Elon Musk’s Next Plan: Do for Roofs What He Did for Cars
The solar industry has been around a long time and while they have succeeded in expanding solar panels to residential rooftops, they have been limited by the bulky aesthetics of solar panels. We all know them when we see them and they haven’t changed m
uch over the years. Many would be consumers are hesitant to install solar panels are their roofs because of how they look. To combat this consumer concern, scientists and companies have been developing less obtrusive panels that blend with their environment: in this case it is the shingle roof.
This transition highlights the importance of design and its relationship to function. While the old panels were set up to collect sunlight, the trade off was the ‘heavy’ look of the panels and the additional hassle of maintaining your roof. Replacing a roof is enough of a process without having to first remove the panels and then re-install them after. Not to mention concerns with repairing a simple leak or panels causing more damage to your roof. With the new vision Elon Musk is proposing here, the new solar roof will function much the same way a normal roof would. Maintenance would seem to be done by one entity rather than having to coordinate between the traditional roofer and the solar panel installer to repair or replace the roof. By pursuing this redesign
, Solar City and others will not only get over the aesthetics hurdle, but they will also expand their potential market to include those who have reservations about the functionality of having solar panels on their roofs. This is design in action!
So what do you think? Would you be more likely to install solar panels that look like a normal roof? Was this even a concern?
