Solar roof tiles are becoming a popular way to harness the sun’s energy to power your home. Though installed similarly to traditional panels, this new kind of roof tiles act as both roof shingles and solar-energy-generating panels – but are they all they’re hyped up to be?
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Below, learn how solar roof tiles work and their advantages and disadvantages. Then, compare this option to traditional sun-capturing panels and see how they compare.
Solar roof tiles, also called solar shingles, are a cutting-edge technology that integrates energy collection into your home’s roofing structure. Unlike conventional roof-mounted panels, solar roof tiles blend seamlessly with your existing roof materials, creating a sleek and modern appearance while allowing your roof to work overtime by capturing energy from the sun and turning it into usable power for your home.
These tiles are designed to perform two functions simultaneously. First, they act as a durable roofing material, protecting your home from the elements. Second, they capture the sun’s energy and convert it into electricity, which can be used to power your home or, with a battery storage system, kept safely for later use.
Solar roof tiles come in various styles and colours, making matching them with your home’s aesthetic easy. Homeowners with both traditional and contemporary looks can likely find a style that blends into their current design.
Since they’re installed in the same place traditional panels would go, you could assume that solar roof tiles work the same way as these panels. This is true in the sense that the tiles act as panels, which then connect to an inverter and a battery system to create a full generator like EcoFlow Solar Generators.
Learn more about the essential components of any solar roof tile system and discover how they work together to provide clean, renewable energy.
The three vital components any solar setup (including roof tiles) require include:
These tiles employ either monocrystalline, polycrystalline, or thin-film panel technology. Monocrystalline versions are the most efficient and expensive, while polycrystalline panels save you money but reduce efficiency. Thin-film panels are another inexpensive option.
Most reliable manufacturers rely on monocrystalline technology because it provides the best performance. While roof tiles look very visually different from panels, they work very much the same.
If you already have a shingled roof, the shingles must be removed first. If the underlayment is damaged, it may also need to be replaced. For Tesla’s solar roof tiles, they provide a crew of in-house energy professionals that have installed nearly 4 GW of solar across more than 480,000 roofs. They know how to install and ensure the new system works properly.
It may take several days, and you’ll need to go through Tesla to find a crew that can install them. You won’t be able to ask any roofing company to install these very specific and highly specialised roof tiles.
Once installed, you must regularly clean and maintain your new tiles to protect your investment and ensure they continue to produce electricity for your home. You can ask your service provider to conduct maintenance every few years so your tiles continue performing throughout their lifespan.
Solar roof tiles have several notable advantages, making them an attractive option for eco-conscious homeowners. They blend into the natural roof line, making them a more aesthetically pleasing option while saving space that bulky panels would otherwise require.
They can also increase property value and may become more affordable through programs such as government renewable energy tax incentives.
If you’re deciding between tiles and panels for your home, comparing specifications such as output and efficiency rating is helpful to see which option provides more value. It’s also a good idea to consider the time it takes to generate a return on the investment (also known as the solar payback period), the speed at which both options can be installed, and how long they last.
Traditional EcoFlow Solar Panels, such as the EcoFlow Rigid Solar Panels and EcoFlow Portable Solar Panels, are highly efficient and have robust outputs, depending on your electricity needs. For example, the EcoFlow 400W Rigid Solar Panel provides a whopping 400W energy output. These panels are also relatively easy and quick to install and last decades.
Here’s a direct comparison between the two popular options of tiles and panels
Clay tile roofs dominate the landscape across the American southwest. They look great, are part of Spanish culture, and can last a century. However, they can be a pain in the butt for solar installers to work with.
Until recently, installing solar on clay-tiled roofs has been a more expensive and risky endeavor than other roof types, like composite shingle or metal. This is because tiles are relatively expensive, fragile, and removing them to install roof mounts for solar panels can open up the seal of your roof to water damage.
The old way of doing things:
Replacing small sections of tile with composite shingles, installing mounts meant for composite shingle roofs, and placing dummy tiles over the holes.
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Cutting or drilling into tiles to attach hooks under them that support solar racks.
The new, better way:
Double-flashed tile replacements that perfectly fit in place of a single tile.
By no means should you let the challenges of installing solar on a tile roof dissuade you from going solar if you have a clay tile roof. In this article, we’ll review the best installation practices and equipment for clay tile roofs and highlight some considerations when working with your solar installer to upgrade your tile roof home with solar energy.
Find out if going solar is worth it for your specific homeRoof tiles are brittle. Any time someone needs to go up on one of these roofs to get some work done there’s a good chance a few tiles will break. Fitting the right kind of tile back in place of a broken tile isn’t always a quick process, and some tiles can be quite expensive to source.
For these reasons, most solar installers will be a lot more careful when working on a clay tile roof. However, that means they will be slower, and that means you’ll have to spend a little more for labor hours.
Some solar installers like to use a technique called a “comp-out” to more easily install solar on clay tile roofs. This technique involves removing all the clay tiles under the area where your solar panels will go, installing composite shingles in this area, and then plopping in traditional solar roof mounts, rails, and panels in that location.
Solar installers will then go ahead and place similarly shaped tiles in between the rows of panels in your array to make things look all tidy again.
Alternatively, some installers attach solar racks to your tile roof by taking out individual tiles and cutting or drilling small holes in them. This allows them to punch the solar mounts through and bolt directly to the wood sheathing underneath the tile.
Going these routes can create some problems since there will be a slight gap between where the tiles used to be and where your solar panels now are. Even though your new shingles protect your roof in the area they were installed in the case of a comp-out, water will still run off of them and sneak below your tile on the lower part of your roof. Further, small holes in your roofing tiles are not ideal for leakage either.
We all know water underneath your roofing material is a bad situation, it can be particularly worse if you live in a location that regularly gets below freezing, as trapped water converting to ice and back again can wreak havoc on your structure. For these reasons, we recommend against these two installation methods for clay tile roofs.
Calculate your annual savings by installing solarFor clay tile roofs, it’s recommended to use a double flashing method instead of using hooks. That’s because the panels and hooks they’re attached to can rattle a bit in the wind and crack the more fragile clay tile.
A relatively new innovation, tile replacement mounts, makes solar installs easier by reducing your installer’s need to creatively cut tile to fit around hooks. They take the place of the tile under your solar installation where your mounts are attached to your roof!
For concrete tiles, a solid solar installer will temporarily remove just a few tiles just where special hooks need to be installed into your roof joists. Then, they will install base plates onto your roof membrane, and attach special hooks to them.
Flashing is installed next, preferably with tar, on top of the hook to ensure no water gets into this newly drilled area used to fasten the baseplate and hook (see the image above). Rails are then attached to each hook and your solar panels are mounted to them.
If a baseplate and hook needs to be installed in an area with no accessible roof joist underneath, your installer will need to cut some wood and install it in your attic in the appropriate areas.
Solar panel installations on clay roofs are trickier to perform than on other roof types, making them more expensive.
However, they may still be worth a look if:
You live in a solar-friendly location
Your potential savings outweigh the upfront costs
You’re willing to pay extra for your energy independence.
See how much you can save with a solar installation on your clay roof using the calculator.