How Tesla is Revolutionizing the Solar Energy Market?
Future seems to be bright and carbon free.
The risk of climate change has been rising with every passing minute since the industrial revolution. Now, more than ever, is the need to reduce the pressure on our atmosphere by switching to clean ways of energy production. Solar panel is one of them. (It converts the sunlight into electricity in a process called photovoltaic effect).
Producing electricity through solar panels is a very pragmatic approach. Solar panels are capable of powering a wide range of applications with clean renewable energy. In addition to this, the prices of solar panels have also decreased substantially, in the past couple of years, which makes them an effectual alternative.
Many of us know Tesla only as an electric car company. Tesla, however, is also revolutionizing the solar technology for the next generation. It is one of their ventures which for the most part remained inconspicuous. Tesla acquired SolarCity, a solar market leader back then, and jumped into solar business market in 2016. Since then, the company is one of the primary subsidiaries of Tesla. The goal of Tesla is to bring the power of solar energy into control of the consumer by exterminating the long contracts from the process and making the solar panels more affordable which will, eventually, increase the sales and hence the company’s solar business, which has declined since the acquisition of Solar City, can be revived.
However, it is worth noting that Tesla and all other companies managed by Elon Musk overlook industry standards and bring revolutionary products upfront regardless of what the job is. It doesn’t matter, if the job is to build the world fastest, efficient and stylish electrical cars or building reusable rockets, Elon Musk always thinks outside the box and find new solutions for the ordinary problems. Same is the case with Tesla’s solar business. Elon Musk is using new approaches to rejuvenate its home solar business which includes new rental option, solar roofs and solar walls etc.
Rental Option for Solar Panels
Tesla has launched a rental plan for its solar panels as a part of its new strategy to increase sales. Currently, the company is offering the new rental plan in six states of the US: Arizona, California, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and New Mexico.
Tesla’s sales pitch for launching a rental option is to provide a “one click” experience to its customers which will not include typical paper work and lengthy consultations. Likewise, customers will not have to pay upfront installation costs and hence it will cost as low as $50 per month. Tesla’s rental plan in every eligible state of US — except for California — is as follows:
“small” 3.8 kilowatts solar panel system will cost $50 monthly that generates an average of 10 to 14 kilowatts of energy per day.
“medium” 7.6 kilowatts solar system will cost $100 per month that generates 19 to 28 kilowatts energy per day.
And, for “large” 11.4 kilowatts system the company will charge $150 per month that puts out 24 to 41 kilowatts of energy daily.
In California, however, rentals will cost $65, $130 and $195 monthly for small, medium and large system, respectively. The rent will cover all the maintenance and hardware costs. However, the company demand the renters to pas any tax incentives and rebates to Tesla. Tesla’s aim is to provide cheaper, quicker and less burdensome experience to anyone who wants to get solar panels on their roof except for those who don’t own a house. Moreover, buyers can cancel the rent at anytime with a removal fee of $1500 (“Tesla doesn’t make profit on this”, the company writes). Similarly, if a buyer decides to downgrade from one of the bigger systems to a smaller one, the company will impose $1500 fee which according to the company will go straight to the installation or uninstallation cost.
Tesla’s solar panels are designed to blend into a roof, thin and sleek design of solar panels allow them to seamlessly fit into any roofing style while hiding all the mounting hardware.
As if that’s not cool enough, Tesla takes the game to another level by designing more futuristic “solar roof”. Additionally, Tesla has built out a substantial commercial energy production and storage business along with residential solar business.
Solar Roof
Tesla has introduced solar roof which replaces a whole roof with light sensitive shingles. Yet, another futuristic product. Solar roof provides a beautiful solar experience with seamless design. Interlocking shingles makes each tile look great, complementing your home’s architecture. Solar roof is capable of generating the most energy possible even on roofs with intricate angles.
Moreover, the company claims that this fully integrated solar system can pay for itself by selling the extra energy to the grid. Tesla’s solar roof comes with a 25 years warranty as the company claims that it is built to last. It is three times stronger than typical roofing tiles and provides all-weather protection. So, it means that you don’t have to worry about shingles getting damaged.
The roof is installed by Tesla’s in-house team of energy professionals. Roof design is determined by using advanced technology such as aerial imagery and 3D modelling, its design enables quick and efficient tile installation. About 400,000 roofs have been installed by now.
Customers can also buy “Powerwall”- another energy product of Tesla — to turn their homes into a personal utility by storing the energy produced with solar roof in a new generation battery.
Powerwall
Powerwall is a compact home battery that stores energy, detect outages and automatically becomes a house’s energy source when the grid collapses. According to Tesla, powerwall can power a house for 7+ days (depending on storage) during an outage. Powerwall reduces your reliance on the grid by acting as a backup protection. If used with solar panels or solar roof powerwall can store solar energy that can be used in bad weather when the sun isn’t shining. However, to clarify, powerwall is a separate product so we don’t have to own a solar roof to use it. It is capable of storing energy from grid as well. But for those who want to live completely off the grid; can combine powerwall with solar to get a grid free experience.
Like all other products, Tesla gave powerwall a cool minimalist and compact design which makes it easy to install as well. Additionally, it is weather resistant and child friendly as there are no exposed wires and hot spots. Due to its beautiful design, it looks more of a decoration piece than a battery.
Powerwall’s storage is totally expandable — up to 10 powerwalls can be stacked up together. In Tesla Energy’s commercial units, microgrids and powerwalls can be built to fulfill the commercial needs of energy. In addition to this, energy consumption and production of a house can be monitored in real time with Tesla app. It allows homeowners to remotely control and optimize their system.
Tesla’s Mega Battery Project
Tesla with its state-of-the-art battery technology is transforming the way power is delivered. Mega battery project is one of the Tesla’s largest energy projects. Tesla has partnered with Neoen, a French renewable energy company, to build one of the largest lithium-ion batteries in Australia.
The big battery is based in Geelong, south-west of Melbourne. It will have a capacity of 450 megawatt hours which means it will be capable of powering roughly 500,000 homes for an hour. It will hopefully accelerate the Australia’s transition from coal-fired electricity generation to renewables.
That said, we can say that Tesla is really making strides in the renewable energy sector. Tesla is endeavoring to achieve its goal to power the whole world with zero carbon emission. Hence, the future seems to be bright and carbon free.
