Terracotta Tiles Are Solar Panels In Disguise To Blend Gorgeously Into Cities

Living a life that is kind to the environment doesn’t always mean that you will be able to keep to the design aesthetic you have envisioned. For example, with solar panels looking like heavy-duty equipment that can disrupt how a building looks from the outside, many might choose form over function.

Italian-based Dyaqua is offering a new solution to this issue with solar panels that are going incognito as terracotta tiles.
  
‘Invisible Solar’ was first dreamed up over a decade ago when solar cells were taking off and spreading through cities. The tiles are made of a polymer compound that lets sunlight reach the photovoltaic cell resting in the middle. 

One setback is that, for them to fit within the confines of the clay, the cells are made smaller and hence cannot capture as much sunlight. An area of 100 square feet can produce 1 kWh of electricity.
 
In this case, the breakthrough in design trumps its current energy output. The company posits that the tiles could lead to a future where solar panels are embedded into stone, concrete, or even wood. This would allow the tiles to be placed into walls and patios, not just roofs to which the cells are currently limited.

Dyaqua have them currently installed on the roofs of an archeological park in Pompeii, where they blend in well with the historical backdrop of the city. According to Fast Company, a director of an archeological park notes that they look exactly like the terracotta tiles used by the Romans.

Outside of Pompeii, they can also be found in a town called Vicoforte. As part of an EU-funded project, Dyaqua will also bring the tiles down to Evora, Portugal.
 

 
[via Fast Company and Cool Hunting, images via Dyaqua]