SOLAR POWER
a mission to evolve the humble roof tile . Replacing traditional tiles with solar roof tiles made of tempered glass and offered with a lifetime warranty , Tesla ’ s innovation works with an integrated Powerwall battery so energy collected during the day can be stored and made available any time , turning a building into a utility .
Featuring invisible solar cells , Tesla ’ s roof tiles customise the amount of electricity a solar roof produces to meet energy needs . This is made possible by using two types of glass tile – solar tile and non-solar tile – which both appear the same from street level and are available in textured , smooth ,
Tuscan and slate finishes .
With Elon Musk ’ s billions behind advances with these materials , opportunities will arise for specialists in the industry to offer their installation services as Tesla seeks to attract customers drawn to the benefits of solar , but looking for an aesthetic more sympathetic to the contours of a traditional roof than solar panels .
Solar Roof Panels Kingspan Group have developed a system which delivers a combination of its Unidek insulated roofing combined with the sustainable power generation of solar panels . With its roots in Ireland as a family business dating back to the 1960s , having since become global leader in sustainable construction , Kingspan has previously delivered its solutions to icon projects such as London ’ s Olympic Village and Sydney ’ s Maritime Museum . The contractor recently completed work on an interconnected housing project in the newly created district of Bornsche Maten in the Netherlands . Kingspan believes innovative prefabricated multipurpose roofing systems could change the way architects and engineers fulfil their goals without
36 January 2018