that look like conventional roofs? Otherwise, maybe that was what made those solar shingles fail to find a market.
I'm genuinely curious - what is it about the pictured solar shingles' look that you don't like? To my view and taste, asphalt shingles are pretty ugly; the pictured solar shingles don't look particularly better but they don't look any worse. Thoughts?
There are several things.
Firstly, they look taped on. We clearly see that there are normal tiles underneath, giving the same impression that a piece of cloth would have if a hole in it had been fixed by stitching a completely different piece of cloth on it.
Secondly, they are not properly aligned at the edge. It might be a bit OCD, but I wouldn't expect my wooden parquetry to stop before reaching the wall.
Thirdly, they are reflective. Reflection is great for things you don't want people to look at, like the toilet door (put a mirror on it) or the Oracle HQ. Nobody wants their home to be a huge mirror, if only because the sun gets painfully reflected to you.
Re: No One Saw Tesla’s Solar Roof Coming
#117I had serious misgivings when Tesla/SolarCity announced a switch of focus to building-integrated PV. Historically, BIPV is where a PV technology goes to die after it's failed to compete against incumbent module designs. But these have far better aesthetics than previous BIPV efforts. They look better individually and they aren't clumped in one odd shiny patch on the roof like past BIPV. Search for images of solar shi…
>>SC will be able to have a monopoly on these modules and their installation for a long time to come Is that really Elon Musk wants, monopoly ?
> monopoly
All businesses want that; it just isn't healthy for the economy.
Re: No One Saw Tesla’s Solar Roof Coming
#118I'm sure i'm not the only one who feels like this is possibly the iphone moment of Solarcity/Tesla: an old-ish idea, made sexy and tasty to consumers, together with technology reaching a tipping point(and also Musk again finding a way to maximally exploit government subsidies for clean tech.) The tesla car itself could count as well, but felt less "design driven" imo. If this fails, everyone will call it obviously du…
I'm not sure. Rumor mill has it that SC has been struggling, and the recent buyout from Tesla makes it look like Musk is transferring cash to himself. Musk talks alot , and I'm still on the fence as to whether this is vaporware meant to distract from that.
musk may be talking a lot but he's also delivering a lot. look at all the commercial space flight companies out there crushing it. ez.
Re: No One Saw Tesla’s Solar Roof Coming
#119Earlier quoted context omitted.
That kind of reminds me of Ballmer's "FIVE HUNDRED DOLLARS?" moment.
"That kind of reminds me of Ballmer's "FIVE HUNDRED DOLLARS?" moment." $500 is not that much more expensive than a Nokia device at the time, and well within the surplus that a good chunk of people have to pay - especially when subsidized by carriers. $30 000 - $100 000 - is another ballpark entirely in terms of cost. And it has to work out economically or it won't get anywhere, many ingredients are needed to make it…
Rolled up into a 30 year loan that turn into a few hundred a month. Much less if you can subtract your electricity and gas bills from that. I remember the biggest turn off for me on the original iPhone was the $70 a month data plan contract. But people bought it.
Re: No One Saw Tesla’s Solar Roof Coming
#120Earlier quoted context omitted.
Don't forget that rooftop solar panels reduce HVAC cooling needs in summer, and I would bet they also slash blackbody radiation, reducing the greenhouse problem. Absorbing the light ought to be as good as reflecting it. a 93-square-metre (1,000 sq ft) white roof will offset 10 tons of carbon dioxide over its 20-year lifetime. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reflective_surfaces_(geoengine...
Except, unless you are powering a laser pointed offworld, most of that energy is going to end up in your local environment as heat. Or, you meant just your house's greenhouse problem? Running a heat pump or AC would do that.
The heat pump/AC will run on what? If that energy comes from fossil fuels...