6 ms·

The pitch goes like this. You need a roof (either because you're building a new house or because your roof needs replacing). A regular roof will last maybe 25 y

The pitch goes like this. You need a roof (either because you're building a new house or because your roof needs replacing). A regular roof will last maybe 25 years. The Tesla roof costs substantially more, but it also reduces or eliminates your electric bill for decades, and it lasts "infinity or the lifetime of the building," so in theory it could save you the cost of replacing your roof next time. Now, whether that actually works out in practice depends on a lot of unknowns plus also local factors (how much do roofs costs where you live, how much sunlight do you get, how much electricity do you use, does anyone in several hundred square miles know how to repair your Tesla roof, etc).

hef19898 6y ago
The 25 years is interesting. Tile roofs over here, Europe / EU, last way longer than that. On both my grand parents houses, from the 50s, the roof was not replaced yet. If something goes, it is usually due to damage or because the construction under it rots over time due to leaks that aren't fixed. We have a rather flat roof, so no tiles, and the bitumen cover has to covered with a new layer every 10 years or so. This is also considerably cheaper than tiles.
- kwhitefoot 6y ago
  The first house that I bought in the UK was built in 1890, it still has the original slates on the roof.
  - Gravityloss 6y ago
    Fun to think if there will be hundred year old solar panel roofs that still produce a bit. Probably have to rewire them to bypass broken parts or something.
- arethuza 6y ago
  We have a house with a traditional slate roof and even though its in a pretty exposed position as long as it is maintained (we have the roofer out at least once a year) I can't see why it wouldn't last pretty much indefinitely (i.e. at least 150 years or more).
  - bradstewart 6y ago
    What does the yearly maintenance involve? I've only ever had asphalt shingle roofs, which require basically no maintenance (unless hail or a tree branch or something damages it).
    - arethuza 6y ago
      A slate or two might fall off in a storm - that's pretty much it apart from clearing out gutters which I can do. We are in a fairly exposed position overlooking the sea with no shelter from the south east where storm winds are likely to come from - but that's the price for great views! I think as long as you don't let multiple slates come off in the same area (and therefore run the risk of water getting in) slate roofs pretty much last forever - they are stone after all!
- gambiting 6y ago
  Same here in the UK. Many houses I've lived in are approaching 100 years now(1920-1930 terraced houses) and all of them had original roofs. But many(Americans?) on HN say that roofs only last ~25 years. Like...how? Are they made out of paper? How can a solid slate roof need replacement after only few decades?
  - dagw 6y ago
    Are they made out of paper Basically, yes. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asphalt_shingle https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asphalt_shingle How can a solid slate roof need replacement after only few decades? Putting in a new solid slate roof today is stupidly expensive, and basically nobody does that outside of the very top end. You can probably change your asphalt shingle roof 4 times for the price of putting up a slate roof. Essentially it's a question of priority. Most people probably don't plan to live more than 20-25 years in their current house, so why not go for the cheapest option that gets the job done and let the next owner worry about fixing the roof.
    - hef19898 6y ago
      That's maybe the reason, European houses, even if the initial owner doesn't plan to live there for ever, are buit to last basically for ever. but wouldn't make something like tesla's solar roof make more sense for houses like that, those that already use solid shingles? If I don't care about my house for more than 25 years anyway, I think I'm not the ideal solar roof customer anyway.
    - gambiting 6y ago
      >>Putting in a new solid slate roof today is stupidly expensive, and basically nobody does that outside of the very top end. You can probably change your asphalt shingle roof 4 times for the price of putting up a slate roof. I'm assuming you're talking about US? In UK all new houses still have solid slate roofs. Even the cheapest new houses(around £100k where I live) have a solid slate roof that is expected to last 50-100 years.
  - yourapostasy 6y ago
    > How can a solid slate roof need replacement after only few decades? You will find when you Google "American roofs" that one of the top "People also ask" is "What are American roofs made of?", which goes on to say to your horror: An asphalt shingle is a type of wall or roof shingle that uses asphalt for waterproofing. It is one of the most widely used roofing covers in North America because it has a relatively inexpensive up-front cost and is fairly simple to install. The dominant American roof uses inferior technology because it inexpensively lasts on average about four mortgage holders (average US mortgage holding period is seven years), by which time IBGYBG. And to think many believe China has cornered the market on the "cha bu duo" mindset. To be fair, unless you are paying well over average rates, I've yet to see a country where the average residential construction shows a lot of attention to detail, just like in many other industries.
kilotaras 6y ago
25 years didn't look right to me so I did some googling. Apparently in US people tend to use asphalt shingles which indeed last 20-25 years[0] [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asphalt_shingle https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asphalt_shingle
Ekaros 6y ago
We know life time of solar panels, much less than infinity. And next we should ask why don't they sell same roofing material without extra complication solar panels if it really last for whole lifetime of building. Shouldn't that alone be massive market? Or allow someone to licence it?
- adamcstephens 6y ago
  You can already by metal roofs that will last twice of a shingle roof. Most people don’t choose it because it’s more expensive.
tgsovlerkhgsel 6y ago
Aren't solar cells expected to lose efficiency to the point where they should be replaced after 25 years?
- hef19898 6y ago
  They run out of warranty, and obviously they are obsolete by that point. They still work, so. Technically speaking.

hef19898 6y ago

The 25 years is interesting. Tile roofs over here, Europe / EU, last way longer than that. On both my grand parents houses, from the 50s, the roof was not replaced yet. If something goes, it is usually due to damage or because the construction under it rots over time due to leaks that aren't fixed. We have a rather flat roof, so no tiles, and the bitumen cover has to covered with a new layer every 10 years or so. This is also considerably cheaper than tiles.

kwhitefoot 6y ago
The first house that I bought in the UK was built in 1890, it still has the original slates on the roof.
- Gravityloss 6y ago
  Fun to think if there will be hundred year old solar panel roofs that still produce a bit. Probably have to rewire them to bypass broken parts or something.
arethuza 6y ago
We have a house with a traditional slate roof and even though its in a pretty exposed position as long as it is maintained (we have the roofer out at least once a year) I can't see why it wouldn't last pretty much indefinitely (i.e. at least 150 years or more).
- bradstewart 6y ago
  What does the yearly maintenance involve? I've only ever had asphalt shingle roofs, which require basically no maintenance (unless hail or a tree branch or something damages it).
  - arethuza 6y ago
    A slate or two might fall off in a storm - that's pretty much it apart from clearing out gutters which I can do. We are in a fairly exposed position overlooking the sea with no shelter from the south east where storm winds are likely to come from - but that's the price for great views! I think as long as you don't let multiple slates come off in the same area (and therefore run the risk of water getting in) slate roofs pretty much last forever - they are stone after all!
gambiting 6y ago
Same here in the UK. Many houses I've lived in are approaching 100 years now(1920-1930 terraced houses) and all of them had original roofs. But many(Americans?) on HN say that roofs only last ~25 years. Like...how? Are they made out of paper? How can a solid slate roof need replacement after only few decades?
- dagw 6y ago
  Are they made out of paper Basically, yes. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asphalt_shingle https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asphalt_shingle How can a solid slate roof need replacement after only few decades? Putting in a new solid slate roof today is stupidly expensive, and basically nobody does that outside of the very top end. You can probably change your asphalt shingle roof 4 times for the price of putting up a slate roof. Essentially it's a question of priority. Most people probably don't plan to live more than 20-25 years in their current house, so why not go for the cheapest option that gets the job done and let the next owner worry about fixing the roof.
  - hef19898 6y ago
    That's maybe the reason, European houses, even if the initial owner doesn't plan to live there for ever, are buit to last basically for ever. but wouldn't make something like tesla's solar roof make more sense for houses like that, those that already use solid shingles? If I don't care about my house for more than 25 years anyway, I think I'm not the ideal solar roof customer anyway.
  - gambiting 6y ago
    >>Putting in a new solid slate roof today is stupidly expensive, and basically nobody does that outside of the very top end. You can probably change your asphalt shingle roof 4 times for the price of putting up a slate roof. I'm assuming you're talking about US? In UK all new houses still have solid slate roofs. Even the cheapest new houses(around £100k where I live) have a solid slate roof that is expected to last 50-100 years.
- yourapostasy 6y ago
  > How can a solid slate roof need replacement after only few decades? You will find when you Google "American roofs" that one of the top "People also ask" is "What are American roofs made of?", which goes on to say to your horror: An asphalt shingle is a type of wall or roof shingle that uses asphalt for waterproofing. It is one of the most widely used roofing covers in North America because it has a relatively inexpensive up-front cost and is fairly simple to install. The dominant American roof uses inferior technology because it inexpensively lasts on average about four mortgage holders (average US mortgage holding period is seven years), by which time IBGYBG. And to think many believe China has cornered the market on the "cha bu duo" mindset. To be fair, unless you are paying well over average rates, I've yet to see a country where the average residential construction shows a lot of attention to detail, just like in many other industries.

kilotaras 6y ago

25 years didn't look right to me so I did some googling. Apparently in US people tend to use asphalt shingles which indeed last 20-25 years[0] [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asphalt_shingle https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asphalt_shingle

Ekaros 6y ago

We know life time of solar panels, much less than infinity. And next we should ask why don't they sell same roofing material without extra complication solar panels if it really last for whole lifetime of building. Shouldn't that alone be massive market? Or allow someone to licence it?

adamcstephens 6y ago
You can already by metal roofs that will last twice of a shingle roof. Most people don’t choose it because it’s more expensive.

tgsovlerkhgsel 6y ago

Aren't solar cells expected to lose efficiency to the point where they should be replaced after 25 years?

hef19898 6y ago
They run out of warranty, and obviously they are obsolete by that point. They still work, so. Technically speaking.