The future is now. Solar roof shingles are available to install on your roof today. They come at a hefty price, but they do much more than protect your home from rain. Solar shingles produce electricity to power your home. The one benefit to solar shingles that can save you some money, is you don’t need to place them on the entire roof. Solar shingles perform best on the south side of your house, so that is something that will need to be checked before installation. Eastern and western exposure can be possible too, but you won’t receive as much power as you will from the southern facing roof. Therefore, you can save some money on what you decide to place on the rest of the roof.
Most types of solar shingles are designed to look like regular asphalt shingles on your roof. You won’t have to worry about the appearance of your house being any less than what it originally was. Each shingle can produce anywhere between 13 to 63 watts of energy, depending on the brand. You can expect to pay $21 to $25 per square foot or $2,100 to $2,500 per square installed on a standard sized home.
The average solar shingles can last from 20 to 30 years at maximum energy output. You can continue to use the shingles after this time, but like any other electronic, the energy produced will not be as efficient.
In 2018, Elon Musk joined the game and the first installation of Tesla solar shingles and completely changed the way we think about solar roofs. At that time, there were still not many homeowners that had made the switch to a solar power system despite the savings that it can provide. Musk saw this as an opportunity to expand his company to add to his already successful electric car business produced by Tesla. He was able to produce the first active solar shingles that looked the same as all other non-active roof tiles.
The Tesla solar shingles currently cost $18.35 per square foot. When you take the 26% federal tax credit into account, the cost drops to approximately $13.58 per square foot. Now is a great time to step into the future and order your first solar shingles. To speak with us about installing your shingles, contact us here.
