Page 36 - Green Builder January 2017 Issue

Echo and Alexa: SolarCity and Tesla: All In

The Perfect Couple? There’s nothing shrinking about SolarCity’s gamble on its future in
the solar arena, as it completes a drama-laden merger with Tesla,
What makes Echo noteworthy in the world of Smart Plus Solar the company owned by entrepreneur Elon Musk. From the looks of
is that it takes voice commands to a new level. The unit has SolarCity’s website, the mental merge with Tesla is already a done deal.
seven microphones and beamforming technology that allow it to
distinguish human voices from across the room—even while music There’s nothing coincidental about this match. The two compa-
is playing. Those voices are then interpreted by Alexa programming. nies will offer a full-circle approach to solar.

Along with this listening ability, Echo also functions as an expertly SolarCity has built a vast
tuned speaker that can fill any room with 360-degree immersive sound. infrastructure for main-
streaming the concept of
Today, there are tens of thousands of developers building Alexa solar leasing. But as outright
skills, and over 4,000 Alexa skills now available to customers; they purchase of solar panels has
can play games, pay bills online or find music. But beyond these become more affordable,
daily tasks, new skills will likely include energy management, and net metering has come
including integration with smart meters. under siege by utilities,
the company’s growth has
Bob Shively, president of Enerdynamics, notes that voice slowed. The Tesla merger,
commands with an integrated device such as Echo are likely to however, could solve these
become the standard for controlling the intelligent home of the challenges with three new additions to the SolarCity portfolio:
future. “Amazon’s Alexa personal assistant,” he notes, “accessed ¦¦ Building-integrated solar shingles. Musk seems convinced he can
through the home Echo speaker, can already perform voice- make this type of product a success where other brands have
activated functions such as adjusting thermostats and lighting levels, failed. His product is innovative. Roofs look “normal” from below,
controlling switches and querying security systems to see whether but act as solar cells from above—resolving consumer expecta-
a window is open.” tions about what a roof “should” look like.
¦¦ Residential storage battery. Tesla’s Powerwall 2, a 14-kW residential
Although there are no dedicated solar power management apps for lithium-ion battery, is said to be launch-ready, offering viable off-
Alexa at present, some are already in the works. And with phone control grid storage for homeowners.
of the Echo already possible through the Roger app, Echo and its voice- ¦¦ Electric vehicles. Tesla Motors vehicles, charged with solar power,
linked abilities will continue into the arena of home energy saving. The will also recharge the Powerwall 2 when not in use. The new
Echo is on sale for just $139 retail at the time of this writing, and with Model S is shown.
the Amazon Echo Dot, you can add Alexa controls to multiple rooms.
www.solarcity.com
http://amzn.to/2hJByAl

34 GREEN BUILDER January/February 2017 www.greenbuildermedia.com