Solar roofing (NOT solar panels)

[AKcoyote]

Tesla and Solar City (soon to become one corporation under the Tesla name) have announced 4 varieties of solar roofing tiles. http://www.solarcity.com/residential/solar-roof Theoretically, these glass solar roofing tiles are more durable than conventional roofing lasting about 30-40 years as opposed to about 20-25 for asphalt roofing shingles. Also from street level, it is difficult to tell that the roofing is solar tiles rather than a more conventional roof.

 

My question for discussion is: If you needed to replace your roof and the cost of installing solar tiles were close to the cost of conventional roofing materials would you seriously consider installing a solar roof Exact costs of the Tesla/Solar City roofing products have not been released, but Elon Musk has hinted that the installed cost should be similar to conventional roofing products. I assume the additional equipment needed for a solar roof such as an inverter and battery system (Tesla Powerwall?) would not be included in the cost estimates referred to by Mr Musk.

 

Your thoughts

 

 

Personally, I think it is worth serious consideration in the right circumstances. Although my place, which was re-roofed in the past year (well before the announcement referred to above), would not be a good candidate due to too many trees shading the roof.

[neoJaguar]

I've seen these. Looks good... Would save money in the long run for sure, but the upfront is always going to be iffy.

[AKcoyote]

.... but the upfront is always going to be iffy.

That is why I posed the question as "IF the cost to install is near the cost of conventional roofing would you consider...."