As a hang glider pilot, I often find myself looking down on acres of roof space and wondered why new builds couldn't be legislated to have some kind of solar. I know it's not as straight forward as that but these panels seem like a great idea and get my vote.
Read ages ago about a block of flats in Brooklyn that wired in their own, off grid solar roof, paid for by the community for the community. With the pandemic and all, with communities focussing on the benefits of Local, perhaps some funding from somewhere would be nice as an incentive. Great content, Fully Charged!
I stumbled across your channel a few months ago, and it was bothering me wher I'd seen your face, then it came to me. Scrapheap Challenge.. CH4.. Great programme. Now here's the sinic in me, the big Big house builders should be made to do this, by law. Make every single new home self sufficient, not just power/heating, everything. Water, sewage everything. We have a farm, and spent £80,000 on solar set up, And not jut solar, wind power too. And on top of that We collect all the rain water, filter it, clean it, etc etc,, we have a bacteria septic waste system, never needs emptying, looks after its self. Yes, it costs money, but in the 5 years we've had it up+running it has now paid fit it's self.. We are almost now completely self sufficient. Even food now we grown ourselves, This is the future.
I think all new builds should require solar roofing of this kind. Economies of scale would drop the price and considering how long buildings last, they'd pay for themselves many times over in the course of their lifetime.
@Scratchy Ballzack That can be a way for supporting green transition from the government. They should pay the price difference between regular tiles and solar tiles as subsidy when you are installing new roof or renovating old one.
@Scratchy Ballzack a fair point, I can't speak to American prices but in the UK all new build prices contain a very decent margin for the builder. Housing is ridiculously overpriced here too, my argument is that the free market has had plenty of time to do the right thing though.
I had this very idea 26 years ago while working on a roof putting anti vandal tiles on.....great idea and about time it became a standard on all new houses
That's great! The other thing I'd like to see is solar power installations on parking lots. They could shade the cars, generate power, and divert rain water before it washes through all the grease and oil left behind by vehicles. In the States we have car parks that seem to go on past the horizon, all completely exposed to the Sun. Might as well get something out of it!
This has been done in a few places. The problem is it's virtue signalling & like all such things really, there are easier ways. The supports get driven into and damaged, maintenance is a pain, panels can be accessed/damaged/stolen. Far easier/cheaper to just put the solar in secure compound in some waste ground.
in austria you get incentives when building a new house and meeting some certain standards/requirements. eletric solar on the roof should be part of these requirements.
@@kona6812 I realised after I wrote that however the operative word here is 'junior'. Unless you can somehow spin green policies as also being anti-immigration you are not likely to get any traction with the OVP.
We have those incentives in America too. For anything solar, energy saving, tankless water heaters, whole home generators, impact windows & doors, smart home tech, etc.
This won't work in the US on most existing residential buildings. Most existing US residential structures are engineered to support an asphalt shingle roof, which is much lighter per square-foot than these tiles which weight 10 pounds a piece. It would work on new construction where the building is designed to take the extra weight, but it would not be possible to retrofit these kinds of roof tiles to most existing US residential buildings.
What is the matter with governments, are they all asleep, they should be proactive with technology dragging everyone to have the latest, environment saving, money saving, devices. I am buying a new home in Monmouth, it is a tired 1966 bungalow with a south facing roof. The house is badly insulated & a new roof may be needed. We need to be encouraged to bring property up to date. We need a Green Government Guru to advise us, it would be so useful, instead we have to weed out what is best all by ourselves. I am older & just want to get on with it all without delay. These solar tiles look to be a very good idea, I must investigate. Fully Charged is one of my favourite sites, thanks so much for all your valuable advice Robert, you are such a special man, all best to you!
LIKE if you'd like these solar tiles on your house & SHARE if you think all buildings should generate their own power! Full description below... Yes, it's a roof, but it's no ordinary roof. This roof that Robert has come to see is made up from 900 solar tiles! These tiles deliver all the benefits of solar, but without the aesthetic compromise of huge panels added onto your roof that require systems and structures to manage the weight and connections. Surely all buildings should have solar? For more information on the product featured, visit: tbsspecialistproducts.co.uk/pv/ OR For more information on the Ergosun Integrated Solar Roof Tile please visit www.ergosun.com. Fully Charged is 100% independent thanks to RUclips Memberships (join above) and Patreons (join via www.patreon.com/fullychargedshow). Online news, views & reviews: FullyCharged.Show LIVE exhibitions in USA, UK & Europe: FullyCharged.Show/events Twitter: twitter.com/fullychargedshw Instagram: instagram.com/fullychargedshow *Timestamps* 0:00 Invisible Solar 1:21 World's Most Popular Roof Tile 2:37 Less Transportation Required 3:16 Popular with Self-Builders 4:19 Retrofitting Existing Housing Stock 4:58 Comparison with Solar Panels 6:42 Possibilities for Community Solar 8:00 What's the Cost Differential? 9:50 Comparison with Tesla Tiles 11:10 Time for the Building Industry to integrate Solar Tiles 11:50 In Summary 12:29 Thanks to Patreons & RUclips Members 12:55 Subscribe & Click the Notification Bell
How well does it resist to hail the size of an orange? Regarding Tesla solar roof, nothing done in Europe can't be solved by their engineers I would say. Some cases may be specific but you can have a non solar tile where you need to cut them. That's just something to plan when doing the quote.
@@JeremyHamaoui I've seen better solar tiles than both invisible solar and Tesla. Solecco (Si, recycled plastic, tempered polycarbonate), so super lightweight no need for Aluminium, concrete or glass. Much lower carbon footprint. Hailproof too.
@@robinjones5169 did you see the Solar roof v3 too? I've no expertise whatsoever in that field but confident Tesla can manage especially as it's a complete environment. Also they likely have an advantage on the software front. Thanks for your reply.
'We' would be more efficient & - cost effective' - & much more 'Secure' from Damage &/or deliberate tampering' & thefts' - for the same financial investment & installation's' & Expansions' capacity' with - SEC &/or 'Solid-State' - also with Graphene' super/Ultracaps' Technology than 'Solar' as solar is much less 'Real' Efficient'(approx' 14 to 24% ) than say Electro-magnetic' generators' & Solid State' & Lithium Titanite battery banks' for a lower cost but much less maintenance' & better 24/7/365' performances' to boot' > Also the Cost recovery time for Solar' is much longer from 'other' new technologies' available now' > ?? >>
In the 70’s they had solar or just ambient light powered calculators. I’m wondering when solar power will be incorporated into clothing because they already have battery powered clothes
@@kennethschultz6465 currently our in-roof (Exasun) PV is producing 1.65 kW as we speak on a cloudy day. Already seen 2.5 kW and waiting for a good day to see it finally reach it's peak output of 3 kW (it's on for two weeks now). So they can produce power! Probably a bit less, but it looks a lot better so there's that.
Let me understand the proposition here. You are going to let these guys take a solid concrete tile and put a sizable hole in the middle of it and seal it with some glue and attach a plastic panel to it to sit out in the sun for decades? The panel has 1/3 the longevity of a solid tile (not sure the longevity of as tile with a hole in it). When the panel fails, you check all your panels and connections. You finally find the one that failed and you want to replace it... Just think it through. Maybe having panels attached on the outside is not that ugly after all?
Whether this system, Tesla solar roof or something else ought to be made more of a standard. I did back of the envelope calculation which says about 52m² on every household would give enough power for the whole country. And I am talking giving power to factories and such. The 52m² would cover more than the energy needs of the household itself. Households only consume about 30% of the power in a western country. Obviously there are complicating factors here in that the power will not be delivered exactly when you need it. But it does give a sense of just how much potential there is in covering every roof. And 52m² is a pretty modest area. I would think a normal house roof is at least 80-100m². But imagine having a house with 100m² solar panels. It will produce 75.00 kWh on average per day. That can charge up a typical Tesla car battery. However your average western household only needs about 10 kWh per day. So you actually got lots of power you can sell to the grid and make money. With the big Tesla car battery you can store this power and just sell it when there is demand to make a pretty penny. And the neat thing about solar is that you can in principle expand as you got money. You don't need to build 100m², you could build smaller. Then make money off that for some years and later expand. With the Tesla million miles battery and bidirectional charging we are going to see some crazy no opportunities for people to have energy independence and actually make money from their home house selling power.
@@darrenit7498 From my calculation a 3.6 kW system would need 240 tiles which is £7400, that's more than you would pay for conventional but the result neater and depending on your POV better.
@@DogsBAwesome That's £7400 for the solar panels AND the roof tiles, the price for a conventional setup doesn't include the cost of the tiles which would be extra on a new-build or re-roof.
I think new homes should be regulated to include renewable energy generation, water recovery (for gardens/toilets) and also higher construction standards to ensure that new homes are much more durable than the current batch of "disposable" homes that are currently thrown up.
I've been saying for the last 10 yrs all new builds should have at least 1kw per bedroom at construction to create a solar network across the country, still not sure about the batteries yet so I think we should sell what's made in the day and buy what's needed at night across countries. Overall there is still a cost but it should be about the same as what we have now, the win is a more stable grid energy and saving the planet.
What do you do during the winter when there isn't as much sun as in summer? You would have about 6 months of black out. You would still need nuclear, coal and gas powered stations.
Please do a video about Marley's solar tile, which is the same size of a solar panel but integrates into the roof like a Velux window would so you save on the cost of concrete tiles.
With some investment this could be developed into a great off the shelf product. Chris obviously knows the needs of his part of the market. Some crowd-sourcing to develop G2 and onwards, with bigger capacity panels or larger tiles, improved wiring, etc, would help with this kind of thing, and it's great marketing too. With prices dropping as volumes grow, they could be a success.
Thank you Simon,we’ve already driven wasted costs out of the supply side of the product,and look forward to scaling the volumes to be able to reduce price as soon as we can
If you never knew, to give some context, the top of the range system from tesla (2022 solar roof tiles) are on avg 19% efficient, which is not anywere near the 23.8% some top-end panels produce, so realistic you only buy this solar tiles if you want a roof that looks alittle different but doesnt have big panels on it :)
it also will prevent the roof from drying out properly. look underneath most roof systems that have had solar on them for a long time (aside from tile) and they are normally worn down prematurely. the sun is both the enemy & the friend of most roofs
@@BEATmyguest31 This is why a double-layer roof is actually a good thing. You have the lower portion of the roof fully sealed, insulated and drained. Between the two layers is a drainage plain and keeps the top deck cooler, extending the life of the roof itself.
I have a 17kw solar roof system with 2 Tesla powerall2 batteries. I run my house, and my shop on solar. My average electric bill (after solar credits) is -$410 per month (yes, that is a minus). Haven't paid an electric bill in over 2 years. It's wonderful.
Tesla solar roof tiles don't go all the way to the edge. If you look carefully at their literature, you'll see standard matching tiles to cover edges, awkward bits & areas where solar doesn't make sense. As far as I'm aware, those tiles are cut to size on-site where necessary. My one query about the fabulous solar tiles featured in today's video is how is the concrete made? Concrete manufacturing being very polluting CO2 wise. What mitigation measures are being used by the tile manufacturers to counter excess emissions? Perhaps advances in concrete manufacturing could be a topic for a future video.
It may be overpriced for one household to have retrofitted. But a big saving when installed during construction- no labour costs for Installing solar panels and framework, no increased engineering costs related to making a roof strong enough to take the weight of panels. Thats a Winner for a construction firm.
But don’t forget, for your £30 you get a roof tile not just a 15 watt solar module. As with all products, small batch hand made products are initially expensive, with volumes and related economies of scale, prices will continue to fall, in 2018 they were £34 each.
They use PTFE solar modules, which are bit better version of flexible solar modules, which are actually the worst(average life -3 years). The PTFE solar modules have average life of 5-7 years, in this case , since they have mounted this within a solid roof, the average life can be as much as 10+ years. In comparison, Normal glass solar modules have 25-30 years of warranty. I try to dig information from the link provided and although the company provide 30 years warranty on the actual roof there was no mention of the solar module because they get it from another company called viridiansolar. I went into check their site, but didn't find any warranty information on their PTFE modules. so if it has only 10+ years of average lifetime that would be a significant waste of resource. Anybody please correct me if I am wrong or you find some more information on this.
This to me is like hybrid cars, retrofitting new tech on to old tech, what about the environmental cost of the concrete roof tiles? It would surely be better to stop using century old roofing systems and use modern light weight roofs that require less timber to support them. Also the added cost of this system is crazy!! I believe we need to design and build with solar in mind, large flat rectangular roofs made with metal insulated panels with solar on top. The air gap helps cool the panels and increases efficiency, holding on to tradition will only hold us back! For me this system is for those with more money than sense, we need affordable and sustainable solutions so that everyone can benefit. Also what about the time to install those panels on the tiles and cutting the hole in them? how much does that cost?
Part of a roofs stability is it's mass, but agreed concrete isn't the most environmentally friendly material, I've often thought there must be a better way. Idk what recycled materials would be suitable though given it must be fireproof, insulating, UV stable etc. USA style shingles are garbage, flat roofs are worse, get back to mining slate in a more sustainable way?? Also, yes £30 a tile is a ripoff!
Killua Zoldyck Flat roofs are the worst for solar, they need to be angled towards the sun. Panels on a flat roof would need to be mounted on an angled frame, so you might as well just build the roof with the appropriate slope. Insurance companies hate flat roofs for a reason- they are notorious for leaks. I agree about concrete roof tiles- personally I think traditional slate is still a good choice- it's relatively low carbon, it lasts well over a century, and top quality slates can be reclaimed and reused. In fact, good reclaimed welsh slate tiles reclaimed from old buildings are more in demand and hence more expensive than brand new ones!
@DrgnFlys Concrete roof tiles with holes probably won't last 100 years. Solar panels certainly won't last 100 years. How do you replace these in 20 years when they start failing? Do you keep the concrete tile and just replace the PV module? In 20 years this company will be long gone and you are stuck with a roof full of holes and no power. Bad idea!
@@spencerwilton5831 I never said flat roofs, i have installed enough solar to know that LOL, I'm talking about insulated roof panels like we use on commercial buildings here, but they use on houses in other countries. Much lighter, less framing as they are themselves structural. Easy to install and easy to put solar panels on.
@DrgnFlys I never said flat roofs, i have installed enough solar to know that LOL, I'm talking about insulated roof panels like we use on commercial buildings here, but they use on houses in other countries. Much lighter, less framing as they are themselves structural. Easy to install and easy to put solar panels on.
Every house should have this. I have just bought a brand new house and the builders would not offer us solar panels of any description, I was appalled. If I want solar panels I have to have someone come in after we move in and retrofit.
Installer: "Its about 30 pounds a tile" Interviewer: "...oh . . .wow" $27,000 just for the tiles on this roof. Not a hater at all - I hope we all have this one day on every roof but there is a reason why we dont at the moment.
That would be $34,500 dollars, not £27,000 pounds going to be a very long time before that becomes viable for your average housebuilder or even self builder
@Bagheera These tiles should weigh about the same as the normal concrete tiles. The hole drilled through the concrete tile should offset the weight of the photovoltaic panels and wiring. I do agree, however, that the price is a bit steep.
I worked for Mitsubishi in Cirencester, we have 150 solar panels on warehouse roof, was done because we sold PHEV cars, the idea was we were charging cars with self generated electric power, we were ahead of the game
These look really nice, though it sounds like they’re using a single inverter per elevation which I think would suffer under patchy cloud cover vs a panelized system with an inverter for each panel. It really is infuriating isn’t it when you see a field full of solar panels and a bunch of warehouses next door with none. Or if there’s a huge parking lot the same size right next to it. Or a giant housing development with no panels installed! It really is shameful I think to not fit panels to the many convenient spaces left in our built world and steal nature instead.
Abram McCalment we are actually installing a single inverter for the entire project, with separate mppt trackers for each elevation. Each tile has a bypass diode to optimise output individually removing the issue caused by partial shading.
@@Slebonson The problem with Tesla tiles, as Chris explained very well, is that if you have a US style roof with gable ends you are OK, but only if the roof is a whole multiple of tiles long and wide. These solar tiles are identical in appearance to the non-solar, which can be cut to fit. Could you do that 4 aspect roof with Tesla? No.
One thing that was not covered on this video which would be interesting is whether this technology is useful for retrofitting an existing roof in comparison to using the more typical modules. While my knowledge of roofing products is limited I am aware that there are all different sizes of tiles available, especially once you get to the more traditional slate roofing.
What is with the heating up of the panels in direct sunlight? As I recall solar panels loose efficiency when their temperature rises and the traditional way of building a solar roof enables the panels to have cooling by fresh air being able to circulate underneath the panels, isn't it? So these roof tiles would have a worse efficiency?
As a guess I'd day having them on a cement tile would help dissipate the gest into the tile somewhat. But that's just a guess. The roof is still black after all and cement can hold heat for a while so not really sure still. Good point though.
I don’t suspect peak temperatures are much higher, largely since I also suspect air cooling benefit under a normal panel is negligible. Now. . . add water cooling and harvest the waste heat to pre-heat hot water and reduce heating load in the winter and you’ll have an extra high performance roof!
It is part of the reason why I am skeptic of this. The other is that it is likely much more serial panels connected in each array which can cause problems for the charge controller. Most likely you will end up with a more expensive multiple charge controller solution if you go with this system than just adding larger panels.
Shipping just the solar plate makes sense, but cutting holes in concrete tiles, then forming an intricate loom of wiring seems very tedious & labour/time intensive. As a suggestion, maybe manageably-sized semi-rigid foam sections, which have pre-installed bus-bars embedded, along with waterproof click together electrical connectors. Foam being light & having insulative properties could make the complete install process very efficient & cost-effective.
Fantastic Robert! It’s Chris’s slate I’ve been looking at for our North Devon project I mentioned in our discussion earlier in the week about wind turbines and tidal. It’s a shame he didn’t have the slate to show off too but they are lighter and do exactly the same job. This is exactly what the government should be supporting. Soooo much potential out there. Great to see them going on a roof, thank you! 👍👍👍👍
@@MrGonzonator If you have a listed building with a slate roof or live in certain areas where slate roofs are mandated so they match other properties in the area then you don't get a choice.
@@MrGonzonator In these cases as James referred too, over-roof solar panels would not be permitted either. At least not on a roof that can be seen by anyone or from anywhere.
In 2008 I project managed a new housing estate in Lytham St Anne's, building 111 social housing homes for rent. The scheme included two large blocks of 85 flats in total. All were built to Code for Sustainable Homes Level 4. The apartment blocks had solar interlocking roof tiles, provided by a UK company called Solar Century. The solar tiles were called C21E. Each solar tile was the length of three concrete tiles and interlocked with the concrete tiles and were wired in series. Like Tesla, this video gives the gives impression this manufacturer invented the concept of solar tiling interlocking with traditional roof tiles in 2010. In reality, Solar Century were doing the same, albeit with triple length rather than individual tiles, years before. We used the solar power generated to subsidise the energy used in the communal areas, to reduce service charges for lighting and lifts. From the ground, the solar arrays were virtually invisible. The scheme was loved by the local town planners.
Thanks, I actually started with Edilians solarmax, the predecessor to c21e, and still install today, the tiles are the first actual tile size product, that is not covered with glass
Given that most of the electrical power currently generated is lost during transmission, the closer we can generate the power to where it is consumed, the better.
Yes they should especially those big boxes of buildings should have solar and if room windmills it may not totally provide all the of their power needs but every bit they make for their own use is less taken from the grid. There are lots of those big box warehouse going up where I live now and I don't think Solar is part of the planning. California needs to this.
The process is still wrong. You don’t NEED a cement tile backing the solar panel. The purpose of the cement tile is to protect the waterproof sheet. If the solar panel can do that alone, you don’t need a heavy, expensive, cement tile. Just make the solar panels a little more robust to protect the waterproof underlayment fabric! Not only that, the cement tiles hold heat! Without them, the solar panels would stay cooler.
Correct - its pointless. Same thing as normal tiled roof and solar panels, except much more expensive and difficult to install. Better concept would be to eliminate the tiles all together and design the roof to integrate purpose designed larger panels..
Mr. Quindazzi, cement tiles are not cheap. Plus they are a unnecessary heat sink. Keeping temperatures Higher, for quicker degradation of solar panels. And less effective electric production.
Question - if the rows are done in series, what happens when a panel fails and causes the entire set of panels to fail. How hard is it to find the faulty panel and fix it?
I suspect you get the same problem with conventional panels. If it fails open circuit you lose the row, if it fails short circuit you get lower output. i suppose to find the fault you get up there with a voltmeter!
@@rogerbarton497 Good luck with that. The only way to access the wires is by removing panels. Basically you'd end up removing a big chunk of the roof to find a fault.
I was wondering this as well. I wonder if you could access the cabling from behind. I also wondered if these are interchangeable with normal roofing tiles in the event a panel failed (in a way it was letting water in) and the company was no longer around.
@@rogerbarton497 Many panels come with micro inverters now a days. These will often be able to detect if a panel is producing output, and if not, disconnect the panel from the series. This way you never lose a full series of panels.
I’ve been talking to Chris over the last 12 months and they have developed a man made slate that looks very much like a natural slate even down to mimicking the cut edge of a natural slate. We are hoping to use them on our build next year all being well. 👍
@Buster Jangle How does having a slate roof make you a Tory? Life long labour voter here, and I dont want to put a cement roof on my house from 1907...
Looks good new, the integrity is all down the the adhesive so would have been good to hear what has been done to ensure the durability over a 50+ year lifespan? Weather and UV degradation tends to break down adhesives? The you’ve got a big hole in every tile! We have wavy concrete tiles but presumably flat tiles are an easy enough swap if we ever need a new roof. Bolting normal tiles over the top is more likely for us I think.
I found this really quite interesting. As a slow convert I was immediately taken by the fact that you made no effort to put any costs to the extra building work required (I may have missed it) and just gave the additional cost of the tile over conventional. To convert folks like me you need to be completely transparent.
there are no extra costs to the building work. Roof tilers are paid to lay tiles or solar tiles, no difference. We supervise and ensure electrical connections are made in the correct manor, which is included in the cost of the installation.
@@goliver3846 No, the roof structure is already designed to take the weight of the tiles, so we are not adding any extra loading, unlike bolt on top solar, which adds both extra static deadload, and dynamic load as wind blows across the roof.
You're not settling. Support someone who has worked in the industry for decades and knows how to install roofs. Not some pipe dream company run by teenagers and fresh grads with little experience outside of poached talent.
Tesla tiles are shit, they're workers work in appalling conditions and they are over priced and set on fire. Why in the world do you want one. Daddy Elon isn't going to let you suck him off if you do.
Why would you even want to send your money to a non-UK company if you live in UK? Second, Tesla tiles would have to be shipped across half of the world in their full shape. Sure they are lighter, but still entire roof has to sail across the seas.
Looks very interesting. We have 40 panels (13.6 kW) on a steel roof. I don't find the standard panels ugly and we like the way snow slides off. Living in Canada, you don't get any, zero, zip production when the panels are covered. This system looks good in an area where concrete roof tiles are used, but the added cost is quite a bit over a panel. We have a SolarEdge inverter which uses modules on each panel so we know if a single panel is down. Without a system like that, you can have a bad panel which seriously harms your solar production and you are none the wiser. Perhaps they add a module like that to every 15 panel groups?
Solar is the most "no brainer" - clean power IMHO. Properties of all kinds have lots of roof space + car parks (for e.g.) offer giant surface areas. And as other people have commented, the right incentives and economies of scale will make it a ton cheaper in a short amount of time! I love these solar tiles - let it be the first of many!
This is the best roof tile solar system I have seen so far in terms of percentage of the roof that can be covered. Some others only got 50% (or less) of each tile. There is however - the same Achilles heel as all the other roof tile systems: Way too many connections. The simple truth is that say 16 roof panels is 16 connections whereas 160 roof tiles is 160 connections IE 10 times more likely to fail due to connector issues.
It is easy to get excited by new technologies and applictions but I so think that this could be a real game changer on new builds or even with complete new roofs as it would attract far less negativity from planners, especially in more sensitive areas.
I like the aesthetics, but wonder if the price premium is worth it over an inset solar array I.e, a system that replaces the roof tile and sits flush with the edges and hips. Nice video though, and good luck to the guys.
An encouraging technology now in the UK. But it’s success will come down to large scale production dropping price significantly for mass adoption. Good luck to them 👍
I would like to thank Mark & Julie from Batley, W. Yorks for the first order as a result of seeing the tiles on this episode. We are to provide the full roof for their new build, which includes 6 kWp of solar tiles, 10 kWhours of battery storage, and all inverters etc for less than £22,000.
I work on solar farms and many of our string faults come from the MC4 connections. This roof has hundreds of these connections and would be a nightmare to find a faulty one. Apart from that l like the concept and the look.
This we appreciate, however, AlLL of our connections are behind the tiles protected from the elements and animal damage, unlike exposed fittings in solar farms. In 10 years of installations we have not been back to a single breakdown, (fingers and toes crossed)
Spain has hot water solar tanks on the roofs, and it does have solar farms but wind turbines seem to be the majority of power by other means 21% of used electric in 2019.
I would be concerned about the adhesive bond between the panel and tile. Roofing materials have to deal with huge temperature swings, and the thermal expansion properties of the two materials will be very different. I'm not concerned about the panel detaching (although possible) I would be concerned about water ingress via the hole through which the cables pass. You shouldn't rely on the underfelt.
Right. solar tiles have been around a long time (12 years?), but always significantly more expensive. Unless planners mandate them or you _really_ don't want the standard large panels they aren't very interesting and almost everyone picks the standard scheme. You can also get built-in standard panels and gasketed panels where the panels are the roof. France mandates BIPV (or did) so it's a lot more popular there.
Do hope they are fitted with an air gap as black glass gets extremely hot! During hot very sunny days can see that getting into the home even with best insulation.
@@GlenisRetiredNZ At 15W per panel it is a 13.5kW system, which can cost as much when done with panels. In theory the solar roof goes on as one build and would be cheaper than building a roof and then hiring a separate crew to install solar panels. Also, that is a tile roof and while you can put panels on one I have heard that the frames they need to use for it are fugly. Plus, why would you get a tile roof in the first place and then cover it up even if you don't think panels look bad? I don't think installers are incompetent enough to cause leaks these days, but putting the panels on frames that allow wind under them for cooling also means a stiff wind risks pulling up the frame, at which point it might go flying away if it is not nailed to your roof and could rip off your roof if it is. Many installers actually seem to advertise how they set the panels flush with the roof to avoid making them stand out, so I don't know how valid the argument about panels getting better cooling because air gets below them is anyway. TL;DR: It's never going to be cheaper than just solar panels, but if you are building a new roof you can get more solar power on it at same or cheaper price and make it look better than if you added panels.
@@killuazoldyck1352 why is it better? Why would adding dynamic stress to the roof be better? Putting "types of stress" on the roof that the roof was never designed for is better? Please give your reasoning?
@@ColinRichardson roofs are designed to handle dynamic stress, a roof acts like a large aerofoil, it is subject to high pressure wind loads and low pressure wind loads depending on the direction of the wind. That guy was clearly selling his product and trying to justify the huge extra cost. How many roofs with traditional solar panels have failed because of dynamic stress? Also the extra materials concerns me, 2 MC4 connectors per 15w instead of 2 MC4 connectors per 250w, plus the little junction boxes. to me that is wasteful, larger panels are far more environmentally friendly and efficient. Fault finding would be a nightmare to, that many panels in series would make it hard to find a fault. To me this product is badly floored, it has been around for a long time and barely anyone has used it because from an engineering point of view it makes no sense, nothing more than a gimmick like hybrid cars.
@@killuazoldyck1352 Sorry, I got 6 words in and already stopped reading, since you obviously read my comment but didn't comprehend it.. Try again.. If you comprehend it the second time around and you comment I'll possibly read it more fully.
Wish Robert could have asked about durability too and how it compares with that of standard solar panels. I can imagine that with the panels being glued to the concrete tiles, the panels might be exposed to greater fluctuations in temperature throughout the day. Wonder if that might affect their lifetime.
Unfortunately in the "Comparision with Solar Panels" two, imho, major disadvantages were left untouched: 1) no cooling for the panels, actually they are heated up by the tiles - which means a great loss in efficency and also in longevity 2) in electrical installations the connectors are usualy (in long term) the most probable point of failure - and here we have a lot of them. And we are talking of a lifespan for a roof of more then 20-25 years... It's for sure better then no solar at all - but for the sake of transparency this should be also pointed out
This is a brilliant and beautiful idea. However, the same argument seems to arise when the discussion turns to price. 50% premium is a lot. I really hope we can get over the price issue and bring it into the realms of reality.
It does seem a lot, but to make a fair comparison you'd need the price of a non-solar tile roof + the price of an installed solar system on top of it. Remember, this isn't just your solar system, it's your entire roof. Still sounds very expensive though....
Dan Franklin What you say is true, but on a new build what’s an extra 5-7 grand over a normal solar setup. It won’t add that much to the mortgage repayment.
@pete smyth Here in the Netherlands every year 10.000 people die early as a direct result from the air pollution. Before they die they are sick for a long time. And my country keeps buying gas from dictator Putin. So yeah, things need to change.
My only concern with these is that each tile is individually glued on. How will these adhesives cope with 25 years worth of winters with frost creeping in between the layers? If even one is sub-par you have a hole into your roof and your electrical systems, and then you have to rip the whole lot off. At least with the standalone systems the fixings are under the tiles and do not compromise the integrity of the roof itself. Alternatively with the Tesla offering, the tile and panel are one and the same.
This would be my main concern. If you look at 2:13 there isn't even any sealant around the hole at the back. I would at least have liked to see that gap around the junction box potted with epoxy or silicone.
@@DEADB33F exactly my concern. Once you get a roof leak you are going to need to test integrity of a large number of tiles to find the faulty tile. Also flat concrete tiles are fairly rare where I live. How flexible are planners going to be if I change my roman tiles to flat?
It's perfectly easy just to replace one tile without removing the whole roof, probably easier and cheaper than replacing a conventional panel if part of that fails.
Great and innovative idea however I can see a few flaws that may need overcoming to make it viable to the mass market, all those connectors are tucked away and not accessible so not great if faults occur (is there a greater potential risk of fire by concealing like this?) and I’d be interested to see what seals the cell to the tile and how long that sealant lasts considering a huge hole has been cut in the tile making water ingress more likely over time?
The first time I saw a solar tiled roof (well it was solar slates actually) would have been 5 plus years ago. Whilst I think it's a good idea for conservation areas or retro when reroofing listed buildings, I think something totally different is called for on new builds. I've only ever built one roof, 2000 sq. ft of concrete tiles, I always say if I had to do it again I would use 'tin', composite large sheets for low rise buildings looks like a possible solution.
@fullychargedshow The situation is worse than you think... A chap I met was buying a new build just west of Swindon, Not only wouldn't the builders offer ANY sort of PV as an option, the deeds on the house prevented him from installing them for three years.... I assume that if PV was installed the electric company would refuse to connect them to the grid ? Solar PV should be mandatory !
Hi I remember a company doing solar roof tiles at least 15 years ago and maybe it was 20. I am sure it was Marley,, but it did not take off I assume due to price at the time.
A very attractive proposition, if the degradation rates aren’t sub-par. Would be nice to see if highly efficient, attractive and cost effective windows could also be developed. Maybe something energy companies should be investing R&D money into right now...
Tesla's solution will be much cheaper long term. Labor cost can be significant, so simple and fast installation is important too, not just manufacturing cost.
I looked heavily into solar and actually decided to go with traditional panels after reading horror stories about "roof tile" solar panels overheating and some even catching combustible underlayment on fire in southwest regions. Do your research for your region and if you live in the south west USA make sure you have adequate ventilation behind the panels so they operate efficiently and last as they are advertised!
Please send me your research/horror stories about solar roof tiles overheating. Having produced these tiles for 10 years we are not aware of any individual failure caused by overheating, and certainly causing a building to catch fire would have been reported, followed by a claim for damages. Our tiles remain cooler than glass faced traditional solar modules, the mass of concrete tile acts as a heat sink, and we use cut cell technology to ensure that our tiles do not suffer from reduced performance due to heat build up. One of our early installations is in Egypt, and is still operating to its maximum.
imagine those tiles under 3 feet of snow, just when you need the most energy being produced? also, the cost is 3 to 4 times the cost of any roof in North America and those tiles are not available anywhere other than EU, so no availability of materials, no return on a cost that is 3 to 4 times more than regular and no electricity production during at least 5 months out of the year also the electricity rate in North America is so low that it would take 100 years to just pay for the tiles and no electricity so you still have to pay for it, where is the value?\Why would anyone install a solar roof if they are not living in a very hot country where it is efficient at least most of the time? I have an electric car because I do not drive a lot and electricity is extremely cheap here, I spend 1 pound per charge or 1 pound per week on charging my car for 165km range. 1 pound for a 40 kilowatt of charge per week. why would I pay 30 pounds per tile to produce electricity that cost less than 10 cents per kilowatt?
It is about time to democratise and distribute energy production but I’m not convinced this is the right approach we need to think better roofing solutions in general. Tiles on the roof is like 100s of years old tech. Still it seems like a step in the right direction and better than doing nothing/the same as usual. Obviously as tech spreads and matures prices go down.
I'm concerned about roof water leakage through the circular holes in the tiles when the panel isn't fully sealed to the tile due to weathering or poor installation. Another potential issue is a lack of "test points" to enable quick identification and location of faults without removing lots roof tiles - with hundreds of MC-4 connectors you are guaranteed to see the odd bad connection and potential arcing within connections in the roof structure which could be hard to find and could present a safety risk. If these concerns can be addressed then they are onto a winner.
Sorry this was one of the least convincing products discussed on fully charged. High voltage as a plus? I don't think so. Be great fun when the building catches fire. Undisconnectable DC wiring burning. Lovely (not). Dynamic load on roof? Only because of the standard mounting system on rails. My panels sit in trays that are an integral part of the roof. Standard panels and micoinverters are the way to go.
Great idea for a listed buildings where solar would otherwise not be possible. Until the price comes down they're still going to be far too expensive for most though. How are the solar cells glued to the tiles? and what's the long-term duration of that glue like? If the glue fails you have tiles with holes in the middle all over your roof. I think I'd at least like to have seen the holes at the back sealed around the edge with silicone sealant or something like that.
@@chrishall409 Thanks Chris. I take it more glue is applied than can be seen on the cell used as an example at 2:00? (as that doesn't seem to be particularly good coverage) Would have been nice if Robert had covered some of this in the video as it seems most of the questions here are asking about stuff like this. Great to see you're clearing things up though.
in the Canadian climate, the roof will leak. Seen ice lift regular shingles that are overlapped half their length. If water can migrate and freeze up several inches on a standard pitched roof than freeze, these things don't have a chance.
Ok, when it comes to costs, and please feel free to correct me on this: from the video, a traditional concrete tile is £1 (making it £10 per square meter). A solar tile is £30 (making it £300 per square meter). Essentially this roof is 30 times more expensive than a traditional roof. The economics work a little bit better if you compare a roof tiled with solar tiles to a normal roof plus panels BUT not by much. I am all in on solar (have panels on my roof) but I’m not sure the economics of these type of solar tiles makes enough sense. Also, version 3 of the Tesla solar tiles just got cheaper. I cannot remember the exact figures right now but I remember them being far more competitively priced compared to traditional roofs. Again, I reserve the right to be completely wrong here and I stand to be corrected.
It would be cheaper and better to get a standing seam metal roof and regular solar panels. You dont screw through the roof to attach the panels as they clamp onto the metal seam. These solar tiles are retarded and driven by rich, vain people who dont want their house to look funny.
The reason you can have a tile that is 30X more expensive but only add 50 percent to the overall cost is that the labour cost makes up such a big part of the cost of any installation.
@@instanoodlesNot just rich vain people but it likely also going to be drive by people who live in conservation areas who aren't allow traditional solar roofs.
Apparently Tesla are now working with third party installers in US, and I came across a piece from the head of (I think) Good Faith energy with a picture of his Tesla-cvered roof, and it it has hips, gables the works. So it looks as if they have progressed from simple rectangular sloped roofs
that is a good question as well. those thin solar panels usually have a very short lifespan. also they did not talk about for how long the warranty is.
@@ursodermatt8809 Personal side question, you seem to be from Switzerland ...... are you in the solar business? Looking around for products and services in Switzerland ....
Neat. You do have to be careful at installation though. All it would take is forgetting to make one connection in the row to ruin your day as you go back through all of the panels trying to find the missing connection. It occurred to me that if they made the connection a part of the edge of the tile, then they'd (theoretically) connect automatically when they were installed. Of course, the problem with that idea is it'd be REALLY difficult to remove a tile in the middle if it has to be replaced for whatever reason. Maybe a sliding connector? {shrug} I'm curious, is the whole roof tiled with this, or only the sun facing side? The other side would get sunlight, just not as much and the tiles wouldn't create as much electricity.
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As a hang glider pilot, I often find myself looking down on acres of roof space and wondered why new builds couldn't be legislated to have some kind of solar. I know it's not as straight forward as that but these panels seem like a great idea and get my vote.
they can, if we would tax hang gliding to pay for it....
@@nc3826 just as long as I can keep the duty free.
@Just think I did say it wasnt straight forward.
@Bagheera I see where you're coming from.
Read ages ago about a block of flats in Brooklyn that wired in their own, off grid solar roof, paid for by the community for the community. With the pandemic and all, with communities focussing on the benefits of Local, perhaps some funding from somewhere would be nice as an incentive. Great content, Fully Charged!
What a fantastic idea! All new houses houses should have these.
Absolutely, if I owned my roof it would have these invisible panels.
I stumbled across your channel a few months ago, and it was bothering me wher I'd seen your face, then it came to me. Scrapheap Challenge.. CH4.. Great programme. Now here's the sinic in me, the big Big house builders should be made to do this, by law. Make every single new home self sufficient, not just power/heating, everything. Water, sewage everything. We have a farm, and spent £80,000 on solar set up, And not jut solar, wind power too. And on top of that We collect all the rain water, filter it, clean it, etc etc,, we have a bacteria septic waste system, never needs emptying, looks after its self. Yes, it costs money, but in the 5 years we've had it up+running it has now paid fit it's self.. We are almost now completely self sufficient. Even food now we grown ourselves, This is the future.
I think all new builds should require solar roofing of this kind. Economies of scale would drop the price and considering how long buildings last, they'd pay for themselves many times over in the course of their lifetime.
Absolutely! That solar hasn't been mandatory on all new builds in recent years is such a missed opportunity
100%. The government has missed a trick by not making this compulsory on new build and replacements.
@Scratchy Ballzack That can be a way for supporting green transition from the government. They should pay the price difference between regular tiles and solar tiles as subsidy when you are installing new roof or renovating old one.
@Scratchy Ballzack We need a decent government!
@Scratchy Ballzack a fair point, I can't speak to American prices but in the UK all new build prices contain a very decent margin for the builder. Housing is ridiculously overpriced here too, my argument is that the free market has had plenty of time to do the right thing though.
I had this very idea 26 years ago while working on a roof putting anti vandal tiles on.....great idea and about time it became a standard on all new houses
That's great! The other thing I'd like to see is solar power installations on parking lots. They could shade the cars, generate power, and divert rain water before it washes through all the grease and oil left behind by vehicles. In the States we have car parks that seem to go on past the horizon, all completely exposed to the Sun. Might as well get something out of it!
Why not charge up large batteries and sell to the ev s parked there.
Sure absolutely - put EV charging options on the support legs for the solar panels.
You don't get oil and grease in EV's, just sayin'......
@@mraidymaddful crazy how that works, isn't it? ;)
This has been done in a few places. The problem is it's virtue signalling & like all such things really, there are easier ways. The supports get driven into and damaged, maintenance is a pain, panels can be accessed/damaged/stolen. Far easier/cheaper to just put the solar in secure compound in some waste ground.
in austria you get incentives when building a new house and meeting some certain standards/requirements. eletric solar on the roof should be part of these requirements.
The UK could easily add such requirements to schemes such as Starter Home scheme. But it won't.
@ Stefan: You have elected already a Green Party President, perhaps try to do that for your government too the next time. ;)
@@TerraPosse the junior partner of the goverment is the green party
@@kona6812 I realised after I wrote that however the operative word here is 'junior'. Unless you can somehow spin green policies as also being anti-immigration you are not likely to get any traction with the OVP.
We have those incentives in America too. For anything solar, energy saving, tankless water heaters, whole home generators, impact windows & doors, smart home tech, etc.
This is great!
Won't be competitive price-wise but great to see separate initiatives apart from tesla!
YES, absolutely yes !
And not only solar panels on the roof but power wall battery is mandatory !
@pete smyth :)
I live in the U.S. and this is an AWESOME idea. This I would say is better than Tesla’s.
This won't work in the US on most existing residential buildings. Most existing US residential structures are engineered to support an asphalt shingle roof, which is much lighter per square-foot than these tiles which weight 10 pounds a piece. It would work on new construction where the building is designed to take the extra weight, but it would not be possible to retrofit these kinds of roof tiles to most existing US residential buildings.
What is the matter with governments, are they all asleep, they should be proactive with technology dragging everyone to have the latest, environment saving, money saving, devices. I am buying a new home in Monmouth, it is a tired 1966 bungalow with a south facing roof. The house is badly insulated & a new roof may be needed. We need to be encouraged to bring property up to date. We need a Green Government Guru to advise us, it would be so useful, instead we have to weed out what is best all by ourselves. I am older & just want to get on with it all without delay. These solar tiles look to be a very good idea, I must investigate. Fully Charged is one of my favourite sites, thanks so much for all your valuable advice Robert, you are such a special man, all best to you!
LIKE if you'd like these solar tiles on your house & SHARE if you think all buildings should generate their own power! Full description below...
Yes, it's a roof, but it's no ordinary roof. This roof that Robert has come to see is made up from 900 solar tiles! These tiles deliver all the benefits of solar, but without the aesthetic compromise of huge panels added onto your roof that require systems and structures to manage the weight and connections. Surely all buildings should have solar?
For more information on the product featured, visit: tbsspecialistproducts.co.uk/pv/
OR
For more information on the Ergosun Integrated Solar Roof Tile please visit www.ergosun.com.
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*Timestamps*
0:00 Invisible Solar
1:21 World's Most Popular Roof Tile
2:37 Less Transportation Required
3:16 Popular with Self-Builders
4:19 Retrofitting Existing Housing Stock
4:58 Comparison with Solar Panels
6:42 Possibilities for Community Solar
8:00 What's the Cost Differential?
9:50 Comparison with Tesla Tiles
11:10 Time for the Building Industry to integrate Solar Tiles
11:50 In Summary
12:29 Thanks to Patreons & RUclips Members
12:55 Subscribe & Click the Notification Bell
How well does it resist to hail the size of an orange?
Regarding Tesla solar roof, nothing done in Europe can't be solved by their engineers I would say.
Some cases may be specific but you can have a non solar tile where you need to cut them. That's just something to plan when doing the quote.
@@JeremyHamaoui I've seen better solar tiles than both invisible solar and Tesla. Solecco (Si, recycled plastic, tempered polycarbonate), so super lightweight no need for Aluminium, concrete or glass. Much lower carbon footprint. Hailproof too.
@@robinjones5169 did you see the Solar roof v3 too? I've no expertise whatsoever in that field but confident Tesla can manage especially as it's a complete environment. Also they likely have an advantage on the software front. Thanks for your reply.
'We' would be more efficient & - cost effective' - & much more 'Secure' from Damage &/or deliberate tampering' & thefts' - for the same financial investment & installation's' & Expansions' capacity' with - SEC &/or 'Solid-State' - also with Graphene' super/Ultracaps' Technology than 'Solar' as solar is much less 'Real' Efficient'(approx' 14 to 24% ) than say Electro-magnetic' generators' & Solid State' & Lithium Titanite battery banks' for a lower cost but much less maintenance' & better 24/7/365' performances' to boot' > Also the Cost recovery time for Solar' is much longer from 'other' new technologies' available now' > ?? >>
In the 70’s they had solar or just ambient light powered calculators. I’m wondering when solar power will be incorporated into clothing because they already have battery powered clothes
Cracking vid. We said why didn’t everyone have these on newbuilds years ago. Cheers R👍
Well I have issues with my roof tiles as I type this and I do want to go solar, I might give these guys a call and see what is what. Nice.
Just remember hot tieles
Produce less
That's why solar is liftet off the roof
To cool the PV ..
This is a bad idea .. hot pv won't produce
@@kennethschultz6465 currently our in-roof (Exasun) PV is producing 1.65 kW as we speak on a cloudy day. Already seen 2.5 kW and waiting for a good day to see it finally reach it's peak output of 3 kW (it's on for two weeks now). So they can produce power! Probably a bit less, but it looks a lot better so there's that.
@@kennethschultz6465 my panels output about 30% more power when I give them a spray with the hose pipe but they still work.
Let me understand the proposition here. You are going to let these guys take a solid concrete tile and put a sizable hole in the middle of it and seal it with some glue and attach a plastic panel to it to sit out in the sun for decades? The panel has 1/3 the longevity of a solid tile (not sure the longevity of as tile with a hole in it). When the panel fails, you check all your panels and connections. You finally find the one that failed and you want to replace it... Just think it through. Maybe having panels attached on the outside is not that ugly after all?
At £30 per tile no thanks
Whether this system, Tesla solar roof or something else ought to be made more of a standard. I did back of the envelope calculation which says about 52m² on every household would give enough power for the whole country. And I am talking giving power to factories and such. The 52m² would cover more than the energy needs of the household itself. Households only consume about 30% of the power in a western country.
Obviously there are complicating factors here in that the power will not be delivered exactly when you need it. But it does give a sense of just how much potential there is in covering every roof. And 52m² is a pretty modest area. I would think a normal house roof is at least 80-100m².
But imagine having a house with 100m² solar panels. It will produce 75.00 kWh on average per day. That can charge up a typical Tesla car battery. However your average western household only needs about 10 kWh per day. So you actually got lots of power you can sell to the grid and make money. With the big Tesla car battery you can store this power and just sell it when there is demand to make a pretty penny.
And the neat thing about solar is that you can in principle expand as you got money. You don't need to build 100m², you could build smaller. Then make money off that for some years and later expand.
With the Tesla million miles battery and bidirectional charging we are going to see some crazy no opportunities for people to have energy independence and actually make money from their home house selling power.
£30 per tile seems steep to me but it's early days yet and I'm sure it will reduce. Looks the business though good on them.
Not every tile is solar so it's not like the whole roof will be 30 pounds per tile
@@darrenit7498 From my calculation a 3.6 kW system would need 240 tiles which is £7400, that's more than you would pay for conventional but the result neater and depending on your POV better.
Because it is MADE IN ENGLAND.
@@DogsBAwesome That's £7400 for the solar panels AND the roof tiles, the price for a conventional setup doesn't include the cost of the tiles which would be extra on a new-build or re-roof.
@@rogerbarton497 If you are having your roof re-tiled or it's a new build and you can afford it sure go for it.
I think new homes should be regulated to include renewable energy generation, water recovery (for gardens/toilets) and also higher construction standards to ensure that new homes are much more durable than the current batch of "disposable" homes that are currently thrown up.
Totally agree 👍🏼
I've been saying for the last 10 yrs all new builds should have at least 1kw per bedroom at construction to create a solar network across the country, still not sure about the batteries yet so I think we should sell what's made in the day and buy what's needed at night across countries. Overall there is still a cost but it should be about the same as what we have now, the win is a more stable grid energy and saving the planet.
Yes.
Not suitable if shaded though. For example a bungalow surrounded by trees.
What do you do during the winter when there isn't as much sun as in summer? You would have about 6 months of black out. You would still need nuclear, coal and gas powered stations.
they cost will come down. Good report, thank you for providing it
Please do a video about Marley's solar tile, which is the same size of a solar panel but integrates into the roof like a Velux window would so you save on the cost of concrete tiles.
With some investment this could be developed into a great off the shelf product. Chris obviously knows the needs of his part of the market. Some crowd-sourcing to develop G2 and onwards, with bigger capacity panels or larger tiles, improved wiring, etc, would help with this kind of thing, and it's great marketing too. With prices dropping as volumes grow, they could be a success.
Thank you Simon,we’ve already driven wasted costs out of the supply side of the product,and look forward to scaling the volumes to be able to reduce price as soon as we can
I'd be interested to see the actual price difference for the whole system vs a traditional roof with a traditional solar panel on it.
If you never knew, to give some context, the top of the range system from tesla (2022 solar roof tiles) are on avg 19% efficient, which is not anywere near the 23.8% some top-end panels produce, so realistic you only buy this solar tiles if you want a roof that looks alittle different but doesnt have big panels on it :)
Hell yeah, expensive solar tiles that mostly don't even face the sun!
Why didn't we think of this earlier?
In hot climate double roof is actually a benefit - it helps cool your house.
it also will prevent the roof from drying out properly. look underneath most roof systems that have had solar on them for a long time (aside from tile) and they are normally worn down prematurely. the sun is both the enemy & the friend of most roofs
@@BEATmyguest31 This is why a double-layer roof is actually a good thing.
You have the lower portion of the roof fully sealed, insulated and drained.
Between the two layers is a drainage plain and keeps the top deck cooler, extending the life of the roof itself.
I have a 17kw solar roof system with 2 Tesla powerall2 batteries. I run my house, and my shop on solar. My average electric bill (after solar credits) is -$410 per month (yes, that is a minus). Haven't paid an electric bill in over 2 years. It's wonderful.
where are you located and what was the installed price if I may ask?
Good to see, 50% premium for a pretty roof, roof tax, Tesla do have tiles that are non solar for edges and hips.... hhhmmm
Funny how the expert being interviewed did not know that :)
İ think he said his one can be solar on hips and smaller pieces
Whereas tesla ones you miss out
@@gedw99
of course you can cut glass. he is just trying to sell his stuff
@@ursodermatt8809 Tesla roof uses toughened glass so cutting it is not really possible
@@joeexception
yes, you are correct
They should certainly come with every new build
Nice to see a UK product/company doing this!
Tesla solar roof tiles don't go all the way to the edge. If you look carefully at their literature, you'll see standard matching tiles to cover edges, awkward bits & areas where solar doesn't make sense. As far as I'm aware, those tiles are cut to size on-site where necessary.
My one query about the fabulous solar tiles featured in today's video is how is the concrete made? Concrete manufacturing being very polluting CO2 wise. What mitigation measures are being used by the tile manufacturers to counter excess emissions? Perhaps advances in concrete manufacturing could be a topic for a future video.
£30 for a 15W panel? It's only a no brainer product when the price comes down to something more economically viable.
exactly it's very over priced currently!.
It may be overpriced for one household to have retrofitted. But a big saving when installed during construction- no labour costs for Installing solar panels and framework, no increased engineering costs related to making a roof strong enough to take the weight of panels. Thats a Winner for a construction firm.
looks like about a 7 year payback on simple terms
no worries, if this is indeed feasible, the chinese will make one for 5 pounds probably :)
But don’t forget, for your £30 you get a roof tile not just a 15 watt solar module.
As with all products, small batch hand made products are initially expensive, with volumes and related economies of scale, prices will continue to fall, in 2018 they were £34 each.
They use PTFE solar modules, which are bit better version of flexible solar modules, which are actually the worst(average life -3 years). The PTFE solar modules have average life of 5-7 years, in this case , since they have mounted this within a solid roof, the average life can be as much as 10+ years. In comparison, Normal glass solar modules have 25-30 years of warranty. I try to dig information from the link provided and although the company provide 30 years warranty on the actual roof there was no mention of the solar module because they get it from another company called viridiansolar. I went into check their site, but didn't find any warranty information on their PTFE modules. so if it has only 10+ years of average lifetime that would be a significant waste of resource. Anybody please correct me if I am wrong or you find some more information on this.
This to me is like hybrid cars, retrofitting new tech on to old tech, what about the environmental cost of the concrete roof tiles? It would surely be better to stop using century old roofing systems and use modern light weight roofs that require less timber to support them. Also the added cost of this system is crazy!! I believe we need to design and build with solar in mind, large flat rectangular roofs made with metal insulated panels with solar on top. The air gap helps cool the panels and increases efficiency, holding on to tradition will only hold us back!
For me this system is for those with more money than sense, we need affordable and sustainable solutions so that everyone can benefit. Also what about the time to install those panels on the tiles and cutting the hole in them? how much does that cost?
Part of a roofs stability is it's mass, but agreed concrete isn't the most environmentally friendly material, I've often thought there must be a better way. Idk what recycled materials would be suitable though given it must be fireproof, insulating, UV stable etc. USA style shingles are garbage, flat roofs are worse, get back to mining slate in a more sustainable way?? Also, yes £30 a tile is a ripoff!
Killua Zoldyck Flat roofs are the worst for solar, they need to be angled towards the sun. Panels on a flat roof would need to be mounted on an angled frame, so you might as well just build the roof with the appropriate slope. Insurance companies hate flat roofs for a reason- they are notorious for leaks. I agree about concrete roof tiles- personally I think traditional slate is still a good choice- it's relatively low carbon, it lasts well over a century, and top quality slates can be reclaimed and reused. In fact, good reclaimed welsh slate tiles reclaimed from old buildings are more in demand and hence more expensive than brand new ones!
@DrgnFlys Concrete roof tiles with holes probably won't last 100 years. Solar panels certainly won't last 100 years. How do you replace these in 20 years when they start failing? Do you keep the concrete tile and just replace the PV module? In 20 years this company will be long gone and you are stuck with a roof full of holes and no power. Bad idea!
@@spencerwilton5831 I never said flat roofs, i have installed enough solar to know that LOL, I'm talking about insulated roof panels like we use on commercial buildings here, but they use on houses in other countries. Much lighter, less framing as they are themselves structural. Easy to install and easy to put solar panels on.
@DrgnFlys I never said flat roofs, i have installed enough solar to know that LOL, I'm talking about insulated roof panels like we use on commercial buildings here, but they use on houses in other countries. Much lighter, less framing as they are themselves structural. Easy to install and easy to put solar panels on.
Every house should have this. I have just bought a brand new house and the builders would not offer us solar panels of any description, I was appalled. If I want solar panels I have to have someone come in after we move in and retrofit.
Cost me £500 just for scaffolding, 3 stories high.
It just makes sense when you can recess panels and save the cost and weight of some roofing tiles.
Installer: "Its about 30 pounds a tile"
Interviewer: "...oh . . .wow"
$27,000 just for the tiles on this roof. Not a hater at all - I hope we all have this one day on every roof but there is a reason why we dont at the moment.
That would be $34,500 dollars, not £27,000 pounds going to be a very long time before that becomes viable for your average housebuilder or even self builder
@Bagheera These tiles should weigh about the same as the normal concrete tiles. The hole drilled through the concrete tile should offset the weight of the photovoltaic panels and wiring. I do agree, however, that the price is a bit steep.
@@TheGuyThatEveryoneIgnores drilling holes in tiles... sounds like a leak waiting to happen, considering every tile has a hole in it!!
I worked for Mitsubishi in Cirencester, we have 150 solar panels on warehouse roof, was done because we sold PHEV cars, the idea was we were charging cars with self generated electric power, we were ahead of the game
These look really nice, though it sounds like they’re using a single inverter per elevation which I think would suffer under patchy cloud cover vs a panelized system with an inverter for each panel.
It really is infuriating isn’t it when you see a field full of solar panels and a bunch of warehouses next door with none. Or if there’s a huge parking lot the same size right next to it. Or a giant housing development with no panels installed! It really is shameful I think to not fit panels to the many convenient spaces left in our built world and steal nature instead.
This is what is normal in South Australia. Only problem is those that don’t have Solar panels get bill shock during summer
Abram McCalment we are actually installing a single inverter for the entire project, with separate mppt trackers for each elevation.
Each tile has a bypass diode to optimise output individually removing the issue caused by partial shading.
I have Tesla roof tiles on my roof my system is 14.97kwh and it makes 50 to 70 kwh per day even on cloudy days.
with 2 inverters.
@@Slebonson The problem with Tesla tiles, as Chris explained very well, is that if you have a US style roof with gable ends you are OK, but only if the roof is a whole multiple of tiles long and wide. These solar tiles are identical in appearance to the non-solar, which can be cut to fit. Could you do that 4 aspect roof with Tesla? No.
One thing that was not covered on this video which would be interesting is whether this technology is useful for retrofitting an existing roof in comparison to using the more typical modules. While my knowledge of roofing products is limited I am aware that there are all different sizes of tiles available, especially once you get to the more traditional slate roofing.
What is with the heating up of the panels in direct sunlight? As I recall solar panels loose efficiency when their temperature rises and the traditional way of building a solar roof enables the panels to have cooling by fresh air being able to circulate underneath the panels, isn't it? So these roof tiles would have a worse efficiency?
Good question. Anyone know?
As a guess I'd day having them on a cement tile would help dissipate the gest into the tile somewhat. But that's just a guess. The roof is still black after all and cement can hold heat for a while so not really sure still. Good point though.
I don’t suspect peak temperatures are much higher, largely since I also suspect air cooling benefit under a normal panel is negligible. Now. . . add water cooling and harvest the waste heat to pre-heat hot water and reduce heating load in the winter and you’ll have an extra high performance roof!
I was thinking the same thing, maybe only good for cooler climates
It is part of the reason why I am skeptic of this. The other is that it is likely much more serial panels connected in each array which can cause problems for the charge controller. Most likely you will end up with a more expensive multiple charge controller solution if you go with this system than just adding larger panels.
Shipping just the solar plate makes sense, but cutting holes in concrete tiles, then forming an intricate loom of wiring seems very tedious & labour/time intensive.
As a suggestion, maybe manageably-sized semi-rigid foam sections, which have pre-installed bus-bars embedded, along with waterproof click together electrical connectors.
Foam being light & having insulative properties could make the complete install process very efficient & cost-effective.
Fantastic Robert! It’s Chris’s slate I’ve been looking at for our North Devon project I mentioned in our discussion earlier in the week about wind turbines and tidal. It’s a shame he didn’t have the slate to show off too but they are lighter and do exactly the same job. This is exactly what the government should be supporting. Soooo much potential out there. Great to see them going on a roof, thank you! 👍👍👍👍
Mark Jarvis I’ll drop off a sample of the slate version on a Tuesday
Regards
Chris
What's the point of using these with slate? You're only going to be covering them anyway aren't you?
@@MrGonzonator If you have a listed building with a slate roof or live in certain areas where slate roofs are mandated so they match other properties in the area then you don't get a choice.
@@DEADB33F wow, thats a truly absurd rule. If you have solar panels covering your roof, why should anyone care what's underneath them?
@@MrGonzonator In these cases as James referred too, over-roof solar panels would not be permitted either. At least not on a roof that can be seen by anyone or from anywhere.
In 2008 I project managed a new housing estate in Lytham St Anne's, building 111 social housing homes for rent. The scheme included two large blocks of 85 flats in total. All were built to Code for Sustainable Homes Level 4. The apartment blocks had solar interlocking roof tiles, provided by a UK company called Solar Century. The solar tiles were called C21E. Each solar tile was the length of three concrete tiles and interlocked with the concrete tiles and were wired in series. Like Tesla, this video gives the gives impression this manufacturer invented the concept of solar tiling interlocking with traditional roof tiles in 2010. In reality, Solar Century were doing the same, albeit with triple length rather than individual tiles, years before. We used the solar power generated to subsidise the energy used in the communal areas, to reduce service charges for lighting and lifts. From the ground, the solar arrays were virtually invisible. The scheme was loved by the local town planners.
Thanks, I actually started with Edilians solarmax, the predecessor to c21e, and still install today, the tiles are the first actual tile size product, that is not covered with glass
I like the idea of decentralising power generation
Given that most of the electrical power currently generated is lost during transmission, the closer we can generate the power to where it is consumed, the better.
Yes they should especially those big boxes of buildings should have solar and if room windmills it may not totally provide all the of their power needs but every bit they make for their own use is less taken from the grid.
There are lots of those big box warehouse going up where I live now and I don't think Solar is part of the planning.
California needs to this.
The process is still wrong.
You don’t NEED a cement tile backing the solar panel.
The purpose of the cement tile is to protect the waterproof sheet.
If the solar panel can do that alone, you don’t need a heavy, expensive, cement tile.
Just make the solar panels a little more robust to protect the waterproof underlayment fabric!
Not only that, the cement tiles hold heat!
Without them, the solar panels would stay cooler.
The cement tiles are dead cheap and ubiquitous. Making the solar tile do it all is much more expensive- like the Tesla tiles.
Cement is really bad for the environment due to the enormous co2 output of production. So do away with cement.
Correct - its pointless. Same thing as normal tiled roof and solar panels, except much more expensive and difficult to install. Better concept would be to eliminate the tiles all together and design the roof to integrate purpose designed larger panels..
Mr. Quindazzi, cement tiles are not cheap. Plus they are a unnecessary heat sink. Keeping temperatures Higher, for quicker degradation of solar panels. And less effective electric production.
Mr. Quindazzi. A simple rigid edge of plastic is all you need. It wouldn’t cost more than a few more pennies per panel.
Such a fantastic idea and it is more expensive but your energy costs will be lower over time 👍
Question - if the rows are done in series, what happens when a panel fails and causes the entire set of panels to fail. How hard is it to find the faulty panel and fix it?
I suspect you get the same problem with conventional panels. If it fails open circuit you lose the row, if it fails short circuit you get lower output. i suppose to find the fault you get up there with a voltmeter!
@@rogerbarton497 Good luck with that. The only way to access the wires is by removing panels. Basically you'd end up removing a big chunk of the roof to find a fault.
I was wondering this as well. I wonder if you could access the cabling from behind. I also wondered if these are interchangeable with normal roofing tiles in the event a panel failed (in a way it was letting water in) and the company was no longer around.
@@rogerbarton497 Many panels come with micro inverters now a days. These will often be able to detect if a panel is producing output, and if not, disconnect the panel from the series. This way you never lose a full series of panels.
Brian Jensen exactly how SolarEdge works and it also tells you which panel is at fault so less need to guess
It would be good to get a cost benefit analysis for a residential property. Great video
I'd love to have these modules. Can they be attached to old-fashioned slate?
I’ve been talking to Chris over the last 12 months and they have developed a man made slate that looks very much like a natural slate even down to mimicking the cut edge of a natural slate. We are hoping to use them on our build next year all being well. 👍
no
@Buster Jangle How does having a slate roof make you a Tory? Life long labour voter here, and I dont want to put a cement roof on my house from 1907...
@Buster Jangle lmao - that makes jeremy corbyn a closet tory....
@Buster Jangle You craaaazy bro! :D
Looks good new, the integrity is all down the the adhesive so would have been good to hear what has been done to ensure the durability over a 50+ year lifespan? Weather and UV degradation tends to break down adhesives? The you’ve got a big hole in every tile! We have wavy concrete tiles but presumably flat tiles are an easy enough swap if we ever need a new roof. Bolting normal tiles over the top is more likely for us I think.
Where I live there are roughly 165,000 homes, it would be amazing if they all had solar rooftops.
@Just think just stop
I found this really quite interesting. As a slow convert I was immediately taken by the fact that you made no effort to put any costs to the extra building work required (I may have missed it) and just gave the additional cost of the tile over conventional. To convert folks like me you need to be completely transparent.
there are no extra costs to the building work. Roof tilers are paid to lay tiles or solar tiles, no difference. We supervise and ensure electrical connections are made in the correct manor, which is included in the cost of the installation.
@@chrishall8738 Sorry, I understood that the roof structure needed enhancing to take the extra weight?
@@goliver3846 No, the roof structure is already designed to take the weight of the tiles, so we are not adding any extra loading, unlike bolt on top solar, which adds both extra static deadload, and dynamic load as wind blows across the roof.
Just the video I needed, really wanted a Tesla roof, but God knows when they will come to the UK. Might settle with a UK based company.
You can only hope they never do -;you'll spend the rest of your life paying back the loan .......!
Don't bother normal solar panels. You can almost buy 400w panels for 140 bucks. Whats the point 🤔
You're not settling. Support someone who has worked in the industry for decades and knows how to install roofs. Not some pipe dream company run by teenagers and fresh grads with little experience outside of poached talent.
Tesla tiles are shit, they're workers work in appalling conditions and they are over priced and set on fire. Why in the world do you want one. Daddy Elon isn't going to let you suck him off if you do.
Why would you even want to send your money to a non-UK company if you live in UK? Second, Tesla tiles would have to be shipped across half of the world in their full shape. Sure they are lighter, but still entire roof has to sail across the seas.
Bob should dress up as Kryten doing this. It would be so much more fun.
It's awesome seeing builders with clean energy generation in mind, along with storage as well ! So cool
Looks very interesting. We have 40 panels (13.6 kW) on a steel roof. I don't find the standard panels ugly and we like the way snow slides off. Living in Canada, you don't get any, zero, zip production when the panels are covered. This system looks good in an area where concrete roof tiles are used, but the added cost is quite a bit over a panel. We have a SolarEdge inverter which uses modules on each panel so we know if a single panel is down. Without a system like that, you can have a bad panel which seriously harms your solar production and you are none the wiser. Perhaps they add a module like that to every 15 panel groups?
Solar is the most "no brainer" - clean power IMHO.
Properties of all kinds have lots of roof space + car parks (for e.g.) offer giant surface areas.
And as other people have commented, the right incentives and economies of scale will make it a ton cheaper in a short amount of time!
I love these solar tiles - let it be the first of many!
@barefoot arizona You've totally missed the point
This is the best roof tile solar system I have seen so far in terms of percentage of the roof that can be covered. Some others only got 50% (or less) of each tile. There is however - the same Achilles heel as all the other roof tile systems: Way too many connections. The simple truth is that say 16 roof panels is 16 connections whereas 160 roof tiles is 160 connections IE 10 times more likely to fail due to connector issues.
It is easy to get excited by new technologies and applictions but I so think that this could be a real game changer on new builds or even with complete new roofs as it would attract far less negativity from planners, especially in more sensitive areas.
I like the aesthetics, but wonder if the price premium is worth it over an inset solar array I.e, a system that replaces the roof tile and sits flush with the edges and hips. Nice video though, and good luck to the guys.
An encouraging technology now in the UK. But it’s success will come down to large scale production dropping price significantly for mass adoption.
Good luck to them 👍
I did watch. You are welcome. And thanks to you too.
I would like to thank Mark & Julie from Batley, W. Yorks for the first order as a result of seeing the tiles on this episode.
We are to provide the full roof for their new build, which includes 6 kWp of solar tiles, 10 kWhours of battery storage, and all inverters etc for less than £22,000.
That actually doesn't sound too unrealistic. I'd like a link to the website too please.....
I work on solar farms and many of our string faults come from the MC4 connections. This roof has hundreds of these connections and would be a nightmare to find a faulty one.
Apart from that l like the concept and the look.
This we appreciate, however, AlLL of our connections are behind the tiles protected from the elements and animal damage, unlike exposed fittings in solar farms. In 10 years of installations we have not been back to a single breakdown, (fingers and toes crossed)
Loved it! It blows my mind that you’re doing solar roofs in the UK or Germany and yet those are rare as hell here in Spain 🇪🇸...
I believe it’s too hot in Spain. My mom lives there and that’s what she was told. 🤷🏼♂️
There are now tiles which have active cooling that have a heat pump, as part of the system, for heating some water
Scott Wills Nonsense. Here in Australia it is hotter than Spain and rooftop solar is massive here.
Spain has hot water solar tanks on the roofs, and it does have solar farms but wind turbines seem to be the majority of power by other means 21% of used electric in 2019.
@@scottwills4698 drivel
I would be concerned about the adhesive bond between the panel and tile. Roofing materials have to deal with huge temperature swings, and the thermal expansion properties of the two materials will be very different. I'm not concerned about the panel detaching (although possible) I would be concerned about water ingress via the hole through which the cables pass. You shouldn't rely on the underfelt.
when this is cheaper than normal solar it will be big but until that point I can't see this becoming mass market.
well it's never going to be cheaper than "normal" solar as these tiles have to do more than one thing.
900 solar tiles on this building at an extra 29 pound per tile - 26,100 extra. Seems alot.
Right. solar tiles have been around a long time (12 years?), but always significantly more expensive. Unless planners mandate them or you _really_ don't want the standard large panels they aren't very interesting and almost everyone picks the standard scheme. You can also get built-in standard panels and gasketed panels where the panels are the roof. France mandates BIPV (or did) so it's a lot more popular there.
Do hope they are fitted with an air gap as black glass gets extremely hot! During hot very sunny days can see that getting into the home even with best insulation.
@@GlenisRetiredNZ At 15W per panel it is a 13.5kW system, which can cost as much when done with panels. In theory the solar roof goes on as one build and would be cheaper than building a roof and then hiring a separate crew to install solar panels. Also, that is a tile roof and while you can put panels on one I have heard that the frames they need to use for it are fugly. Plus, why would you get a tile roof in the first place and then cover it up even if you don't think panels look bad?
I don't think installers are incompetent enough to cause leaks these days, but putting the panels on frames that allow wind under them for cooling also means a stiff wind risks pulling up the frame, at which point it might go flying away if it is not nailed to your roof and could rip off your roof if it is. Many installers actually seem to advertise how they set the panels flush with the roof to avoid making them stand out, so I don't know how valid the argument about panels getting better cooling because air gets below them is anyway.
TL;DR: It's never going to be cheaper than just solar panels, but if you are building a new roof you can get more solar power on it at same or cheaper price and make it look better than if you added panels.
Amazing...Would love them on my roof...Maybe when it come to re-roofing in 10yrs time if we have not got other solar before then.
Invisible Solar.. Love the ring of that..
Though, I also like the look of "traditional" solar panels
Only there not invisible... you can clearly see which tiles have panels on and which don't, better to stick to traditional panels!!
@@killuazoldyck1352 why is it better? Why would adding dynamic stress to the roof be better? Putting "types of stress" on the roof that the roof was never designed for is better? Please give your reasoning?
@@ColinRichardson roofs are designed to handle dynamic stress, a roof acts like a large aerofoil, it is subject to high pressure wind loads and low pressure wind loads depending on the direction of the wind. That guy was clearly selling his product and trying to justify the huge extra cost. How many roofs with traditional solar panels have failed because of dynamic stress? Also the extra materials concerns me, 2 MC4 connectors per 15w instead of 2 MC4 connectors per 250w, plus the little junction boxes. to me that is wasteful, larger panels are far more environmentally friendly and efficient. Fault finding would be a nightmare to, that many panels in series would make it hard to find a fault. To me this product is badly floored, it has been around for a long time and barely anyone has used it because from an engineering point of view it makes no sense, nothing more than a gimmick like hybrid cars.
@@killuazoldyck1352 Sorry, I got 6 words in and already stopped reading, since you obviously read my comment but didn't comprehend it.. Try again.. If you comprehend it the second time around and you comment I'll possibly read it more fully.
Wish Robert could have asked about durability too and how it compares with that of standard solar panels. I can imagine that with the panels being glued to the concrete tiles, the panels might be exposed to greater fluctuations in temperature throughout the day. Wonder if that might affect their lifetime.
Unfortunately in the "Comparision with Solar Panels" two, imho, major disadvantages were left untouched:
1) no cooling for the panels, actually they are heated up by the tiles - which means a great loss in efficency and also in longevity
2) in electrical installations the connectors are usualy (in long term) the most probable point of failure - and here we have a lot of them. And we are talking of a lifespan for a roof of more then 20-25 years...
It's for sure better then no solar at all - but for the sake of transparency this should be also pointed out
Great comment
Also, no way to "aim" the panels for the best view of the sun
Yes I thought of that also.
There are plenty of in roof PV systems available
50 % of that 30 pounds per solar tile is just in the connector
This is a brilliant and beautiful idea. However, the same argument seems to arise when the discussion turns to price. 50% premium is a lot. I really hope we can get over the price issue and bring it into the realms of reality.
Was so excited then you lost me when the price was discussed.
I know right!
It does seem a lot, but to make a fair comparison you'd need the price of a non-solar tile roof + the price of an installed solar system on top of it. Remember, this isn't just your solar system, it's your entire roof. Still sounds very expensive though....
The cost is approx 50% dearer than an ugly bolt on solar system, but fir that increased cost you get a roof as well as the solar
Dan Franklin
What you say is true, but on a new build what’s an extra 5-7 grand over a normal solar setup. It won’t add that much to the mortgage repayment.
The Tesla sole roof tiles, are cheaper than a new roof and solar!
I want to go a step further. It should be illegal not to put solar panels on a new building.
@pete smyth Here in the Netherlands every year 10.000 people die early as a direct result from the air pollution. Before they die they are sick for a long time. And my country keeps buying gas from dictator Putin. So yeah, things need to change.
My only concern with these is that each tile is individually glued on. How will these adhesives cope with 25 years worth of winters with frost creeping in between the layers? If even one is sub-par you have a hole into your roof and your electrical systems, and then you have to rip the whole lot off.
At least with the standalone systems the fixings are under the tiles and do not compromise the integrity of the roof itself. Alternatively with the Tesla offering, the tile and panel are one and the same.
Freeze at 1:46 to see what I mean.
This would be my main concern.
If you look at 2:13 there isn't even any sealant around the hole at the back. I would at least have liked to see that gap around the junction box potted with epoxy or silicone.
@@DEADB33F exactly my concern. Once you get a roof leak you are going to need to test integrity of a large number of tiles to find the faulty tile.
Also flat concrete tiles are fairly rare where I live. How flexible are planners going to be if I change my roman tiles to flat?
@@DEADB33F perhaps the adhesive that fixes the panel to the tile seals round the hole
It's perfectly easy just to replace one tile without removing the whole roof, probably easier and cheaper than replacing a conventional panel if part of that fails.
Great and innovative idea however I can see a few flaws that may need overcoming to make it viable to the mass market, all those connectors are tucked away and not accessible so not great if faults occur (is there a greater potential risk of fire by concealing like this?) and I’d be interested to see what seals the cell to the tile and how long that sealant lasts considering a huge hole has been cut in the tile making water ingress more likely over time?
concrete tile not very environmental
what's the offset?
given that the foor will have the concrete tiles anyway , there is not much difference.
It's not so bad when you consider that a well laid roof can last for 100+ years.
meanwhile... roadways are laughing at the tiny amount of concrete going onto your roof.
The first time I saw a solar tiled roof (well it was solar slates actually) would have been 5 plus years ago. Whilst I think it's a good idea for conservation areas or retro when reroofing listed buildings, I think something totally different is called for on new builds. I've only ever built one roof, 2000 sq. ft of concrete tiles, I always say if I had to do it again I would use 'tin', composite large sheets for low rise buildings looks like a possible solution.
@fullychargedshow The situation is worse than you think... A chap I met was buying a new build just west of Swindon, Not only wouldn't the builders offer ANY sort of PV as an option, the deeds on the house prevented him from installing them for three years.... I assume that if PV was installed the electric company would refuse to connect them to the grid ?
Solar PV should be mandatory !
Hi I remember a company doing solar roof tiles at least 15 years ago and maybe it was 20.
I am sure it was Marley,, but it did not take off I assume due to price at the time.
That is the biggest belly button I’ve ever seen but anyway great video!
A very attractive proposition, if the degradation rates aren’t sub-par. Would be nice to see if highly efficient, attractive and cost effective windows could also be developed. Maybe something energy companies should be investing R&D money into right now...
Solar Roof Tiles - Tesla over engineered their Tiles . The tiles in this video are a brilliant move makes it Industry standard overnight .
Nonsense, solar roof tiles aren't a new idea, a company started making those over 20 years ago
Alan May lol 😂 we all know that 😂 . We’re looking at the implementation of the Solar
Tesla's solution will be much cheaper long term. Labor cost can be significant, so simple and fast installation is important too, not just manufacturing cost.
Cameron Scott At triple the price
For now
@@andrasbiro3007 just like other companies products will be cheaper too
I looked heavily into solar and actually decided to go with traditional panels after reading horror stories about "roof tile" solar panels overheating and some even catching combustible underlayment on fire in southwest regions. Do your research for your region and if you live in the south west USA make sure you have adequate ventilation behind the panels so they operate efficiently and last as they are advertised!
Please send me your research/horror stories about solar roof tiles overheating. Having produced these tiles for 10 years we are not aware of any individual failure caused by overheating, and certainly causing a building to catch fire would have been reported, followed by a claim for damages. Our tiles remain cooler than glass faced traditional solar modules, the mass of concrete tile acts as a heat sink, and we use cut cell technology to ensure that our tiles do not suffer from reduced performance due to heat build up. One of our early installations is in Egypt, and is still operating to its maximum.
I do believe that governments around the world need to mandate that all new roofs must have solar of some kind
imagine those tiles under 3 feet of snow, just when you need the most energy being produced? also, the cost is 3 to 4 times the cost of any roof in North America and those tiles are not available anywhere other than EU, so no availability of materials, no return on a cost that is 3 to 4 times more than regular and no electricity production during at least 5 months out of the year also the electricity rate in North America is so low that it would take 100 years to just pay for the tiles and no electricity so you still have to pay for it, where is the value?\Why would anyone install a solar roof if they are not living in a very hot country where it is efficient at least most of the time?
I have an electric car because I do not drive a lot and electricity is extremely cheap here, I spend 1 pound per charge or 1 pound per week on charging my car for 165km range. 1 pound for a 40 kilowatt of charge per week. why would I pay 30 pounds per tile to produce electricity that cost less than 10 cents per kilowatt?
It is about time to democratise and distribute energy production but I’m not convinced this is the right approach we need to think better roofing solutions in general. Tiles on the roof is like 100s of years old tech. Still it seems like a step in the right direction and better than doing nothing/the same as usual. Obviously as tech spreads and matures prices go down.
Haven’t watched the video but yes absolutely every house should have solar panels and battery storage
Can't understand why south facing tower block walls aren't being clad with solar collectors.
I would guess many of them aren't expecting to be there in 25 years
Solar Freakin' Rooftiles!
🤣
As smart as Solar Roads
Kenneth Schultz we need solar hats then we can charge Our phones while outside enjoying nature.
@@ZzHasbrozZ there's lots of companies that make solar phone chargers already. They've been around for several years.
Carie Saad I don’t remember why I commented on his comment to begin with. Maybe he edited the comment. I was probably trying to make a joke.
I'm concerned about roof water leakage through the circular holes in the tiles when the panel isn't fully sealed to the tile due to weathering or poor installation. Another potential issue is a lack of "test points" to enable quick identification and location of faults without removing lots roof tiles - with hundreds of MC-4 connectors you are guaranteed to see the odd bad connection and potential arcing within connections in the roof structure which could be hard to find and could present a safety risk. If these concerns can be addressed then they are onto a winner.
Sorry this was one of the least convincing products discussed on fully charged. High voltage as a plus? I don't think so. Be great fun when the building catches fire. Undisconnectable DC wiring burning. Lovely (not). Dynamic load on roof? Only because of the standard mounting system on rails. My panels sit in trays that are an integral part of the roof. Standard panels and micoinverters are the way to go.
Great idea for a listed buildings where solar would otherwise not be possible.
Until the price comes down they're still going to be far too expensive for most though.
How are the solar cells glued to the tiles? and what's the long-term duration of that glue like?
If the glue fails you have tiles with holes in the middle all over your roof.
I think I'd at least like to have seen the holes at the back sealed around the edge with silicone sealant or something like that.
Cells are bonded with a modified structural polymer resin with a 30 year warranty
@@chrishall409 Thanks Chris. I take it more glue is applied than can be seen on the cell used as an example at 2:00? (as that doesn't seem to be particularly good coverage)
Would have been nice if Robert had covered some of this in the video as it seems most of the questions here are asking about stuff like this. Great to see you're clearing things up though.
BEST IDEA EVER IMO!! well done
in the Canadian climate, the roof will leak. Seen ice lift regular shingles that are overlapped half their length. If water can migrate and freeze up several inches on a standard pitched roof than freeze, these things don't have a chance.
Ok, when it comes to costs, and please feel free to correct me on this: from the video, a traditional concrete tile is £1 (making it £10 per square meter). A solar tile is £30 (making it £300 per square meter). Essentially this roof is 30 times more expensive than a traditional roof. The economics work a little bit better if you compare a roof tiled with solar tiles to a normal roof plus panels BUT not by much.
I am all in on solar (have panels on my roof) but I’m not sure the economics of these type of solar tiles makes enough sense. Also, version 3 of the Tesla solar tiles just got cheaper. I cannot remember the exact figures right now but I remember them being far more competitively priced compared to traditional roofs.
Again, I reserve the right to be completely wrong here and I stand to be corrected.
I think he said it works out 50% more than roof + conventional panels. Its an aesthetic choice at present, rather than an economic one.
It would be cheaper and better to get a standing seam metal roof and regular solar panels. You dont screw through the roof to attach the panels as they clamp onto the metal seam. These solar tiles are retarded and driven by rich, vain people who dont want their house to look funny.
Material costs, yes. But once you add in labour, scaffold etc. it works out at 50% more.
The reason you can have a tile that is 30X more expensive but only add 50 percent to the overall cost is that the labour cost makes up such a big part of the cost of any installation.
@@instanoodlesNot just rich vain people but it likely also going to be drive by people who live in conservation areas who aren't allow traditional solar roofs.
Apparently Tesla are now working with third party installers in US, and I came across a piece from the head of (I think) Good Faith energy with a picture of his Tesla-cvered roof, and it it has hips, gables the works. So it looks as if they have progressed from simple rectangular sloped roofs
How durable are they, I noticed the installer standing on them
that is a good question as well. those thin solar panels usually have a very short lifespan. also they did not talk about for how long the warranty is.
@@ursodermatt8809 Personal side question, you seem to be from Switzerland ...... are you in the solar business? Looking around for products and services in Switzerland ....
@@Hippabellita1
i have a swiss name live in australia though. please use google to look for your services.
@@ursodermatt8809 thanks for answering and have a great weekend!
Standing on solar panels, or these tiles, introduces cracks in the cells, that reduces the output power of that cell
He was a very knowledgeable and interesting guy.
Solar tiles are such a no-brainer. Great episode guys ☀️⚡☀️⚡
Neat. You do have to be careful at installation though. All it would take is forgetting to make one connection in the row to ruin your day as you go back through all of the panels trying to find the missing connection. It occurred to me that if they made the connection a part of the edge of the tile, then they'd (theoretically) connect automatically when they were installed. Of course, the problem with that idea is it'd be REALLY difficult to remove a tile in the middle if it has to be replaced for whatever reason. Maybe a sliding connector? {shrug}
I'm curious, is the whole roof tiled with this, or only the sun facing side? The other side would get sunlight, just not as much and the tiles wouldn't create as much electricity.