- Published
Some people in the US "still hate the look of solar", Kate Collardson acknowledges.
asserted
Collardson → publish → solar
She would know.
asserted
She → know → ?
Collardson handles operations for the Solar Service of Colorado, a solar maintenance and inspection company.
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Collardson → handle → Colorado
She's also held just about every other job in the industry, from installer to instructor.
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She → hold → instructor
For those that hate the look of solar panels, an alternative is a solar roof, where the tiles (or shingles) house solar cells, but look much the same as regular tiles.
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tiles → hate → tiles
This is especially important for historic buildings, where heritage rules limit changes to their appearance.
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rules → limit → appearance
For many people, the first time they'd heard of this product category was in August, when Tesla's website stopped offering solar roofs, external.
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website → hear → roofs
This followed disappointing sales and a lawsuit over sudden price hikes, external.
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This → follow → hikes
Other companies have also pulled out, but Tesla's decision in particular sent shockwaves through the solar roof industry.
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decision → pull → industry
Some see it as a death knell for solar tiles; others, as an opportunity.
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others → see → opportunity
For instance, the small Swiss company Freesuns is considering expanding to the US.
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company → consider → US
Deborah Learoyd, Freesuns' CEO and managing director, estimates that the company's sales have grown 20–30% since it was established in 2019.
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it → manage → 2019
In general, solar roof components continue to be manufactured in smaller batches.
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components → continue → batches
This limits the economies of scale and standardisation, though flexible manufacturing could help somewhat.
uncertain
manufacturing → limit → scale
Learoyd says that while the unit costs for Freesuns' products are slowly decreasing, "a lot of the cost is actually the fact that every roof is a little bit different.
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roof → say → cost
And so it has to be engineered a little bit differently, installed a little bit differently"
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it → have → ?
Solar roofs typically require collaboration among roofers, solar installers and electricians.
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roofs → require → roofers
And building regulations tend to be more complex than for solar panels.
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regulations → tend → panels
The additional time and paperwork can take a toll on a roofing business, Collardson explains.
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Collardson → take → business
"You try to put a roofer into the equation and they're going, 'This is taking forever.
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This → try → equation
I'm losing money.
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I → lose → money
I could have sold 10 roofing jobs in the time that it takes me to sell this one'.
uncertain
it → sell → one
Collardson has to charge more for repair of solar shingles, compared to a standard photovoltaic (PV) setup.
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Collardson → have → setup
She explains, "With traditional solar, we generally have electronics on the panel and a map that shows us exactly how much each panel is producing."
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panel → explain → much
So when something goes wrong, it's easy to spot where.
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it → go → ?
"With solar shingles, we don't really have the benefit of that mapping; there's no room underneath the shingle for the electronics."
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we → have → electronics
Thermal cameras can identify the trouble spots, however.
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cameras → identify → spots
"You can remove the one in the middle of the array, but you have to walk on the others, and you really shouldn't walk on them because you're going to create micro-fractures and that's going to cause issues down the road."
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that → remove → road
Before repair costs are factored in, a solar roof might cost twice as much as a system of solar panels mounted on a roof.
uncertain
roof → factor → roof
Another factor is the energy lost as heat.
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factor → lose → heat
Since the tiles sit close to the roof, there's less airflow than with standard solar panels mounted on a roof.
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tiles → sit → roof
Heat impairs solar performance.
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Heat → impair → performance
Coloured tiles are even less efficient, comments Ben Graves, co-founder of UK solar company Sunsave.
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Graves → comment → Sunsave
"The reason why all solar cells are black, and increasingly the whole panel is now black, is because black is the best absorbing colour.
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black → absorb → ?
Overall, much more space would need to be devoted to solar roof tiles to produce the same amount of energy.
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space → need → energy
Sunsave does not offer solar roofs.
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Sunsave → offer → roofs
"Most people in the UK just don't have enough money to pay for it," Graves believes.
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Graves → have → it
While appearance was a bigger factor five years ago, now "the vast majority of consumers are most interested in how much they can save".
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they → save → much
But supporters of solar roofs argue that they should not be pitted against standard solar modules on roofs.
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they → argue → roofs
"Let's not compare PV roof tiles to a standard PV system, but look at PV roof tiles as generating additional electricity from our roofs instead of just having the roof sit there," urges Martin Heinrich who leads a research group at the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems in Germany.
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who → let → Germany
…and 16 more, not listed.
The Aporia
