Elon Musk wants to sell you a solar roof...

[Brad]

... not just panels, but the whole roof.

http://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-says-solarcity-will-make-solar-roofs-2016-8

[rcjordan]

I think Travoli mentioned the idea of solar shingles a year or so ago.  I'm guessing that what's Musk is talking about.  

I have a lot of misgivings about the application process and associated costs as well as longterm viability of the underlying roof structure.  We'll see.

[ergophobe]

>> lot of misgivings

Ye of little faith.

Then again...

https://www.technologyreview.com/s/602147/elon-musks-promise-of-solar-roofs-has-echoes-of-a-rust-belt-failure/

Last I looked, one of the major issues was that the shingles were a lot less efficient at converting solar energy, so the pricing works out differently. And with overproduction in China and plummeting installation labor costs for solar panels, I think the shingles are a hard sell. But right now, I don't think anyone even knows whether this is a "shingle" product of some other kind of roof module.

Still, built-in carries risks that add-on doesn't, as RC said.

[Travoli]

Yes, he FINALLY listened. It's about time. Now... sign me up in 10 years when it's cheap and the system is proven.

[rcjordan]

Looks heavy to me.  In most(?) of the US, houses aren't designed/built to support a tile roof, so the retrofit market is going to be slim, imo.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dRqSkR4ENAg

[grnidone]

I like the solar roadways idea:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qlTA3rnpgzU

Even if only the sidewalks were made solar, imagine how much energy could be created.

[Rooftop]

I think Musk's home battery is the less-sexy, but most interesting development in this area.
Generating power at home isn't hard. Keeping it there is.  As a result most people sell it back to the grid, then buy it back later. Makes no sense unless you are a power company.  Even if you don't generate power yourself, home electricity storage could become something that the power companies want us to have (or even pay for) as their widespread use would save fortunes in what the companies pay for peak power demands.

Good for preppers too!  (In fact I quite like the idea of getting one for the office as a big ol' UPS system)

[ergophobe]

Makes no sense unless you are a power company. 

Actually, under the current law in force many places, this makes no sense if you *are* a power company. Most power companies have to buy it at the same price they sell it. Furthermore, their on the hook to maintain an infrastructure that can meet peak demand, but they have less and less base demand. If you're in a hot, sunny place it works out - power usage is highest when the sun is out and the AC is on. If you're in a cold, dark place, this makes it super hard for power companies.

Yes, home power and batteries will put them out of business. But maintaining peak capacity without having a full set of ratepayer during the higher profit, lower usage periods is going to kill them too.

[rcjordan]

Tesla's Solar Roof Is Finally Ready For You to Buy
_{Elon Musk says orders will begin today. Pricing details have yet to be revealed.}

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-05-10/tesla-s-solar-roof-is-finally-ready-for-you-to-buy

[rcjordan]

Holy crap!!

Company says 'typical homeowner' can expect to pay $21.85 per square foot for solar roof

[Travoli]

Can anyone find spec sheets? I haven't seen how much energy they produce per sqft.

[ergophobe]

Company says 'typical homeowner' can expect to pay $21.85 per square foot for solar roof

We reroofed a neighbor's house some years back (a good, old-fashioned neighborhood roof raising for a retired couple tight on cash). We roofed over the existing roof, so cheapest case. He has a steep roof that was a problem and high (above a certain point, most contractor's insurance won't apply so you need someone with a rider). For a cheap comp roof, they were getting quotes over $20K, which is probably about $15/sf for his house. If he had been looking at a premium roofing (standing seal metal, tile, etc), it would have been way more.

So this sounds pretty attractive at $22/sf with electricity added in as a bonus.

[ergophobe]

Tile roof, which is what they're competing against (tile and slate they say and slate is even pricier) costs 16,000 at the limit of 1 SD on the bell curve
http://www.homeadvisor.com/cost/roofing/install-replace-tile-roof/#

Assuming a 3000 sf house, with 1600 feet of roof space, that would be $10/sf

The quotes our neighbor was getting had a lot to do with steepness and height (scaffolding and ropes needed - way past 12/12 pitch, which is about the steepest you can walk around on.  So yeah, $22/sf is high

[buckworks]

Depending on the design of the roof, it might make sense to do a solar roof on the south-facing pitches and regular shingles on the rest.

[rcjordan]

>south-facing pitches and regular shingles on the rest

My thought as well.

>depending on the design

Couldn't look any worse than the current array of panels


I have a 7/12 pitch using 50 squares (square is roofer talk for 100 sq ft.) of asphalt shingle. About 6 years ago, I replaced the old 3-tab shingles with architectural shingles.  Home Depot is advertising them today for $27/bundle = $81/square. = .81 sq/ft. Double that for starter strips, felt paper, staples, etc. and materials = < $2/sq ft. Stripping the old roof is cheap, and using the old rule of thumb 40% materials / 60% labor and we're coming in at $5/sq ft.

I've texted a roofer I know. We'll see if I'm close.