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01 Nov 2016
Elon Musk unveils camouflaged solar roofs as 'beautiful' solution to creating sustainable energy
Supplier: SolarCity
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Elon Musk unveiled the solar roofs on the set of Desperate Housewives, with houses from he hit TV show modelling the technology
photo: Tesla
After teasing “a beautiful and sustainable” solar roof concept in August, billionaire entrepreneur and Tesla founder Elon Musk has fully unveiled the technology in a presentation at Universal Studios in Los Angeles.
Houses made famous in the US TV show Desperate Housewives modelled Musk’s camouflaged roof tiles, which come in four styles – Tuscan Glass Tile, Slate Glass Tile, Textured Glass Tile and Smooth Glass Tile. Each uses coloured film to almost completely disguise the presence of fully integrated solar cells. According to Musk, "The goal is to have solar roofs that look better than a normal roof."
Two of the billionaire’s companies, electric motor company Tesla and green energy provider SolarCity, in which he holds the largest stake, will undergo a merger if the move is approved by shareholders of the two companies following a vote on 17 November. The solar roof would be developed by the united firm as one of several integrated products designed to prioritise aesthetics and functionality for the sustainable generation, storage and consumption of energy.
The new solar roof concept has been designed for home use in mind, with sunlight captured by the tiles turned into electricity for immediate use or storage in one of Tesla’s at-home Powerwall batteries. However, the resilience of the tiles – demonstrated at the launch in a video in which one survives being dropped on from height by a kettlebell – and the fact they are to be scalable and customisable means the technology could one day be used for almost any building, including museums, hotels, stadiums and sports centres.
In the long-term, Musk said he wants to see developers shift away from the current trend of placing individual solar panels on top of a pre-existing roof structure in favour of his integrated solar roof proposition.
“We need to make solar panels as appealing as electric cars have become," he said. “The goal is to make solar roofs that look better than a normal roof, generate electricity, last longer, have better insulation and cost less than a normal roof plus the cost of electricity. Why would you buy anything else?”
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