The Solar Roofed Poolhouse/Guesthouse at Marino SA is now complete . This project, a world first, took 18 months from start to finish due to the added complexities of the Owners Project managing the job themselves, the trades integrating the various “Green” technologies to both house and pool, and the difficulty of the sloping site.
Tractile Solar Roof
Australian designed Tractile BIPV-T solar roof tiles were chosen for the roof due to their efficiency and good looks. The almost flat profile and dark colour give the house clean and dramatic lines that suit the Modernist Architecture. The 20kw PV system is now being monitored to check the energy output. So far this system seems to be producing what it promised. The project was so successful that the manufacturer is in the process of setting up a monitoring widget on their website so that the output can be checked in real-time.
Project Analysis…. Tractile Review
Tractile PV tiles were perfect for this job as they suit sites subject to extreme weather (such as clifftops) due to their cyclone rated fixing system and corrosion resistance. The robustness of the system has already been proven. During the course of the build a 2 meter concrete table was picked up by the wind and deposited meters away, whilst the tiles held tight.
SA’s poor track record regarding blackouts was motivation for the Clients to connect Tesla Power walls into their system. A Tractile roof coupled with Tesla Power wall batteries gives the ability to be completely independent of the Power grid.
My recommendation that Tractile is a perfect fit for those Clients that do not like the aesthetics of conventional PV technology and are wanting to leave a smaller carbon footprint. This product is also perfect for those clients that need a roof suitable for extreme conditions that has the ability to take them off-grid.
Would I use Tractile PV tiles again? The answer is simply, “Yes”. This is a perfect solution both Architecturally and philosophically.
