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Tesla is always known for its innovation and path breaking projects with respect to energy efficiency. On October 28, Elon Musk CEO of Tesla announced their new camouflaged solar tiles and Power Wall which are built using home batteries. Solar roofing has always been a good way to build energy-efficient homes and Tesla is already a pioneer in the field of Solar. He launched a range of textured glass tiles that comes with solar cells integrated and looks same as conventional tiles. Also he released the updated version of their Powerwall product with more advanced batteries which can store power for longer time.
Technology behind the colorful tiles:
The new Tesla’s Tiles are available in multiple flavours including Slate Glass, Smooth Glass, Tuscan Glass and Textured Glass. The looks of these tiles are definitely satisfying for the prospective home owners who belong to the top end of addressable market. Elon musk mentioned that secret to the glossy appearance of the solar tiles is a special coating which becomes transparent based on the viewing angle. They have developed this coating in partnership with 3M which is basically a series of micro louvers which permits the solar cells to blend into the roof and at the same time expose them to sunlight above.
From lower angles, the solar tiles appear non-transparent because of the coating and depict an appearance resembling the traditional roof tiles. But when the viewing angle reaches 90 degrees, the solar cells are clearly visible which exposes it to the sunlight for charging. Also the tiles are very strong and robust which was demonstrated by Elon musk with multiple drop tests. The tiles are made of quartz and tempered glass making it very durable and strong. Also the solar tiles are very powerful that they get charged even during the days when the sunlight is minimal. Musk said that the intention behind the launch of Tesla’s solar tiles was to make every roof solar through affordable and beautiful solar panels. However Musk did not share any information about the pricing and installation procedure for the solar tiles.
Power Wall Version 2.0
Tesla also launched their new version of Power Wall version 2.0 which is slimmer and compact than the previous version that was introduced to the market in April 2015. The power wall costs $5,500 and has storage capacity of 14kWh with peak power output of 7kWh which is sufficient for powering a 4 bedroom house for one day.
Both these products were launched by Musk at Universal Studios in Los Angeles on October 28th. Tesla which aims at developing products that can offer sustainable energy to the society is very keen towards harnessing solar power. The Tesla electric cars have already become very popular and widely used in the US and with lot more innovative solar products in the pipeline, Tesla is definitely making huge business. Tesla is partnering with SolarCity for manufacturing these new solar tills and Power Wall Version 2.0.
