Making solar panels add to the look of your home

[Vitold]

I think triangular panels are a must. They make the solar installation complete.

 

[weak_pig]

not sure if this is valid to this discussion at all, but Youtuber ColdFusion recently released a video about solar panels. In the middle, it was mentioned that there was a new startup MIT research team that managed to develop solar panels that are extremely thin, essentially binding like foil to the shape of your roof instead of those blocky rectangular panels we have now.

Here's the video:

Skip to 06:00 to see this research.

Is Tesla secretly partnering with some companies that is developing similar aesthetically pleasing solar panel technologies?

 

[electracity]

I think triangular panels are a must. They make the solar installation complete.

Those triangles are probably more logical than hexagons. But FWD and "the worlds best second row seats" weren't logical, so I'm sticking with hexagons.

 

[Skotty]

I doubt it. Probably kind of like all the battery breakthroughs that never see the light of day. The MIT solar panels probably won't see the light of day either. (ha! pun!)

I want triangles. Hexagons would be okay too. Something better than just a basic 45 degree triangle would be nice. Maybe a couple of different angles to best match the most common roofs. Or maybe something new and revolutionary where the angle can be perfectly matched to the roof line.

 

[brucet999]

It should be pretty obvious for those who are paying attention.


Plaid panels.

With 11 panels per row?

 

[Topher]

Many houses either don't have enough useful roof space or are excessively shaded. In my particular neighborhood, probably only 1 in 4 houses are viable for rooftop solar.

People in those situations should explore the possibility of joining a solar farm. This is a group of people all using a single location for installing solar panels. Check your local regulations.

Thank you kindly.

 

[lklundin]

I think triangular panels are a must. They make the solar installation complete.

Some roofs in the Alps use a different layout of square and triangular roofing elements that can be reused for similarly shaped solar panels which then double as actual roofing elements:

 

[lklundin]

View attachment 182199 These, at an I-70 rest area East of Grand Junction, make me smile.

Nice! And unlike a Sunflower which is only believed to track the sun, these "Solarflowers" could really do so.

 

[Garlan Garner]

I think triangular panels are a must. They make the solar installation complete.

I was trying to find a way to explain the following comment.

Non rectangular or square solar panels are attractive from the outside, however the solar cells are square. Solar cells are square. There will be blank space in the panel of triangular solar panels. The panels in this picture are the most efficient panels I've seen of triangular panels - concerning the use of space.

 

[aesculus]

And I just got noticed that the Dow solar shingles I posted about up thread are no longer being offered. Perfect. You try to go with a big company, producing something in Calif and look where it gets you!

 

[Garlan Garner]

And I just got noticed that the Dow solar shingles I posted about up thread are no longer being offered. Perfect. You try to go with a big company, producing something in Calif and look where it gets you!

Unfortunately Dow has been failing at just about everything. Its heartbreaking watching them go down.