While a number of people might be willing to plunge into the transition that’ll bring energy into their homes via solar panels, not everyone is willing to mangle and alter their own roofs for it, especially since fitting solar panels atop houses usually involves drastic remodelling, and nobody wants that amount of strain.
To that end, Tesla is now offering a first glimpse at its Panasonic-made solar panels which will lay atop one’s existing roof. Unlike alternative options readily available in the market, Tesla’s own solar panels will not be a pain to install and will not require drastic remodelling of any kind — the panels have “integrated front skirts and no visible mounting hardware,” proving no architectural obstructions whatsoever — or at least nothing too significant to cause elicit leering from onlookers.
This element of the new panels is thanks to Zep Solar, a company specializing in mounting equipment SolarCity acquired before the solar energy services company itself was acquired by Tesla.
This just means that while the panels will be conspicuous, they won’t be an eyesore; they’ll actually look slick and blend in with the roof construction, as you can see from the Tesla’s promotional photo. The renders were added when Tesla updated the Energy section of its website this weekend.
The new panels are a part of Tesla’s inked deal with Panasonic at the Gigafactory 2 in Buffalo. Panasonic will handle the manufacturing in-house, meaning at Tesla’s factory, for Tesla’s exclusive use. There are no plans to offer the panels to interested third-parties whatsoever.
Tesla says that once the new Panasonic module goes into production at the Gigafactory this summer, the panels will be used for all residential projects moving forward. As with the solar roof, the move to offer “sleek, low-profile” panels is CEO Elon Musk’s effort to offer solar products with better and more attractive aesthetics, as opposed to similar products in the market that forego ample consideration on that end.
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