Elon Musk announces the replacement of traditional roofs with solar panels that look like traditional roofs, and TechCrunch has a report:
Standard roofing materials do not provide fiscal benefit back to the homeowner post-installation, besides improving the cost of the home. Tesla’s product does that, by generating enough energy to fully power a household, with the power designed to be stored in the new Powerwall 2.0 battery units so that homeowners can keep a reserve in case of excess need.
The solar roof product should start to see installations by summer next year, and Tesla plans to start with one or two of its four tile options, then gradually expand the options over time. As they’re made from quartz glass, they should last way longer than an asphalt tile — at least two or three times the longevity, though Musk later said “they should last longer than the house”.
Tesla has also released a YouTube of Elon bumbling along in traditional nerd fashion.
http://https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dRqSkR4ENAg
Quite endearing, actually.
Not addressed are questions concerning installation. Not the technical aspects, but the business aspects. Is Tesla going into the installation game? That could cause a lot of resentment among the small roof installers. Or will they be a supplier with some training for installers? That, I should think, would make small business into an ally in Elon’s quest to convert the world from fossil fuels to electric.
I don’t know offhand what the environmental costs of manufacturing the solar cells, but I assume Elon and 3M have tried to ensure the cost is not too high.
