I know there probably is a good reason, either the tech, financial trade offs, etc.
And I’m not a homeowner but I’ve been watching on the topic lately.
Wouldn’t serving as a roof have a significant offset to the true cost? Even at 50% off the roof?
It seems they do the opposite, build on the existing ones.
Edit roof not form
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Solar roofs are still a thing. Several companies are selling them.
It makes the most sense for a totally new build. If you’re building a new house from scratch and you want solar anyway, why not? I think it’s a great feature for brand-new high-end homes.
The average roof lasts 20 – 30 years. So that means that the vast majority of homeowners who are thinking of solar probably don’t need to replace their whole roof. That drastically limits the market to people who were about to replace their roof, or who have so much spare money they don’t care.
Another concern: you don’t need to cover your whole roof with solar to generate enough electricity for your home. I have a lot of solar panels on my roof, enough to completely offset my entire electric bill. It’s a lot of panels, but it’s less than half of my total roof area. (Also, often half of your roof is angled the wrong way and doesn’t get much sunlight.)
If I replaced my whole roof with solar, I’d be producing way more electricity than I need, for no benefit. If I produce extra, the utility company doesn’t pay me for it. They do give me credits towards electricity I consume – but once I reach “zero” I don’t get paid for any extra. So there’s incentive for me to offset my usage, but not to produce more than that.
Finally, there’s repair. I looked into Tesla’s solar roof and they get great reviews for the look and efficiency, but terrible reviews for service / repair if something goes wrong.
So as cool as they look, financially it just doesn’t make sense:
* I’d be replacing a roof that doesn’t need to be replaced for 10+ years
* I’d be buying way more panels then I need, for no benefit
* I’d be tying myself to parts / repairs from just one company, rather than being able to purchase replacements / repairs from any company in the future
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