Since my original article Tesla has installed close to 400,000 roofs primarily by Tesla’s actual installers near his factories in California and Nevada.
#Tesla slate solar roof tiles professional
So…the moral of the story is that if you are interested in solar your best option today is a traditional solar panel array installed by a professional installer.Įlon Musk has made great strides in the last 4 years but the solar roof is still not ready for primetime. If this is the case, Musk is no more guilty than any other major corporation because let’s face it - the marketing departments of most companies are pretty aggressive in blurring the lines between what is and what will be.Īs I said in the beginning, I really want a solar roof and I do think we will get there someday! But everything I see coming out of the industry is telling me that we are anywhere from five to seven years away from this being a feasible and comparable option, with some experts predicting 10 years or more for mainstream availability. What is more likely is that the Tesla marketing department has gotten out in front of the engineering department in promoting something that is more concept than reality.
If he has it, it’s the best-kept secret in the industry.
It is also certainly possible that he has the next game-changing technology that is perfectly suited for his solar roof concept. Now I am a huge fan of Elon Musk and all his accomplishments. Waiting for the Future of Solar Technology This would drive the costs up astronomically, also making this an impractical solution. Most of the examples of solar shingles are small one to three square foot panels, which would mean an average-sized roof would need hundreds of panels and hundreds of micro-inverters. This is called a micro-inverter, so there is no loss in power from other panels being shaded. The second most common option to invert the DC power to AC is to have a single inverter on each panel and all panels, individually. In an entire roof situation, at least some part of the roof will be shaded all day long, so a central inverter is just NOT practical for a solar roof. This is especially an issue on a cloudy day as only one panel in the shade lowers the performance of all the other panels. The problem with this is that the inverter focuses on the lowest common denominator for its power production, so in a string of 20 solar panels, they all drop to the level of production of the weakest panel. The first way is to tie all the panels on the roof together as one and wire everything into one central inverter. There are two standard ways to invert the DC to AC. Traditional solar systems will invert the DC power to usable AC power. Solar energy is captured in DC power, but your house and the utility grid all run in AC power. The third concern about Tesla’s solar roof has to do with how the solar cells would capture energy from the sun. Although there are some other existing solar options, nothing comes close to the efficiency of today’s standard solar cells.
Solar cells have a specific structure that must be adhered to, so cutting them on-site in real-time is not very practical or really even possible with current standard solar panel technology. Roofers need to be able to cut and tailor their roofing material on-site to get the perfect fit. The second major issue with the Tesla solar roof concept is that no two roof systems are exactly alike. Although the initial costs would eventually be returned in energy savings, especially if you were to spread out the cost of solar across a 30-year mortgage, it is still difficult to wrap one’s head around an additional $35,000 expense on a $300,000 home build. However, they are (in fact) comparing it to a slate or tile roof, which for the average home would run around $60,000-$70,000, and not the standard $12,000 for an asphalt shingled roof.Įven after the existing 26% solar tax credit, it would leave the cost of this solar roof about three times more than the cost of a traditional shingle roof, making it prohibitively expensive for most homeowners. Tesla’s marketing tells us that these solar shingles will not cost more than a traditional roof. In addition, there are many hurdles to making this eventual solution a reality for homeowners. However, the actual product does not yet exist beyond the initial concept. The concept of Tesla’s solar roof is GREAT, but because it takes away all the concern of a solar array’s aesthetic versus a traditional roof. At Synergy, we keep getting questions about the Tesla solar roof, and I wanted to take the time to respond.
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