Tesla announces Solar Roof
tesla.com/solar
tesla.comPosted Oct 29, 2016, 8:13 PM UTC
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tesla.comRoofs and details of roofs vary widely.
At first this will be limited to simple roofs I suspect because flashings & penetrations are going to be an issue.
I really like the idea behind this and I'm interested to see how they deal with all the little things that pop up in roofing.
When they leak are they going to short circuit anything?
If this becomes popular finding enough qualified people to install this is going to be an issue.
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I wonder how you would do valleys and hips or even rake edges when you have to cut a tile on an angle or something. Maybe there are dud tiles? I think it's badass though definitely looking forward to seeing more on this.
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In his presentation he does say there are duds
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Curious to hear what the pros have to say about the logistics of this. Here is a Reuters article on the topic
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Its a great idea, but it seems to good to be true.
"The product will appeal to home builders and people looking to replace their roofs, Musk said, adding that the shingles would be more durable and have better insulation qualities than conventional roofs."
Care to explain how, Elon?
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What do you mean by the logistics of this?
The tiles look amazing, and the systems to be installed should last generations. Unfortunately, this is going to be far out of the price range of most homeowners.
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I mean how difficult it will be to install on an existing home, whether they will be better or worse than existing shingles as a roof, how climate will impact the utility and longevity, etc. Hard to know, I suppose.
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Install is unknown at this point, at least to the public. The specs will come out in time and roofers will be able to install with electricians.
It appears they are made of a high quality glass that is more durable than the highest quality roofing systems (slate & tile). They look to be a hundred year system (properly flashed) from the information given. That being said, it's difficult to determine the longevity of the electrical components without more information.
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Thanks for the rundown. Sounds pretty impressive. Guess we'll have to see how low they can get the cost down.
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Slate is pretty much a hundred year system though.
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These have existed in similar form for years. Elon really isn't doing anything groundbreaking here.
That said, Roofers really aren't electricians. We won't be hooking these panels up, you'd have to hire an electrician for that portion. This is said not knowing how everything works together. (Does each tiled plug into the former, etc?)
They look nice. If Elon can get the cost down to something affordable by all, they could really take off and Elon has the personality and track record to make that happen.
If they do take off, there's going to be a steep learning curve for roofers.
Finally, I don't think these are actually a "Tesla" product. Tesla is a vehicle manufacturer. I believe they are from a company call "Solar City" which is another company Elon owns. We don't say "Tesla is sending a rocket to space". No, that's SpaceX, totally different company, owned by Elon.
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Tesla bought Solar City. These are Tesla products.
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Elon Musk wants Tesla to buy Solar City. This will go before shareholders.
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True. These are indeed Tesla products though.
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Hell yeah I think it's awesome. I know I'll embrace the new product. I've always wanted to do more with solar.
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I'd like to see a standing seam model! Best roof imo.
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From a homeowners point of view, I love that the entire roofs surface would be contributing. I also like that all mounting points would be below the sealing area of the roof, not just covered with some kind of caulking. A system like this would also reduce windage and possible wind damage compared to traditional panels.
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Any roofers worried about job security? I figure this a ways out before it really can impact and change the game for roofers. I wonder if this is a patented, proprietary technology?
Cant see this becoming a worry for roofers job security for a long time. Consumer reports says Tesla factors the life span of the tiles to be 30 years. Tesla's factoring in 30 years of electricity savings into the price "savings", say $150 a month for 360 months thats $54,000. The upfront cost is going to be to great for most households in the same way a Slate roof or Metal roof is to Shingle roof today. Over time the slate/metal roof is the better value but the upfront cost is too much for most.
http://www.consumerreports.org/roofing/heres-how-much-teslas-new-solar-roof-shingles-could-cost/