#Kyle solar roof tiles install
#Kyle solar roof tiles full

#Kyle solar roof tiles install

Assembling the tiles together into PV Modules at the factory has multiple benefits, with the first and foremost being a reduction in the amount of effort and time that’s required to install a solar roof.

#Kyle solar roof tiles full

Image credit: Kyle Field | CleanTechnicaĮach PV Tile has a production capacity of just over 8 watts each, translating to 25 watts for a full 3-tile PV Module. They arrive on site in pre-wired, pre-mounted bundles of 3 tiles in a row, called PV Modules. Roof tiles with solar cells in them are called PV Tiles and are the fundamental building block of any Tesla solar roof. These come in two flavors: 1) tiles with solar cells sandwiched between two pieces of tempered glass that produce power, and 2) glass tiles. The star of the show in the solar roof install is obviously Tesla’s solar roof tiles. Word on the street is that these are all currently made in the Bay Area, but that likely won’t be the case as Tesla ramps up production after locking in the design of version 3 of its solar roof tiles. Tesla makes all of its own metal products for the solar roof, so all of these components are specific to the Tesla solar roof.

Tesla solar roof with copious amounts of metal work framing the roof. Up at the peaks of the roof, it provides protection, funneling any precipitation onto the tiles or surfaces below, which ultimately escort it off the roof. In the valleys of the roof, the metalwork provides the drainage for any precipitation and debris. A metal trim wraps around the entire roof edge as well as along every peak and valley in the roof structure. This is the white material in the photo above.Īfter the underlayment goes down, Tesla’s crew frames up the roof with metal. This product provides a waterproof foundation for any roof while also providing a skid-resistant surface for the installers to walk on while installing the more complex parts of the roof. Tesla uses Firestone’s CLAD-GARD SA-FR, a standard roofing underlayment for metal roofs. UnderlaymentĪ Tesla solar roof installation starts with the installation of a waterproof underlayment. It also includes many of the same components as a traditional bolt-on solar system, with rooftop wiring, inverters, safety devices, and the like. The solar roof still fundamentally has to perform all of the same functions of a normal dumb roof before its ability to generate power matters. Many of the components and processes used in installing a Tesla solar roof are from the traditional roofing industry, which makes sense. Before we get into the installation, let’s talk about the components that make up of one of Tesla’s solar roofs. The first materials arrived at the house and the team prepared to install the solar roof on our new home. July ushered in the start of the real action for our Tesla solar roof, as the installation kicked into high gear. Sign up for daily news updates from CleanTechnica on email.