Tesla’s new Solar Roof is actually cheaper than a normal roof

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Good news for those who have been eyeing Tesla’s new Solar Roof – the company just announced pricing for its photovoltaic tiles, and they come in at just $21.85 per square foot. That’s nearly 20 percent cheaper than a normal roof once you factor in the energy savings and tax credits.

Tesla, Solar Roof, Eco-Friendly, Solar, Elon Musk, solar power, renewable energy, photovoltaic panels, solar panels, solar shingles

Tesla, Solar Roof, Eco-Friendly, Solar, Elon Musk, solar power, renewable energy, photovoltaic panels, solar panels, solar shingles

Tesla’s sought-after Solar Roof tiles are made of glass layered over a photovoltaic substrate, and they serve as a replacement for traditional roofing materials. This ensures they look like the “real thing” from the ground – even though they accomplish much more than a standard roof.

Tesla, Solar Roof, Eco-Friendly, Solar, Elon Musk, solar power, renewable energy, photovoltaic panels, solar panels, solar shingles

So far, Tesla has two styles available for pre-order: a textured black glass tile and a smooth grey tile. The tuscan and slate tiles will be available for installation in early 2018. According to the company, installing a Solar Roof takes between five and seven days – and Tesla manages the entire process itself.

Tesla, Solar Roof, Eco-Friendly, Solar, Elon Musk, solar power, renewable energy, photovoltaic panels, solar panels, solar shingles

The fact that the Solar Roof tiles are so economical is applaudable, considering that Consumer Reports predicted back in November that the tiles would need to cost under $24.50 per square foot to compete with traditional roofing materials. Tesla accomplished this — and went one step further. Now, the company is offering an infinite warranty for the tiles. “We offer the best warranty in the industry—the lifetime of your house, or infinity, whichever comes first,” a Tesla representative told Inverse. Consumer Reports based their cost numbers assuming 30 years worth of electricity savings. They didn’t factor in local or government rebates or incentives, so the deal gets even sweeter when you add those in.

Tesla, Solar Roof, Eco-Friendly, Solar, Elon Musk, solar power, renewable energy, photovoltaic panels, solar panels, solar shingles

Related: Tesla to power Gigafactory with world’s largest solar rooftop installation

An additional benefit of the Tesla Solar Roof is that it is touted to be stronger than a traditional roof. In areas where thunderstorms and high winds are rampant, a sturdier abode makes all the difference.

Tesla, Solar Roof, Eco-Friendly, Solar, Elon Musk, solar power, renewable energy, photovoltaic panels, solar panels, solar shingles

Fortunate consumers who purchase the Solar Roof will also receive the forthcoming Powerwall 2.0, which is a battery storage device with a built-in inverter. It connects to your home’s electrical system, enabling a house to go 100 percent off-the-grid. Though it costs an extra $6,500, the long-term savings are estimated to add up to thousands of dollars.

NOTE: This article has been updated to reflect accurate pricing numbers as calculated by Consumer Reports. Read the full calculation here.

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Construction company rolls out first inclusive ‘at work’ signs

Ayesha Butt, an apprentice electrician, in front of a “Men and Women at Work” sign.

It’s a sign of the times.

A Manhattan construction company has rolled out gender-neutral “Men and Women at Work” signs — believed to be the first of their kind in the city.

Plaza Construction began replacing archaic “Men at Work” signs at the entrances to their job sites Sept. 4 as part of a “female-friendly initiative” that “encourages women to enter the industry by creating a gender-neutral workplace environment,” CEO Richard Wood told The Post.

Hardhat Ayesha Butt, 22, an apprentice electrician at 100 Varick St., where a 25-story condo is being built, said the new slogan helps combat the “stigma” faced by female construction workers.

“It makes people know there are females doing the job and getting into the field,” she said.

Still, her own family can’t understand her career choice.

“My parents don’t like this. They want me to do something ‘normal,’ like be a doctor,” Butt told The Post. “They tell me, ‘We will pay you to stay home.’”

Her male co-workers, however, have accepted her as one of their own.

“We bust her balls as much as anybody,” a fellow electrician said. “She gives as much as she gets.”

When she first started, Butt recalled, “They’d say, ‘Make sure to use gloves. Your hands will get messed up. Your boyfriend won’t like it!’”

The diamond-shaped signs are even opening the eyes of women.

Texas native Leslie Arellano, 23, a graphic designer from Brooklyn, first got the message while walking to work last month on Murray Street.

“I applaud whoever designed them,” she said. “I didn’t realize there are women interested in doing that sort of work.”

Besides Murray and Varick, the signs are posted on Greenwich Street in FiDi and Charlton Street in SoHo, along with 30 other Plaza job sites in Brooklyn, the Bronx, Resorts World Casino NY in Queens, New Jersey, Washington DC, Miami and Tampa, Wood said.

When it comes to equal pay, the construction industry is actually more progressive than most, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. While women nationally make only 80 percent of what men earn, in construction, they earn 91.3 percent of their male counterparts.

Women accounted for 9 percent of the construction workforce nationally, and 7 percent in NYC, in 2017.

Plaza said women comprise 25 percent of their workforce.

Neither the Building and Construction Trades Council of Greater New York nor the Professional Women in Construction were aware of any other gender-neutral signs in the city.