Solar roof

[scottish]

Now this is neat.    Elon Musk's companies are now producing shingles with embedded solar cells.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dRqSkR4ENAg
His objective is to produce 'shingles' which are solar cells, and which look better, last longer and cost less than a conventional roof.

[Mississippi Mudstache]

I think it's one of the best ideas in the history of ideas. Now, the only question that remains: How soon can they make them cheaply enough? Economies of scale should make this a no-brainer eventually, hopefully in the not-too-distant future. It's a much more realistic idea than the solar roadways that became popularized a couple years ago.

[MasterStache]

I was reading about that. Certainly not a new concept but hopefully something that will take off sooner than later.

[kendallf]

I'm also following this with interest.  The product announcement gave zero details on price, installation/wiring details, that sort of thing, so a lot of blanks remain to be filled in.  My brother is a roofing contractor and I'm an electronics engineer and former roofer.  We're thinking it'd be a great niche to be the first installers of such a product in the area.  Of course, if you're the first ones doing it, you're also often the product tester and general troubleshooter...  :-)

I'm wondering if the tiles install on a rail that also provides the electrical connection, or connect to the adjacent tile, or.. ?  Then there'd presumably be a limit on how many you could string together before needing to run the next feed back to the inverter/Powerwall/whatever they're connected to.  Lots of details that are not currently part of a roof installation.

[Mississippi Mudstache]

I'm also following this with interest.  The product announcement gave zero details on price, installation/wiring details, that sort of thing, so a lot of blanks remain to be filled in.  My brother is a roofing contractor and I'm an electronics engineer and former roofer.  We're thinking it'd be a great niche to be the first installers of such a product in the area.  Of course, if you're the first ones doing it, you're also often the product tester and general troubleshooter...  :-)

I'm wondering if the tiles install on a rail that also provides the electrical connection, or connect to the adjacent tile, or.. ?  Then there'd presumably be a limit on how many you could string together before needing to run the next feed back to the inverter/Powerwall/whatever they're connected to.  Lots of details that are not currently part of a roof installation.

Installation was my biggest question, too, after pricing. No doubt it will be significantly more work than your average shingle roof, but how much more?

[Syonyk]

I think it's one of the best ideas in the history of ideas. Now, the only question that remains: How soon can they make them cheaply enough? Economies of scale should make this a no-brainer eventually, hopefully in the not-too-distant future.

It's a neat hack for the fact that a lot of people get really cranky about "ugly" things on other people's roofs.  You know, Property Values.

I doubt it's going to be better than just regular solar panels on the roof - which also serve to protect your roof and help it last longer.  Or ground mount.

It's a much more realistic idea than the solar roadways that became popularized a couple years ago.

... what are you saying about Solar F*cking Roadways?  They put in a demo system in Sandpoint, Idaho - a bargain, at $60k for 30 panels.  Of those 30, about 6 have working LEDs.  The rest... well, there were... um... laminator issues, so the solar doesn't really work.  Neither do the heaters.  And most of them are stone dead, entirely, and are basically a $2k hex of glass.  Of those that were installed, one has quit and has the LEDs stuck in a random pattern that doesn't change.  You can see it on the webcam at night - pretty entertaining.

It's very clearly the Future(TM).

[Syonyk]

I'm also following this with interest.  The product announcement gave zero details on price, installation/wiring details, that sort of thing, so a lot of blanks remain to be filled in.

There's a reason you don't offer price/power/installation/etc details when you talk about a new project: Because they suck.  If it's any good, you talk about those things.

We're thinking it'd be a great niche to be the first installers of such a product in the area.  Of course, if you're the first ones doing it, you're also often the product tester and general troubleshooter...  :-)

Plus: You get "I want to be seen as the kind of person who has a Tesla in my driveway, a PowerWall on my garage wall, and am Green(TM)" customers with unlimited money to spend on social cred.

Minus: You get those people who just expect something they pay a lot for to work perfectly, indefinitely.

Lots of details that are not currently part of a roof installation.

It's Tesla.  Don't worry, you'll have to sign NDAs to find out any of those silly little details.

[Mississippi Mudstache]

I think it's one of the best ideas in the history of ideas. Now, the only question that remains: How soon can they make them cheaply enough? Economies of scale should make this a no-brainer eventually, hopefully in the not-too-distant future.

It's a neat hack for the fact that a lot of people get really cranky about "ugly" things on other people's roofs.  You know, Property Values.

I doubt it's going to be better than just regular solar panels on the roof - which also serve to protect your roof and help it last longer.  Or ground mount.

This contingent is waaaaaay bigger and more influential than many people realize.