A look at Tesla’s solar shingle product that goes on sale this week

Several months ago, the well-known electric car manufacturer, Tesla, generated some excited with the announcement of a new solar roofing product. Tesla teamed up with SolarCity to design the solar shingle. This week, Tesla’s CEO, Elon Musk, announced that customers could now preorder the new solar shingles. With the release of this game-changing solar roofing product, here’s a closer look at what they are and what they’ll cost.

How they’re made

Tesla’s solar shingles are different than any other solar roofing product on the market due to the fact that the photovoltaic cells are built right into the shingle itself and not installed on top of an existing roof. They’re made of glass and are extremely durable. They come in four different styles: textured, slate, Tuscan, and smooth so they can complement the look of any home. The glass has a colored film that hides the photovoltaic cells from sight but still lets in the suns’ rays to generate electricity.

Calculating the cost

Not all of the shingles installed contain photovoltaic cells. That’s because the shingles with cells are much more expensive to manufacture and certain parts of the roof won’t get enough sunlight to justify the cost. The average roof will consist of 40% solar shingles and 60% non-solar shingles that look exactly identical but cost less than asphalt shingles. You can use Tesla’s cost calculator to get a free estimate of the cost as well as an estimate of how much the roof will save you over the course of 30 years.

If the high cost of Tesla solar shingles is impractical, you can contact a Spokane roofing company to ask about other energy efficient roofing options like metal or tile.

Home improvement news brought to you by bartonroof.com

Source: popularmechanics.com/science/energy/a26454/tesla-solar-shingles/