TESLA introduces the SOLAR ROOF.

Why have solar panels fitted to a roof, why not have a roof made entirely of solar panels instead of having solar panels and a roof?

TESLA has just announced their Solar Roof, an attractive tile lookalike roof made entirely from small solar panels. Not only is it a more attractive single structure, the tiles are also much stronger than traditional tiles. It is also claimed that the single structure will be cheaper than having a roof and solar panels.

The concept has been tried before but not with much success. If any company can succeed, it is TESLA.



http://www.businessinsider.com.au/tesla ... ?r=US&IR=T

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dRqSkR4ENAg

Tesla have also announced the upgraded Powerwall 2 and the Powerpack 2.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LhWXc-b7jWY

I think they are a great product, and Tesla isn't the first to do it, but they are most likely to succeed in bringing them to market successfully. Will be interesting to see how they deliver on performance and if they are reliable.

The really good announcement is the Powerwall2, which can actually pay for itself in its lifetime, instead of just being a goodwill gesture for the environment. Hopefully with a decent sized solar panel setup and a battery like powerwall2 or redflow or something, we can stop being ripped off with some of the most expensive electricity in the world

Yes...agree. Meager FITs make new solar installations uneconomical and home storage is the future.

The first giga factory (or 1/6th of it anyway) had its opening ceremony a couple of months ago and the upgraded Powerwall and Powerpack reflect the continuing advancement and falling costs of battery storage capacity.

I expect that it could be a while before suitable TESLA solar roof tiles reach Australia but things happen fast at TESLA.

Four styles will initially be available in the US.
Tuscan
Slate
Smooth
Textured

Elon Musk has since announced that a TESLA/Solar City solar roof on a new home will be cheaper than building a home with a standard roof.

I can't believe it would be cheaper than a standard Australian Roof.

It might have a cheaper lifetime cost than the typical American shingle roof (should be inspected annually and totally replaced every 20-30 years)

A couple of other points I have are:

• Solar PV efficiency drops as the panels get hotter......built into the roof the panels would get hotter quicker.
• I think the fact the separate panels typically used shade the roof and help keep it a bit cooler in summer.

Elon Musk was obviously referring to new American house roofs but I don't discount anything that he says, particularly when he states something as fact.

Elon Musk was referring to American Terracotta roof materials when making his comparison - a type of roof that is significantly more expensive both in terms of initial outlay and Through Life Costs that american shingles. It is also more expensive than Australian tile/colorbond roofing. I think the figure I have heard was >$1500 USD per Square, or roughly $240 AUD/sqm (including GST).

Given a metal roof typically runs $145/sqm, it makes the solar tile about 65% dearer. Now, this means the break even roof size (assuming zero installation costs) will be just under 110sqm, compared to a colorbond roof + conventional solar panels (assuming a 7kw system, which is the only rough estimate I have found for a Tesla roof at 100sqm). Anything larger, and a conventional roof/solar array is cheaper.

Thanks planeguy. I wanted to link the video clip where Elon Musk was discussing it but I couldn't find it in the little time I had.

EDIT: Like everything that Elon Musk does, the solar roof is attracting plenty of attention.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles ... -dumb-roof

So where do the solar panels fit on the car ??

Would you care to quote where a car was mentioned?

OT but just FYI. it is widely believed that the coming TESLA Model 3 will have an optional PV sun roof.