Tesla hopes to expand its newest innovation, solar roof tiles, to an international market. However, in Africa, and Kenya in particular, someone else has already beaten the large tech company to the market: Charity Wanjiku and Tony Nyagah, two siblings who founded Strauss Energy. Contact online >>
Tesla hopes to expand its newest innovation, solar roof tiles, to an international market. However, in Africa, and Kenya in particular, someone else has already beaten the large tech company to the market: Charity Wanjiku and Tony Nyagah, two siblings who founded Strauss Energy.
Strauss Energy developed their solar roof tiles in 2013, three years before Tesla''s release. Unlike Tesla which focuses more on cleaner energy, Strauss Energy''s goal is to provide more reliable and affordable electricity in areas where many people do not have functioning electricity.
Tesla is a huge corporation. It may seem that they should have no problem competing with the smaller Strauss Energy in the solar roof tile market in Kenya. However, Tesla''s approach to solar roof tiles is simply ill-suited to the Kenyan market.
Tesla is a company known for its devotion to sustainable energy. Their electric cars and solar roof tiles are all part of an overarching goal to help bring the world into a future that does not rely on fossil fuels.
While this is important and admirable, it means that Tesla spends time finding ways to replace traditional energy sources with sustainable ones. Tesla wants you to switch out your gasoline chugging car for an electric one and to get power from the sun rather than from the pollution spilling power plant.
However, in Kenya, there is a lack of traditional electricity sources in the first place. For many people, it is a matter of finding a reliable electricity source and not simply switching their source to a more sustainable one.
It may seem like a simple solution. It should be easy to make Tesla''s solar roof tiles an original source of electricity rather than an alternative. However, Tesla has designed their solar roof tiles as a sustainable alternative to traditional power, which means their tiles have been designed around the main feature of traditional electricity: the grid.
People receive their electricity through the grid. The electricity is made in plants and then delivered to customers through the grid. When the connection to the grid is lost, a house loses power. This is what causes a blackout.
Because Tesla''s solar roof tiles are designed to be a sustainable alternative, they are designed to work with the grid. When you buy a Tesla roof, you cannot store the energy you create. Instead, the electricity created by your solar roof travels through the grid. This means if a blackout occurs, which is a disruption in the grid, then your home will also be without power.
You can set up your Tesla solar roof to store energy outside of the grid, but you will need to buy one of Tesla''s Powerwalls. A Powerwall costs around $7000, and if you truly want to be able to power your home completely off of one, you will need two to four.
The point is that Tesla''s solar roof tiles are designed to fit well with the already existing electrical system. This makes sense considering that Tesla''s goal is to give people sustainable energy options. They need to make products that fit well with what people are already doing. However, this cohesion with the grid becomes a downside in a country like Kenya.
Many Kenyans do not have reliable electricity at all. The grid is not fully dispersed, especially in rural areas, and it can be incredibly unreliable. Constant blackouts and the high cost of bringing the grid to rural areas leaves many Kenyans without functioning electricity.
Without Powerwalls, Tesla solar roof tiles will not work in houses without a grid connection nor will they prevent the problematic blackouts in houses that are connected. The need for these costly Powerwalls will certainly not help the high cost issue.
Tesla solar roof tiles are designed to work with the grid, and thus adding them to houses with no grid connection or an unreliable connection will hardly solve Kenya''s electricity problems. Tesla simply did not design their roof tiles with the idea of putting them in places that have either no or problematic electricity.
Strauss Energy was founded with the goal of solving Kenya''s energy problem. Currently, Kenya''s national grid does not have enough power to sustain industrialization nor to give reliable electricity to much of its population.
Strauss Energy thus works not to replace current energy production but to fill a gap by generating energy production. This may seem like a small difference, but it results in a company whose approach is far more suited to Kenya''s electrical needs.
Perhaps the best way to understand the difference between Strauss Energy''s and Tesla''s approach to solar roof tiles is through an example. In 2017 Strauss Energy installed a solar roof on a school that served a large rural community.
The system Strauss Energy installed for the school was connected to the grid, but it included a large backup battery system, which allows the school to function when the sun is not out. The solar roof can handle all of the school''s power needs and has even allowed them to get a computer lab up and running. The roof also collects rainwater as a source of freshwater.
Strauss Energy''s work in Gaitheri Secondary School was designed to meet a need. The inclusion of the backup storage and even the rainwater collection show that Strauss Energy is concerned primarily with creating highly functional systems. Their tiles are also meant to last longer than Tesla''s.
Strauss Energy is working to create reliable power where none previously existed. Thus, their projects, like the Gaitheri Secondary School, are designed with more self-sustainability than Tesla''s.
None of this is to say that Tesla is bad and Strauss Energy is good. It only means that although the two companies make similar products they have different markets and goals, which are not as easy to cross as it might appear.
However similar they may be the two companies do not have to have a hostile relationship. Strauss Energy even uses Tesla Powerwalls sometimes in order to create installations that are not reliant on the grid.
Tesla may eventually try to move their solar roof tiles in areas like Kenya. If they do so they will first need to consider how to make their product work in areas with less reliable electricity infrastructure. However, it seems more likely and more effective that Tesla will instead work with Strauss Energy to bring clean energy to Kenya.
The efforts of Strauss Energy in Kenya and Africa as a whole is much better suited to the region''s electricity needs. Hopefully, both Strauss Energy and Tesla can continue their work to bring both accessible and sustainable energy to the entire globe.
The articles here on ThatTeslaChannel are created by Greg, a Tesla vehicle and Tesla solar expert with nearly half a decade of hands-on experience. The information on this site is fact-checked and tested in-person to ensure the best possible level of accuracy.
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There can be no doubt that Tesla has greatly influenced the way people use solar power today. Their innovations in terms of energy storage via their lithium battery designs alone have done wonders for the solar power community. But evolution is part of human nature, meaning they’ve taken things a step further. What you think was great before, has become even better. Introducing the Tesla Solar Roof – the new face of solar power?
Before getting into more details about the Tesla Solar Roof, along with the pros and cons, let’s take a look at how it’s changing the overall solar power appearance. Firstly, just about everybody who knows about solar power associate it with evident panels installed on the roof. Naturally, the designs have improved over the years, making them much less obtrusive and more efficient. But nobody really anticipated that Elon Musk''s next big surprise for a renewable energy future would entail removing the roof of a house, literally.
The design for the Tesla Solar Roof looks exactly like typical roof shingles. In fact, when installed you won''t even be able to tell the difference (as you can see from the above picture). They were specifically designed to blend with the natural appearance of your house, except with more benefits. Currently, there are three different shingles to choose from, and another one will be joining the catalogue in 2018. The shingle designs are textured, smooth and slate, with the Tuscan following next year.
Taking into account the completely natural way the Tesla Solar Roof presents itself, it makes you wonder what solar power is going to look like in the near future?
Let''s start with what''s great about it, namely the fact that it will provide you with renewable energy for the next 30 years. According to Tesla, the shingles will stay intact and collect sun rays until the house comes down, making it one of the best investments for homeowners. They even offer what they call the infinity guarantee based on their confidence in durability. The shingles are also three times stronger than typical shingles, which makes sense given their life-expectancy.
Another great thing is the integrated lithium Powerwall battery, which stores the energy collected throughout the day, and makes it available for use whenever you need it. How independent the roof will make you from the grid depends on how much energy you require. But it''s clear that you can reduce your grid-powered energy use with a substantial amount just by getting the roof installed.
On the realistic side, installing the Tesla Power Roof is going to cost a pretty penny, making it a very big initial investment. Even though financing is provided, it''s not going to be a readily available option for everyone just yet. However, it''s the type of investment that can bring in some big returns.
Here’s a quick comparison between the Tesla Solar Roof and conventional solar panels.
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