PayPal billionaire and inventor Elon Musk has revealed that his energy company SolarCity is working on a roof made entirely out of solar cells.
The new product was revealed during the company’s second quarter earnings call last week and will be aimed at customers with older rooftops who may be putting off a solar panel installation due to the time and cost needed for repairs.
The new product will be integrated with a Tesla backup battery pack to allow homeowners to use solar power even at night. Musk did not reveal many details of the product itself, however, he made it clear that his company will go after the roof industry with its new products as the market for home rooftop solar systems got more competitive.
Tesla, the electrical vehicle manufacturer of which Musk is CEO, is currently in the middle of a deal to buy SolarCity for £1.97bn to create the “world’s only vertically integrated sustainable energy company”. SolarCity is expected to introduce two new products before the end of the year, around the time Tesla and SolarCity are expected to close the merger.
“It’s a solar roof, as opposed to a module on a roof… it’s not a thing on a roof, it’s the roof,” said Musk, adding: “it’s something that will be a standout.”
The Telsa PowerWall battery is not a backup battery. Its an everyday use battery. If the battery has sufficient charge and your home electricity consumption exceeds the PV array output, stored electricity from the battery will be used for the home supply. A back up battery is what you use to provide electricity should the grid electricity fail or your everyday battery fails.