Solar-powered merger

IS this the next big thing in modern house construction? Tesla, the company that brought you the high-end electric car, now proposes to bring our homes the solar-powered roof.

This week, Tesla completed a $2bn merger with SolarCity, the biggest US-based provider of solar powered panels. The product which is soon to be rolled out to the market, is a solar-powered roof constructed with textured glass tiles which look identical to traditional tiles and will last a lifetime. Combining solar cells with traditional roof tiles, these tiles allow light to pass through creating solar energy which can be stored in batteries.

According to Tesla’s founder Elon Musk: “The tiles are comparable to existing high efficiency solar panels.” It is proposed to introduce a variety of tile types to complement different house designs. In effect, the entire roof of the house becomes one large solar panel providing water and space heating with the potential to provide a surplus to be used elsewhere or presumably sold back to the national grid.

But perhaps the best indicator of the innovative design is that it will be extremely cost effective. Prices are expected to be lower than the combined cost of a traditional roof plus solar panels.

According to Enda Gunnell, CEO of energy provider Pinergy: “It’s an extremely interesting development in the renewable space. What the announcement and product have done is make the whole discussion around sustainability and self supply of energy to be extremely customer friendly.”

Further down the line? Another merger — introducing a solar roof to an electric car.