The Urban Developer
AdvertiseEventsWebinars
Urbanity
Awards
Sign In
Membership
Latest
Menu
Location
Sector
Category
Content
Type
Newsletters
Untitled design (8)
FULL PROGRAM RELEASED FOR URBANITY-25 CONNECTING PROPERTY LEADERS ACROSS THE ASIA PACIFIC
FULL PROGRAM RELEASED FOR URBANITY-25 WHERE THE PROPERTY INDUSTRY CONNECTS
VIEW FULL AGENDADETAILS
TheUrbanDeveloper
Follow
About
About Us
Membership
Awards
Events
Webinars
Listings
Resources
Terms & Conditions
Commenting Policy
Privacy Policy
Republishing Guidelines
Editorial Charter
Complaints Handling Policy
Contact
General Enquiries
Advertise
Contribution Enquiry
Project Submission
Membership Enquiry
Newsletter
Stay up to date and with the latest news, projects, deals and features.
Subscribe
OtherStaff WriterWed 17 Aug 16

Could Our Roofs Become One Big Solar Panel?

TUD+ MEMBER CONTENT
s
SHARE
print
Print

The future of solar technology seems to be moving away from simply attaching solar modules to rooftops.

Instead, concepts have been developed to integrate solar panels with the roofs themselves, reducing what many believe to be the ugliness of bulky solar panel modules sitting atop an existing roof.

Tesla CEO and SolarCity Chairman Elon Musk announced earlier this year that these two companies are due to merge, and as a result will be releasing two new products by the end of the year.

One of which, Musk confirmed, was the concept of a solar panel-integrated roof.
"I think this is really a fundamental part of achieving differentiated product strategy, where you have a beautiful roof,” Musk told Business Insider.


“It's not a thing on the roof. It is the roof, which is a quite difficult engineering challenge and not something that is available anywhere else," he said.

Musk likened the new product to a Tesla car. He said the customer will be given custom preferences and then sent to the customer as a kit so that it can be installed.

Rather than entering the market by canabolising existing roofs, the aim for solar panel roofs is to represent as a new product which can be adopted when an existing roof needs replacing, or when a new home is being built.

“If your roof is nearing end of life and you have to get a new roof anyway, why not have a solar roof that is better in many other ways as well," Musk said.

Musk with Tesla and SolarCity is keen to get this project off the ground and into the mainstream, but he is in fact not the first to try his hand at this revolutionary technology.

SunTegra solar - comparing against traditional solar panels.

New York-based company SunTegra Solar Roof Systems (formerly Integrated Solar Technology) has already installed integrated solar systems in the northeastern United States and California.

SunTegra’s research into the market reveals that three out of four homeowners would prefer an integrated solar option. Their tile can produce 67 watts, and their shingle can produce 100 watts. Solar tiles and shingles also utilise around 50% fewer parts than traditional rooftop solar panels, and can be installed more quickly.

SunTegra's product shows how the solar roof may be the way of the mainstream future.

With solar roofs already in circulation and plans from other companies like Tesla eager to get in the game, roofs with integrated solar technology may very well be the way of the future for every home.

ResidentialInternationalConstructionTechnologyConstructionSector
AUTHOR
Staff Writer
"TheUrbanDeveloper.com is committed to delivering the latest news, reviews, opinions and insights into the best of urban development from Australia and around the world. "
More articles by this author
ADVERTISEMENT
TOP STORIES
Nation's build-to-rent project Charlie Parker in Sydney's Parramatta where more projects are being located and built outside the CBD.
Exclusive

Foreign Capital Still Dominates BtR but Things are Changing

Marisa Wikramanayake
7 Min
Exclusive

Fortis Reveals Plans for Coveted Bowen Terrace Site

Taryn Paris
4 Min
Exclusive

Accor Deputy Delivers Verdict on Brisbane Games Hotel Shortfall

Phil Bartsch
6 Min
Qld Budget 2025-26 Brisbane City
Exclusive

Billions Promised, Now Deliver: Industry’s Qld Budget Verdict

Vanessa Croll
6 Min
Medium Density housing in NSW
Exclusive

NSW Budget ‘Groundbreaking’ $1bn Guarantee to Unlock Housing

Leon Della Bosca
7 Min
View All >
Residential

National Home Prices End Year on Record High

Lindsay Saunders
Lincoln Place Eagle Point Bowls Club and Clubhouse
Land Lease Communities

Lincoln Place Plots 209-Home Scheme on Gippsland Purchase

Leon Della Bosca
Linic Property Group Saunton Jindalee
Residential

Linic Group Moves 43-Unit Jindalee Scheme Ahead

Leon Della Bosca
The five-storey $26-million project 200m from Indian Ocean promises “new benchmark in coastal living” …
LATEST
Residential

National Home Prices End Year on Record High

Lindsay Saunders
3 Min
Lincoln Place Eagle Point Bowls Club and Clubhouse
Land Lease Communities

Lincoln Place Plots 209-Home Scheme on Gippsland Purchase

Leon Della Bosca
3 Min
Linic Property Group Saunton Jindalee
Residential

Linic Group Moves 43-Unit Jindalee Scheme Ahead

Leon Della Bosca
3 Min
Lindfield SSD Resi EDM
Residential

North Shore $154m Apartment Play Tests Zoning Limits

Vanessa Croll
2 Min
View All >
ADVERTISEMENT
Article originally posted at: https://theurbandeveloper.com/articles/solar-panels-become-roof