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Tesla aims to unveil ‘Solar Roof’, next gen Powerwall on October 28
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TheTalkingMule
Distributed Energy Enthusiast
Not sure that consumers need their solar integrated into their roofing, but they definitely DO need an American made solar/battery/EV option with minimal zero down. You could sell an awful lot of those.
JOEV1
*****joe
I am charging my two Teslas mostly from my PV-Roof ( 18 kWp) it works perfectly and can only recommend it. At the moment I charge during the day. I also have UPS for night use, it is not possible to charge the Teslas from the UPS (APC 32 KVA & XR)
Hopefully, in future I can charge from a Powerwall at night, which stores the energy during the day while I am at work.
Maybe a kind of Super Charger at Home to "dump" the DC-Energy from the Powerwall directly for
the Model S etc.
Hopefully, in future I can charge from a Powerwall at night, which stores the energy during the day while I am at work.
Maybe a kind of Super Charger at Home to "dump" the DC-Energy from the Powerwall directly for
PaulRocket
Member
Skotty
2014 S P85 | 2023 F-150L
I'm not sold on the merits of solar integrated into the roof. It's merging two completely unrelated things into one. Where do all the electronics go? I guess they just hang into your attic. Roof leaks, should they happen, could be a nightmare; you won't be able to call a roofing company. Instead, you'll probably have to call Tesla and schedule service, which could be a several month wait while water leaks into your house. Initial installation cost will likely be much higher than most people are prepared for. Probably at least as expensive as simultaneously replacing your roof and installing rooftop solar. Even if you needed a new roof regardless, you won't be able to spread out the cost like you can with regular rooftop solar (replace your roof one year, install rooftop solar a couple years later). Also, anyone who currently has a new or close to new roof will basically be throwing away a perfectly good roof that they likely paid for.
Will they really have enough experience in construction to be able to build a good roof? They know technology, but do they know home construction? A number of people on TMC report issues with leaks on their Tesla cars. Will the solar roofs be more reliable in this regard?
There are some advantages, like probably not requiring a several foot inset from the edges like traditional rooftop solar requires. There's also potential for it to look nicer than traditional rooftop solar. But overall, I just don't see this as a good move. I hope they prove me wrong.
Will they really have enough experience in construction to be able to build a good roof? They know technology, but do they know home construction? A number of people on TMC report issues with leaks on their Tesla cars. Will the solar roofs be more reliable in this regard?
There are some advantages, like probably not requiring a several foot inset from the edges like traditional rooftop solar requires. There's also potential for it to look nicer than traditional rooftop solar. But overall, I just don't see this as a good move. I hope they prove me wrong.
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JOEV1
*****joe
Almost right... but no, its the "Hoch König" in the Salzburger Land.
SKOTTY, Any Solar System (Thermo or PV) on the Roof spoils the looks of the home to some degrees. Depending on the panels used.
Nevertheless, the function to harness FREE power / energy is undoubtely present. My Roof as one can see on photo works for the last 9 Years without a glitsh.
It is a "on roof mounted system" as compared to an "integrated."
One more advantage for heavy snow areas: Snow is likely to slide off, thus less risk to have a caved-in roof.
Lets see what Elon can offer on the 28th October.
TheTalkingMule
Distributed Energy Enthusiast
I agree, Elon seems way to obsessed with making solar ultra-sleek and badass. That's not what's holding consumers back IMO.
Other inverters(which are rapidly becoming better/cheaper), all the physical hardware has progressed more than enough to go mainstream.
I have to imagine that if a product unveil is already slated for Oct 28, the Tesla/Solar City crew have had this product in development for quite some time (certainly prior to merger announcement in August). I've long dreamed of powering my house and car with sunlight (currently a model 3 reservation holder). It's one of those "why the hell hasn't an engineering team figured this out yet" situations. Seems like a no-brainer. Durability and cost have to be competitive to traditional roofs, but obviously people will pay more the "package" of a self-contained energy solution for home and transport.
Long time stalker, first time poster. - Matt
Long time stalker, first time poster. - Matt
deonb
Active Member
I'm definitely held back by the lack of sleekness and badassery...
I love "badassery" as much as anyone, but I'm pretty happy with the look of my recently installed "traditional" solar system. I think it looks cool and do not mind in the least that the appearance of the panels just screams "solar power!" as opposed to being camouflaged. It's a way to promote solar power to anyone who drives by.
That said, certainly there is a market for a solar roof that looks much like a "normal" roof, whatever that is. There already are solar products on the market that attempt to do that, see Sun Roof: Solar Panel Shingles Come Down in Price, Gain in Popularity and http://gizmodo.com/solar-panels-not-just-big-rectangles-on-the-roof-anymo-1462529121
Here's about one-third of my solar installation, late in the day;
So there are rumors to what Powerwall V2.0 will contain:
1. Integrated Inverter
2. Simplified Installation with other solar inverters
3. Increase in capacity
4. Integrated EVSE or something to charge EVs
I think 1 and 2 are definate and 3 and 4 are unlikely.
What is your opinion?
1. Integrated Inverter
2. Simplified Installation with other solar inverters
3. Increase in capacity
4. Integrated EVSE or something to charge EVs
I think 1 and 2 are definate and 3 and 4 are unlikely.
What is your opinion?
I guess I'm dubious about the solar shingle idea. Dow developed and tried to sell this, and finally gave up this year. Granted, their PowerHouse idea failed mainly because they thought they could recover their development costs based on decade-old solar panel prices which then plummeted, leaving their solar shingles rediculously overpriced. And they really were not all that attractive...
I hope Tesla can learn from Dow's mistakes.
I hope Tesla can learn from Dow's mistakes.
HillCountryFun
Member
He's taking the same path as he did with vehicles from Tesla. Start with sleek and sexy, then add features that aren't available in competitive products and then make'm cheap. I suspect they will be wildly successful.
Actually Tesla started with features that weren't available in competitive products (an amazing all electric drivertrain inclunding a battery with unprecedented range) that was wrapped in a sleek and sexy package, and then later started driving the cost down.
Regarding what Powerwall 2.0 will offer, I suspect an integrated inverter/phase balancer and simplified installation. That would be major improvement over the Rube Goldberg looking system I recently had installed. Doubtful that storage capacity will increase just yet. Maybe in a year or two when the Gigafactory really gets rolling.
#2 please...especially since Enphase are in such wide use and, for more selfish reasons, I hope they can be made to interface with the Powerwall more efficiently.
If the PowerWall has an integrated inverter, then it will just AC couple to anything and everything in your house. The hard part comes when you want to keep the solar running when the grid goes down. If the PowerWall is only say 5kW and you have a 10kW array, then it's not going to work. However, you could add more PowerWalls so that they could absorb and regulate enough power.
Yours is a flat roof installation that nobody sees - unless you're on a hill. The point of the new product is surely for these to be on a sloping tiled roof. I like the idea of a solar roof. It'd probably be like a zinc / copper roof - but more glass like. How they cope with hipped bits on the roof and odd joins at different angles - if they have a dummy - non-generating panel. Also if you've got one side of the house that faces north (in northern hemisphere) - no point it having solar panels - so do they put dummy panels on that side?
The advantage is you can probably cover 100% of the south facing roof - not come in 50cm from all sides - and it'll be roof + solar in one product.
When the grid goes down a 10kW solar + 1 Powerwall system will still "work" but you won't necessarily be able to power every circuit in your house when the sun isn't shining, only some of your circuits (unless as you point out your add more Powerwalls).
In fact I am on a slight hill and it is possible to see part of my solar panel system from the street. My point was that I like the look of conventional solar panels and by making them visible they serve as an advertisement for solar power. But I of course understand your point that many people don't want the panels to be visible, they want their roof to look "normal" and so a new solar panel product that is "invisible" would be attractive to them. I get that, and that's fine.
And that would certainly be a good thing.
Certain cities in the US hate solar arrays on roofs. The fire dept and the homeowners associations get irritated.
There was a company making flexible PV roofing. It went BK as far as I know. I have one of the strips for testing. It's like 18" wide by 20 feet long, you can roll it up, walk on it, etc.
You raised some interesting points, because unlike in austria where I live, many US houses don't have a simple roof line. It will be interesting what they will present on the 28th, but I really like the idea of dummy panels. Because the black/dark blue color of PV panels look very nice in my opinion, especially if the whole roof is covered.
Julian
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