Tesla/Solar City Solar Roof system, PowerWall 2, PowerPack 2 (industrial)

[Dr Mordrid]

Announced last night

Separate: partnering with Panasonic

PowerPack 2: 210 kWh utility/industrial storage. Installing worldwide

PowerWall 2: 14 kWh, AC or DC inverter built in, integrated with solar roof

Mounting: Wall or Floor Mounted, Indoor/Outdoor
Inverter: Fully integrated Tesla inverter
Energy: 14 kWh
Power: 5 kW continuous, 7 kW peak
Round Trip Efficiency: 89% for AC Powerwall, 91.8% for DC Powerwall
Operating Temperature Range: 20°C to 50°C (4°F to 122°F)
Warranty: Unlimited cycles for up to 10 years
Dimensions: 1150 mm x 755 mm x 155 mm (45.3 in x 29.7 in x 6.1 in)
Weight: 122 kg (269 lbs)



A roofing system which uses solar tiles and looks transparent at high angles (Sun view) and "normal" from the street view. High impact resistance.





Introduction

https://youtu.be/4sfwDyiPTdU

[UtwigMU]

Why are most houses in USA built of wood?
Is it a building code?

Here most houses are built of bricks, reinforced concrete floors, reinforced concrete pillars within wall (depending on earthquake). In southwest where there is warmer, strong wind, less snow and lots of stone, traditional houses are built from stone.

Only fancy prebuilt houses, sheds, weekend/summer houses are built from wood here.

[Dr Mordrid]

It's a preference, pre-builts and "stick built," and we have massive commercial forests supplying fast growing species. It's quite inexpensive to frame an addition or do modifications like build a wall, done both many times, though for some things steel wall studs are useful. Not for a door or window frame, but for the studs between major wood frame members.

If you could only see the US market for woodworking tools and supplies...we are a nation of carpenters where many garages or basements have a wood shop. My garage shop has its own gas furnace and 3 phase power.

That said; stone, stucco or brick facades are quite popular, attached to a facing system over a plywood or other external skin. As far as storm resistance, there are "hurricane brackets" which allow the structure to flex but not easily shatter. Such storm hardening is in many building codes and are useful for earthquakes.

Of course nothing; stone, steel or wood, can withstand the winds associated with a strong hurricane, tornado or dericho. The 1980 dhericho here had straight-line winds of 150 mph (241.4 kph) and Oklahoma tornadoes have hit 318 mph (511.8 kph.)

[UtwigMU]

Ah, the 3-phase power. I'm working on work project of certifying our machines for US market. I'm doing the manuals, warning stickers, power stickers, french warnings for Le Quebec - we don't need French warnings for EU. I know about 60Hz, fuse types and US power quite a bit more than I used to.

[Belwarrior]

http://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-tesla-solarcity-vertically-integrated-2016-11/

Related topic - IMHO this vertical integration or basically building everything in-house might be a good thing for TESLA

Edit: BTW what would the expected cost to build / upgrade a normal 3 bedroom house to TESLA solar power system?

[Dr Mordrid]

Vertical integration is how SpaceX works too.

All they've said is it would cost about the same as replacing ones roof or as new construction, which I take to mean a tile roof. In these parts a good quality tile roof runs about $1400 to $2000 per square installed, and a square is 10x10 feet. Of course you can spend as much as you want.

Also, Tesla/Solar City is partnered with Panasonic for the soon to open (and gigantic) solar panel Gigafactory (1GW of cells/year) in Buffalo NY. The cells will be a new product based on Solar City's Silevo Triex and Panasonic's HIT thin cells. If things go well there will be more solar Gigafactories.

Buffalo Gigafactory in. 2015

[Dr Mordrid]

Tesla has created a new technology group: Tesla Glass, which will be making high tech glasses for vehicles, the solar tiles, and very possibly SpaceX - the ITS and Mars geodesic dome windows come to mind. The new group will be headed up by former Apple materials engineer Mike Pilliod.