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Tesla Solar Roof Tiles to ship to UK in 2018

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Elon Musk (the man behind the Tesla Electric car) has confirmed that Tesla’s new solar roof tiles will be available in the UK from  2018, nearly six months after they are to be released in the US market.

The Tesla founder took to Twitter to tease the launch of a new order page on Tesla’s website which allows customers to place orders for the tiles for the first time since they were formally announced  October 2016.

There are two designs of the tile – ‘Textured’ and ‘Smooth’ – available in the USA and further styles  ‘Tuscan’ and ‘Slate’ will follow later in 2018.

It is claimed that the glass solar tiles are so durable they are being sold with a warranty for the lifetime of your house, or infinity, whichever comes first.  The actual roof tiles will come with a structural ‘infinite’ warranty, although  the energy generation qualities  would only be under warranty for 30 years. If combined with Powerwall battery, energy collected during the day is stored and made available any time, effectively turning your home into a personal utility.

When questioned on Twitter about availability in the UK, Musk revealed that British customers would have to wait slightly longer to receive the tiles.

UK customers can however pre-order tiles using the GB-facing Tesla Energy website. Pre-ordering requires an £800 deposit and includes the option of ordering a Powerwall 2 to complement the installation.

Installations in the US will be carried out by Tesla’s SolarCity arm however there is no indication as to how UK installs will be conducted, or whether installers will be able to purchase the roof tiles from Tesla directly.

Price details for UK installations have not been provided, however a calculator on the US-facing website provides some insight into what consumers can expect to pay.

The US calculator pitches an 800 square foot roof on a two-storey house at a cost of roughly $30 (£23.20) per square foot. However the solar tiles would only fill 70% of the roof space due to building regulations and obstructions such as chimneys, meaning that the tiles will be installed at roughly $47 (£36.30) per square foot.

Such a price would represent a significant premium over more traditional solar installations, and Musk did stress on Twitter that the economics would not be compelling enough for the system to be installed in some instances.

  • Tile warrantyInfinity, or the lifetime of your house, whichever comes first
  • Power warranty30 years
  • Weatherization warranty30 years
  • Roof Pitch14 to 90 degrees