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171 points elsewhen | 2 comments | | HN request time: 0.605s | source
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looofooo0 ◴[] No.43631678[source]
Apart from the questionable economics of single family home roof solar. Having an integrated PV roof just makes things worse. It couples function of the roof to the PV function. With normal panels on top of a normal roof, one actually protects the roof and prolongs its life as it protect the roof below from UV, weather and heat.
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rconti ◴[] No.43631769[source]
Tesla solar is PV panels. I think you're thinking of the solar shingle thing which, as far as I know, never really took off. From googling around, they're still advertising it, and people have gotten quotes for it, but I imagine it's a tiny fraction of sales.
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1. looofooo0 ◴[] No.43635302[source]
What is the point using tesla as a middle man then?
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2. rconti ◴[] No.43648802[source]
Tesla sells their own branded panels and monitoring solution, and do the installation.

Other installers might sell you LG panels and Enphase inverters and LG batteries, and then your monitoring comes from whomever, and the installation warranty provided by the installer.

So, no matter who you choose as a vendor, the parts are typically made by several different companies, and someone needs to install them and provide support.

I assume people who use Tesla as their middleman vs some other middleman do so for branding, monitoring, whatever reasons. Maybe they like the complete solar+powerwall battery+app solution. I don't know.