What Sets Timberline Solar Shingles Apart From Tesla’s Existing Shingles?

The very first time the world heard about “solar shingles” was when Tesla released its signature solar roofing materials that can generate enormous wattage on the same level as standard solar panels. However, owning one of Tesla’s coveted easy-blend and appealing solar shingle systems cost a fortune.

After their exhibit on CES 2022, GAF plans to take a bigger spot on the solar shingle pie with its own GAF Timberline Solar Singles. Their biggest difference: you can nail a GAF solar shingle, making its installation faster and much more affordable than Tesla’s existing ones.

Here are their major differences from each other.

You Can Nail It On

You can nail on Timberline Solar Shingles. They won’t need any added, specialized installation systems. You can have non-solar panel specialists install them as they would a regular roof, but it pays to work with an experienced team in Golden, CO.

It Doesn’t Blend As Nicely As Tesla’s

One disadvantage is that it doesn’t blend as nicely as Tesla’s systems, but non-bulky solar panels with zero risk of lift during windstorms are always a welcome sight for most Golden, CO homeowners.

GAF’s Costs Less Than Tesla’s

GAF estimates that its solar shingles cost way less than Tesla’s because of its basic appearance and capabilities, but it doesn’t mean that it sets itself at a lower standard. The roofing company has yet to release its final price tag.

Lesser Energy But Cheaper and Faster

According to GAF, their solar shingles will produce less energy than Tesla’s iteration. However, it can function as solid as a roof with the capability to withstand hailstorms, snowstorms, and other elements that you’d expect a regular roof to withstand in regular and semi-abnormal situations.

To learn more about GAF’s new Timberline Solar Shingles, check out this post from Fast Company below.

The concept seems obvious: Why put solar panels on a roof when you could just make the roof out of solar panels? But Tesla’s attempt to design a solar roof didn’t go well: The solar tiles turned out to be challenging to install, and the final price for customers has sometimes become tens of thousands of dollars higher than they were quoted. But GAF Energy, a spinoff of the world’s largest roofing company, launched a new solar roof today that it believes can succeed—and that could help radically speed up the adoption of home solar.

“The potential for solar is enormous, but we haven’t come close to meeting it,” says Martin DeBono, president of GAF Energy, which is part of parent company Standard Industries, which also owns GAF. “When you have a heritage in roofing, and you see solar panels going up the same way in 2020 as they were put up in 1990, yeah, you realize there’s an opportunity for innovation.”

The new design, called Timberline Solar, builds solar cells into a standard shingle. “All you need to install the solar shingle is a nail gun,” he says. “It goes up just like a regular shingle that can be nailed on the roof like any other shingle.” It required several rounds of innovation to work—like other shingles, it had to form a waterproof barrier to protect the home. It had to be fireproof. And it had to be something that workers could walk on if they had to access the roof. The engineers worked to find the right material and form to let light through, so the solar cells inside could generate energy, while meeting the other requirements.

Because it can be nailed down, the solar shingle can be installed very quickly—in two days rather than the weeks required for other solar roofs. That means that it’s much less expensive. Other solar roofs also spend as much as $5,000 per customer in marketing expenses. GAF, which is partnering with GAF Energy on the project, will work with its network of thousands of roofers to share the product instead. “When it rains out, that’s all the advertising a roofer needs,” DeBono says. “People call roofers.” The company also used materials that are available at a much larger scale than the specialty materials in competitive products. (Continue reading here to learn more about this new technology)

You can always trust Roper Roofing & Solar to provide you with high-quality solar panel installations and roofing solutions in Golden CO. Contact us today to learn more about everything we can do for you.