Solar Power Shingles -Tiles
86Solar Power Shingles
Solar Power Shingles are a wonderful approach to harness endless, environmentally friendly solar power for producing free electricity.
They look like regular roof (asphalt) shingles, which have a special photovoltaic substance in the form of a thin film on the top, with ability to transform solar radiation (light) directly into electricity.
As any other roof tiles they blend with the roof in the best possible way and they certainly don't ruin the aesthetic value of the building.
The (Solar) Power of our Sun
We simply can not imagine the sheer power of our Sun, because we are not used to deal with such a large quantities in our regular life.
What we all should know about our Sun is: Every single hour, our planet Earth receives enough solar energy from our Sun, in the form of heat-radiation, that we could cover absolutely all our energy needs, if we wanted to.
As a human race, we haven't encountered any other energy source, which could be so optimally placed, constant in its nature and distributed all over the planet in quantities, which are large enough to satisfy absolutely all our power needs.
Free Electricity for Your house for good
The size of any regular roof surface is large enough to cover all your electricity needs for your household. This photovoltaic devices are capable of producing renewable power for years to come. They are created as long term device to harness solar power. Long term means, that they could produce electricity for 25, 30, 40 or even more years. You install them once and you can really forget about them. They are totally silent devices, which work for you by producing power and lowering your monthly energy bill.
Add a 10% Price Premium to your Solar Powered House
If your house has already solar power system as renewable energy source implemented, that represents a substantial price premium to the value of your property. Every day, people are getting more concerned about environment, because global warming and climate changes have become a substantial part of our life.
Buildings, which follow Eco sustainable design and use renewable energy sources, have much more competitive and stronger position on the resale housing market.Current situation on the property markets worldwide is quite bad, considering the house prices, which are in a constant decline now, after many years of high growth. From this perspective, it is sometimes of crucial importance, if the house includes also solar power system.
Implementation of roof power tile adds about 10% to the value of your house, immediately. Well, that is a very nice price premium and there is additional advantage of constant income by producing your own electricity. PLUS, another advantage in the form of Total Power Independence of your household, which could, in the case of real emergency, save many lives.
Buy once, harvest Endless Solar Power for ever
Your investment in solar power shingles is a Single Investment, which means that you pay installation cost, once, and you are going to produce free electricity for the whole life span of your roof.
It is like an investment of your money in safe government bonds, which are earning safe interests for its owner. One difference between government bonds and your solar power system is the fact, that energy prices are constantly rising, while government's bond's interest rates are constantly falling.
Freedom of Your own Electricity
Being totally electricity self sustainable and independent in modern world is a very rare, but very useful commodity. We simply cannot imagine a modern life without a constant power at home. TV set, Hi-Fi, computers, iPods, mobile phones, all different home appliances, especially lighting, fridge and freezer.
It is really very wise decision to be totally independent, considering electricity supply.
It is also a matter of Personal and Family Security and Safety to possess an independent - own source of electricity, because we simply cannot survive without electric power for many days. There is no modern life without a fridge/freezer, other cooking and bathroom appliances and of course computers, phones, Internet, TV, etc.
Yes, for Batteries
Many private solar power installations are connected to national power grid. They send (sell) sufficient electricity to the power supplier, and they are buying electricity back at the same price later, when they need it.
However, if you really want to be totally power independent, you need to have your own batteries with sufficient capacity to power your needs. There are many sorts of batteries on the market, but I strongly suggest you to choose batteries, which demand no maintenance, so you don't need to worry about adding additional water, later.
Is the Solar Power Expensive?
No.
Solar power installation could add about 4% to overall cost of your house. However, it immediately 'gives you back' the price premium of about 10%, which is an increased value of your property, after making it energy efficient and renewable. So, if you are a price cautious home owner and you always look for the best return of your investment, that is about 6% gain in the very start.
You also get another immediate gain by lowering your monthly electricity bill and that is going to last for another 25,30, 40 or more years!
Solar Power System in your house behaves as a constant, silent, but persistent Money Maker for its owner.
How Carol and Alden Hathaway have done their Solar Power Roof?
Alden Hathaway and his wife Carol live in Londoun County near Hillsboro,Virginia. He is an energy expert and he knows how to do it properly, that sun works for you. I found this video so very positive and real, that I suggest you to watch it and to learn some practical facts about solar power roofs and solar panels, which could be easily installed in your house, or in any other building. They also speak about their advantages of producing their own green electricity.
Solar Power at Home 1
Larger surface of Solar Panels, which are not part of the roof
Very interesting practical example of how to use solar panels, if you don't want to spoil the look of your house by solar panels. If you possess a bit more free land, you can place them a bit further from the house. I like such cases from the real life, because they are not about sometimes quite boring theory, but every day life and real numbers.
Solar Energy at Home 2
Promotional Video of one Solar Power comapny
Even though, this video was made for promotional purpose of one company, it contains many very practical examples of using renewable solar energy.
Solar Photovoltaic Panels at Home 3
Video about Solar Power and solar Roofs, Solar Gardens
Use of Green Solar Energy at Home 5
Fast Solar Roof Prototype
How to really make any country more Safe?
Any Government could make its own country and all its citizens much safer, if it doesn't rely on foreign energy sources, such as oil, gas, coal, highly radioactive nuclear material, imported electricity.
Introduction and support of totally renewable energy sources, such as solar power, wind power, tidal power, wave power, power of sea currents, hydro power, geothermal, etc.
These renewable energy sources are absolutely FREE of charge and truly unlimited. Why, then, not to use them much more widely and thoroughly? Well, ask your Prime Minister and other politicians, who are paid to make the nation as safe as possible...
There is a Bright Future for Solar Power
I strongly believe, that there is a bright future for the wide use of endless solar power, worldwide. We don't need to spoil the nature around us, if we use vast surface of our empty roofs more wisely.
Sooner or latter, people are going to realize that nobody is going to survive, if we are not going to take pollution more seriously. Oil, gas, coal, nuclear. All of them are causing terrible pollution, which destroys life, every day. All of them cost us direly, financially and environmentally.
There is a country, which already covers more than 40% of its electricity consumption with renewable energy sources. That country is Portugal. USA and UK, which are much, much bigger, more developed and much wealthier are faaar behind it. (That is a really great shame for its elected leaders.)
Solar Powered Future
Life in present form is dying on this wonderful blue planet. That is just a fact.
Life is dying, because of our terrible pollution, exploitation of natural resources and greed of individuals and corporations - business.
Only use of renewable energy sources, such as solar power, could save us and other animals and plants.
Why not to use our roofs to power our life? Why not to dress them up in solar power installation and make them to work for us?
Efficiency rate of Solar Power Roofing Shingles
Efficiency rate of any solar powered device is a number, which tells us, how much power the device - the solar cells could extract from the all quantity of solar power (measured in Watts), which reaches the solar cell. Higher the efficiency rate, higher the power output at given sun light.
Educational Resources about Solar Power
There is hardly anything better out there about Solar Power, Solar Cells, Solar Shingles, Solar Panels, Efficiency rate of solar devices, than you can find on the website: University of Delaware, Newark, DE 19716-3130, USA
Beta of the 2nd Edition of the PVCDROM: Photovoltaics CDROM Christiana Honsberg and Stuart Bowden
You simply need to Watch This!
Dr. Donald Aitken, physicist
Dr. Donald Aitken is a physicist, solar architect and former lead scientist at the Union of Concerned of Concerned Scientists. His technical and general knowledge is truly immense and politicians are afraid, when he speaks, because of his simplicity, wonderful rhetoric skills and his wisdom.
Additional info about Solar Shingles
- Solar Panels - Green Power
Blog about Green Energy, Solar Power and Solar Panels. - Solar Power - PV Panels
Blog about Solar Power and Solar PV Panels - Wikipedia Solar Shingles
Explanation about solar shingles on Wikipedia - Solar Energy Technologies Program: Photovoltaics
US Department of Energy - Honsberg
Professor Christiana Honsberg researches ultra high efficiency solar cells at the University of Delaware - Peachy Green
Peachy Green blog is dedicated to our environment and promotion of renewable energy sources, such as solar power, wind, geothermal and hydrogen economy. Also about threats of global warming and climate changes.
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Comments
solar shingles a great idea, w e are just beginning to plan our home and will incorporate these in the design.
Looks like a great product to me. My uncle built a solor house int he 1960s and he would have liked to have had solar shingers. :)
What a great, comprehensive hub. I hope to invest in these when I get a house :)
Thanks Glassvisage! Time is getting better and better to buy a cheap and nice house, because of the financial crisis, which pushes property prises down.
And the prices of solar power devices, such as solar panels, solar power shingles, etc. are getting lower and lower, as well.
Hi Solar Shingles, great first hub you made ;) . When I built my house a few years ago I was thinking about buying a solar system for water heating but unfortunately I haven´t. I suppose it should be paid by now :( . I´ll be attentive to this type of system around here and see if it´s already available in Portugal, but I probably will have to wait until it becomes cheaper :)
Thanks, Funride! (the first and the sweetest, as they say...)
You would have been amazed about your country, if you would have known, how very successful the Portugal is in the field of renewable energy.
http://solarshingles.blogspot.com/2008/04/little-p
About use of solar power at home: I think, the combination of heat collectors, solar shingles/panels and a heat pump could be far the best solution for domestic use in this moment. And the good news: prices are falling and efficiency rates are rising.
What an amazingly great product. Just what I like to read about. sooner or later everyone will be energy saving savvy.
Great informative hub.
regards Zsuzsy
Thanks Zsuzsy Bee! Yeah, such products help the environment and personal budget, as well. Solar power is just the cleanest and the cheapest energy source we have on this planet, but we are rather paying oil barrel at a price of $114
This is very important information....can you go tell Congress? or Conoco? or Shell, I'd say Cheney, since he's an inside man with the oil chiefs, but he'd just say "so?"
I would love to have a solar house...I hope I live long enough to see this come to pass. Thanks for such great information... I would love for our country to be independent with energy -- using Sun, Wind..finding ourselves self sufficient frees us from suffocating ties...=)
Congress knows about the topic, already. Time is still not right for the 'oily bosses', who are harvesting the highest oil profits, ever, caused by Iraq war. New president and her/his new government is going to bite to this 'renewable apple', for the first time. soon.
p.s.
Al Gore is going to enter the White House from the back door, finally.
Stupid questions, but 1.) can you partially do it or do you have to do your entire roof all at once? 2.) about how much is it? 3.) how does it get "hooked up" if you will, to your home's energy? Our electricity bill is about $600 a month while everyone else on our street never even reaches $200. Something's wrong there!
Not stupid at all, but real.
Yes, you can do it partially, it's up to you.
There are different prices (at least 3 producers - each has different models for shingles/tiles, and many more producers and models for solar panels)
Your energy bill is amazingly high! You should really consider: solar shingles(more expensive) panels (cheaper) and also a heat pump/solar heater combination.
I'll take some more time later and add some real additional videos for your easier decision making process. Let the bank finance for your solar system, if applicable in your case, what you could see in video.
Always ask for a quote and negotiate for the best conditions.
p.s.
This is just official site of DoD http://www.eere.energy.gov/buildings/info/componen
p.p.s.
(Prices in UK are much higher than in the US)
Hooray for the fight against global warming. All other shingles and roof systems should become obsolete. Great first hub. Welcome to the pages. Cheers,
Thanks Sligobay! Roof is just one part of the house/building, which could get additional functionality by harnessing endless and free solar energy...but, there are many more places/structures in the building, which could be used for producing renewable energy to help in efforts for total decentralization of national power grid and other energy transport routes.
We've got all the technical knowledge needed for such renewable energy applications for quite a while, yet we are not using it for the sake of Powerful Oil Lobby, which runs all big world governments and corporations on the expense of their citizens.
Oil Corporations like Shell, BP and others are now also the biggest players in the renewable solar power field, and could decide the direction and the speed of changes. Such behaviour stinks! Well, something is very wrong at this department! Nobody could have expected, that a tiger is going to play a nice game with a sheep, while the current prices of oil have reached the record level ($116 per barrel) and oil corporations have been reporting the highest profits, ever.
It is so very sad, that elected politicians, who are trusted by all nation, are just little puppies of Powerful Oil Corporations.
Liza Minnelli and Joel Grey are just fantastic in this video, which describes a lot about money and power: 'Money Makes the World Goes Around'
Great Hub Thanks for the Great info welcome to hubpages
Thank you for your nice words!
This article is well documented with photos and video interview and site presentation!
I think if this kind of break production could be increase to fullfill the need of common people also then really one kind of revolution could be achieve in the field of energy!
Thank you, solarshingles!
Dear Healwell51, thanks for your positive thoughts!
If only people would have known, how very simple is the solution of absolutely all our energy needs from the position of the American President. The knowledge is here, the technologies are well known, even the products are ready, the only missing element is leadership to integrate all departments and to control and to motivate all the processes. To get rid of oil price blackmailing for ever!
But, that is possible only, if the president is the leader of this process, because of his immense leveraging Super Power. Just by a very few government decisions and deals with research institutions and technology companies, the prices of renewable energy could be cut enormously and efficiency rates of new power devices and technologies increased dramatically.
I'd love to have this on my roof. Can you come to Ohio to do my roof?
Dear Sue, I would really love to come to Ohio to help you with all needed considering your roof, but, sadly, I am tied to one project in UK and continental Europe for at least 3-4 months. In next 7 days I am going to add some more practical advices about solar power roof, shingles-tiles, solar panels to this hub, with numbers and some direct addresses for easier decision making process.
Thanks, yes it is very simple idea of how to use free energy source (our Sun) to power our energy needs at home or anywhere else.
p.s.
I am going to accept your kind invitation.
Great hub. Excellent information. I do hope we move in this direction for new construction and for commercial buildings with large areas of roofing, such as malls and office complexes. Geothermal for heating and cooling should be required for new schools, government buildings, and commercial construction. That would make a big difference. The government should help to create a grid for railroad transportation that would expedite the transport of goods and passengers across the country, not just on the East Coast. Europe and Japan are far ahead of us in this. It would save a LOT of gas. As for these tiles, or for solar paint, both are too costly, even considering rising energy costs and tax credits, in the current real estate market. We own stock in energy companies, and the dividends pay our bills. We save electricity by keeping lights off, rarely using the kitchen range, owning Energy Star appliances, and using low-consumption bulbs. We have owned stick-shift Honda Civics (40 mpg on the highway) since 1995 and live in a town where all commutes are short.
Thanks BlueRabbit! I agree, that prices of solar photovoltaics technologies are at list 50% overpriced, and not so efficient as it could have been already, but that's just because some top officials in White House haven't moved their bodies as they should have in the direction of renewable energy sources. They simply don't want to make the country energy independent, because they would have lost their fantastic OIL PROFITS. Really sad.
Great hub there, I am also planing to put a solar panel on my roof, as I my country is facing some serious energy crisis.I would prefer as noiseless and environment friendly solar based system rather than a generator to power my house.Thanks for tips.
Thanks! Solar heat collector for hot water, panels and batteries for electricity and you are going to be power independent. If you also have cold winters and you are additionally heating your home, you should also consider heat pump installation with underground heat storage.
Truly excellent hub! I will come back to it to learn what I missed.
Thanks Bluewings! I am looking forward to make it even more useful and comprehensive. I simply cannot believe, that we are not using solar power much more. It is everywhere, it is totally clean and absolutely free of charge. And our empty roofs could also do some good work for our personal budget and for the environment, as well.
:) And it's extremely significant in the times we are living in and advancing towards.I hope to learn from your provident hub.
Thanks! You are right. We are heading towards $200 per barrel of oil, yet President Bush and Prime Minister Gordon Brown still support oil and fossil fuels stronger than ever, because their oil profits are simply too tempting.
Good news for renewable energy sources and energy independence: Gordon Brown has achieved very bad local election results, yesterday and there are Presidential elections in the US this year, as well. (I also hope, they won't attack and destroy Iran's industry, before that time...for the sake of OIL, again...)
New American President and new government are going to widely support renewable energy sources and new technologies to help American and world economy to recover from total dependency to oil, and consequently help the environment, as well. (My wish):
Yeah, from where I stand, I too don't see any of them attacking Iran.What might happen though is more serious sanctions being brought in.
Politics is a science without reason and I can't say if the regimes to follow will be as prudent as we'd like them to be but at least it keeps the hope alive.Hope your wish comes true.
Renewable energy, such as solar power, wind power, geothermal, tidal, ocean currents, wave power, etc are absolutely free of charge and truly endless and they could make even the largest world economies energy independent.
That would also have been a real blessing for the our environment and all plants and animal species, who are massively dying because of our extensive pollution.
Great Hub. Here in Crete more people and companies are looking to solar power for their energy needs, but it is still lagging behind when you think that this island has over 300 days of sun a year. Nearly all new homes being built have solar water heating, but that's generally as far as it goes. The Greek govt have fairly recently brought in subsidies for businesses who install photovoltaic devices, but nothing for homeowners and the current costs are out of reach for most here. Let's hope this changes here soon and that we can afford to harness all that natural energy.
Dear Carolina, Greece is certainly one of the best locations for wide use of solar power in Europe! It is really so sad, that the government is not wise enough to apply solar power as one of the main renewable power sources in this great country. They still prefer to rely on expensive oil, gas, and coal, and they are wasting huge national resources for importing oil and destroying the environment by this dirty technologies.
I hope, 'fresh and bright leaders' are going to replace that old, corrupted politicians, soon.
Excellent hub! It should be mandatory that all new house construction implements renewable energy methods. This would grandfather the idea into practice.
Yes, Shesagogetter, mandatory! However, not only the missing legislation to force anyone to apply solar photovoltaics technologies in every new building, but also to cut its price by at least 50%-60% and to increase efficiency rate of PV devices to 30%, up to 50% in following years. That is the topic for the government, not the war for oil at $120 per barrel and already at $10 per gallon of patrol in Britain.
Great Hub,
Son three is a mths teacher and his school have decided to make their school join the World Solar Panals.
What is more they are paing most of it themselves some panals at a tijme, as they can afford it.
Even waterless toilets. They have the jump on all the other schools on our Northern beaches
Thank you
MrMarmalade, that's very encouraging news! I simply can't believe that they are paying their school solar panels system themselves?! Authorities are wasting millions and billions on silly projects rather than renewable energy, environment, preventing pollution.
Amazing information and just in time. We are just about to replace the shingles on our roof and I am going immediately to some of the sites you listed to see what our options are. Thank you so much for providing such good information.
Rhym, thank you for your nice words! I hope you are going to choose the right solar power shingles for your roof and that they are going to serve you well.
Very informative and will definitely be keeping in mind for my dream home... :o)
RainbowRecognizer, thank you for your positive comment. Solar shingles - power tiles - solar roof shingles could totally transform the process of power generation in one's household, worldwide. In combination with a battery bank they truly make you power independent for good. They are also substantially lower the carbon footprint of the family - pollution by green house gases.
Great information! I would like to see the cost of solar to come down. This is what the federal governement should be spendning its money on. Not subsidies to the oil companies, rather to spend that money making new government buildings energy efficient and solar powered as much as possible. Grants and tax relief should be offered to homeowners and businesses who want to pursue greener living. It's not just good practice for the survivability for the Earth, it's a matter of national security! Make energy affordable to everyeone, and put the oil rich fanatical governments out of business, and in the process, be able to give the terrorists less funding (or smaller coffers for offensive militaries).
Jim, you are so right about every word! But, what could you expect from the President who is born in oil family and who understands only his personal oil interests and do not give a dime for the country and its citizens.
Efficiency rates of solar photovoltaic devices could have been already around 50%, if only the President and its government would have been intelligent enough to think about real national interests and national security (energy independence).
Cost of solar powered technologies could have been at least 50% lower, without tax rebates and other financial incentives...for the same reason (President, his oily government)
Absolutely, and to hear the presidential candidates talk about gas tax holidays, and congress cutting off the (insignificant) flow of oil to the reserves, makes me fear our future. Cutting the flow of oil to the reserves isn't going to reduce the cost of oil, but it will increase our risk were there an actual emergency that we needed to use those reserves. Gas tax holidays are a joke. Keep the price of gas high, so that alternative/cleaner sources of energy are ramped up, and the cost of these technologies decrease.
I've been interested in solar shingles for a number of years now. Great concept!
Love your use of video, pictures, and your overall layout as well. Great presentation. Keep up the good work!
All is only a political spin of how to get in a White House for another 4 years to allow to oil lobby to further profit on a record oil prices. They even went to the war to boost the oil prices and they have been use many different excuses for that. We simply cannot even imagine the sheer power of oil corporations and their owners, behind the scene. They control the world and the last thing they want is free renewable energy.
Every single hour, our sun sends enough energy to our planet Earth to cover absolutely all energy needs of entire world population! American President knows that fact, but he prefers to profit from record oil prices. How very sad. It is about the country, it is about the people who are paying taxes to subsidise oil corporation.
Our future is in endless and free solar power and in all of its derivatives (wind, tidal power, ocean currents).
You are absolutely correct. I believe there is a lot of potential in solar energy. Good job.
Dumbledore, thanks! There is a huge potential for harnessing endless solar power in the form of heat by solar collectors and mirrors or direct electricity generation by solar shingles-tiles and solar panels. Just another interesting fact. An average photon which reaches the earth has an energy of 1.5eV and the energy amount which is needed to break the chemical bond between hydrogen and oxygen in the water (H2O) is 1.2eV. That means that we could use solar power in producing hydrogen, if only we wanted to. But, as I've already said so many times, it is totally up to the President and its government.
I have always been a big promoter of solar power, wind power, tidal power etc. It just makes sense. Good to see you fighting the good fight!
RFox, Thank you for your experiences and nice words! We have absolutely any other choice, because we are going to extinct, if we don't change our pollution culture.
Wow. Thanks for giving us this information, solarshingles. I only knew about the panels, and the shingles seem so much more user friendly. You seem to have a good sense of what is going on in the USA. How is solar energy-consciousness at the consumer level going in the UK? Great Hub!!
Thanks Maren, I think that current situation in Britain under Labour government is very bad - very similar to US, considering renewable energy. We are in Europe, and Europe is far, far more successful in this field. I strongly believe, that Gordon Brown, who has been 'commander in chief of British finances' in last decade has totally missed the opportunity to achieve Britain's energy independence, while the economy has been on the peak of performance. Sadly, now is too late. Just for the information: the gallon of petrol here is more than $10.
I'm so excited about these. What a great application of technology.
Dave, yes solar roof shingles - power tiles photovoltaic technology is a fantastic renewable energy approach of using vast roofing surface. Yet, a very minor financial and human resources have been invested in the the increase of efficiency rates up to 50%, which could totally transform our perspective of decentralized power generation. There is also so much to invent in the topic of lowering cost of final photovoltaic devices by mass production and lowering the amount of materials in the final product. (Oil lobby and the American President have been managed to block any substantial investment and implementation into this technological field)
Awsome information....What a neat concept...Thanx
Raguett, thanks for your opinion about solar power shingles! There is more than enough roof surface in any country to power all of its power needs, if only we could change our attitude towards energy generation, distribution, increase of efficiency rates on all levels of energy generation, energy transportation, and its final use. We only need to apply the knowledge, which we have been possessed for some time, already.
Thanks for the clear info. I've done some research for our (future) off-grid solar power installation but for whatever reason had not yet discovered solar SHINGLES. They really do look like "the way to go" for both effectiveness and pretty much escaping notice...both key considerations.
If you come across (or already know) any data regarding CONDUCTIVE solar, I'd love to see you do a Hub on that. I've only seen ONE article on it, which uses the suns HEAT and is not a pholtovoltaic process at all...might have been in Mother Erth News. No one else seems to know the technology even exists.
Ghost32, thanks for your comment! There are many different approaches of how to use endless and free solar power for energy generation in the form, which is suitable for further use. Two most important technological solutions are:
- photovoltaic power generation in the form of solar cells, which directly generates electricity (solar panels, solar shingles, 'carpets', 'curtains' thin film, paint, etc.)
- collection of solar heat into the heating medium (water, oil, gas, salt, etc.), which could be further used for direct heating/cooling or powering Stirling turbine, which generates electricity
There are some other scientific approaches of using solar power, which are not widespread and important enough yet, to be mentioned here.
Going green is definitely the way. I'd recommend this to everyone.
Going renewable is going to be much more popular after the great change in the White House at the end of this year, when the last great obstacles of making the country truly energy independent are going to be retired.
What are the effects on solar shingles of large amounts of snow coving them in the winter? How about snow sliding over them when it slides off of roofs?
I well remember shoveling snow 2 feet deep -- or deeper -- off of house and barn roofs when I was growing up. Is there a way to alleviate that problem or are these more useful in areas with less snowfall?
Solar roof shingles - solar tiles behave as a regular roof shingles. They are very robust and could sustain much higher pressure and much worse weather conditions as solar panels. Snow has absolutely no bad affect to them, except that you need to take it off(to clear the snow), to allow solar radiation to generate electricity.
There are very many solar photovoltaic devices installed in European Alpine area (Switzerland, France, Germany, Austria, Italy), which is quite rich snow wise.
Good info on Solar Power. I am also interested in renewable energy and published several hub about alternative energy soruces.
Ah, my dream is to be totally self sufficient with energy and water. I'm working on it.
Blind Freddy could see the crisis looming with the peak oil situation. It just astounds me that people in authority cannot or do not want to see the dire consequences that could result. I am just reading Stephen Leebs book "The Coming Economic Collapse" and he explains it as groupthink however, maybe, it should be more - moneythink!!
He maintains todays solar cells are inefficient as they only convert 10% of the light hitting them into electricity so their efficiency needs to be increased or the cost of making them needs to fall 50%. With oil hitting $135 maybe the govt will be generous with subsidies!!!
Good hub.
Marg07, thanks for your rich comment! Present US government is NOT going to be more supportive towards renewable energy and endless solar power. Sadly, the President and his close team are old oil boys and they are interesting only in their personal interests and high profits connected to oil.However, after the election truly great changes are going to happen in this field, if finally Democrat candidate is going to win.
Marg07, USA is still the greatest country on the planet considering resources, and it could always provide whatever for its basic needs, if only more intelligent policies are going to be applied. The knowledge, human resources and financial basement are already there.
You can already buy solar panels with 25% efficiency rate on the market, even though the Germany buys almost all what could be produced.):
Dr. Christiana Honsberg and Dr. Allen Barnett at University of Delaware, Newark, DE, USA are the top scientists on the field of solar photovoltaics and they hold the world record in efficiency rates of solar cells at 42.9%. They plan to achieve 50% efficiency rate in one year, which is going to be a truly amazing achievement. They spent ONLY about $13 million to achieve the world record!!! And the war in Iraq costs more than $3.000.000 millions ($3 trillions)
Only a few administrative decisions of US government and a few business deals between US government and some big technological companies could cut the price of all solar photovoltaic power devices, such as solar cells, panels, shingles, etc by at least 50%.
Add to all that many different tax rebates and other financial incentives and you could get Energy Independent and decentralized USA, quite soon.
But, it is really up to the President.
Very well said and enlightening! I had no idea that 40% efficiency had already been crossed on solar cells! I think once the public catches on about how easy and efficient these cells are the prices will come down further and the advances will just keep rolling in.
Your articles and comments are dead on... hey thats why I became a fan!!!
am firepepper red, thank you very much for your kind and very constructive comment about the public. Solar power simply have to become a trend to be successful. Much higher efficiency rates of solar cells and much lower prices of solar panels, power roof shingles and other PV devices are going to additionally boost their implementation at all levels of society form business to residential homes.
Very informative hub, solarshingles, I must admit I never knew about solar shingles. What an amazing invention, they blend in with the house and look like they are easy to install.
I live in Guatemala and know that this country has a huge potential for alternative energy sources. Unfortunately, we can't rely on the government to change things quickly, so I will be looking into sourcing the solar shingles myself.
Mick, thank you for your comment from sunny Guatemala, which is immensely rich country considering renewable energy sources and especially solar power. Many times we simply need to rely on our-self and forget about the government, even though we are entirely pay its existence.
Great stuff solarshingles! It's way past time the greedy corporate psychopaths were silenced. They keep lying to the public about the technology not being available! We could be oil and gas free in under five years if it weren't for corporate and government obstructionism. Keep spreading the word.
ColdWarBaby, you are so right! Immense financial and political power of oil corporations allows them to buy scientific patents and whole companies only to stop or to speed down the development of renewable energy sources. Bizzare multi billion profit due to historically record oil prices is only going to motivate oil corporations to maximally slow down the process of switching to renewable.
Great hub! Solar shingles are a great alternative to the old bulky solar panels. Living in the Colorado Rocky Mountains, wind and solar are great choices for us. Look forward to reading more of your articles.
Thanks Cassidy! Solar energy, wind, (micro)hydro, geothermal, etc. are really just offering themselves to adopt them on a much wider scale as a society.
This is a great idea to save money and the environment! If more people started to switch over to eco-friendly power sources, the earth would probably be a lot cleaner and happier for the effort.
People are going to switch to renewable anyway, but it is up to the governments, which are spending only people's tax money to lead to renewable energy sources, much more intensively. Solar power could feed absolutely all our energy needs, if only we wanted so.
Very, very interesting discussion. 'specially for me here in Israel. Just about everyone here uses what's called a "dood shemesh" (that's solar heater in hebrew) for their hot water needs. It's a metal canister that sits atop apartment buildings and houses collecting sunshine! In the winter it's sometimes necessary to turn on an electric switch to add a little heat, but generally it's entirely self sufficient.
Because you see these canisters on top of every house and apartment building here, I've often wondered why more people haven't made the move to solar panels (shingles, what-have-you) for all their energy needs. They've obviously already embraced the power of solar energy and, you'd think a country this size, in such close proximity to its oil rich adversaries would make that switch immediately!
You are so right Twohandtouch! Solar heat collectors are still the most efficient way of harnessing solar power. Given, that a lot of energy is used for water heating I really like the combination of solar heat collectors, solar shingles or panels and a sufficient battery bank. Judging by Israel's technological level, I am very surprised that the country doesn't use much more of their own vast solar power potential. Thank you for your precise description of 'dood shamesh'.
Great post! Been away and just spotted this, so a belated bravo for the writer. I look forward to every new issue of Mother Earth News. They are very big on solar. I have wondered for a long time why individual home owners couldn't use a combo of wind and solar. Instead we've bogged down all the studies and talk about how to produce energy on the grand scales we've used to generate power which have the awful byproduct of destroying the environment and contributing to global warming. Of course Big Energy and hedge funders will fight any movements to let consumers become independent of the Grid. But if I had any extra money I'd be investing in Green & sustainable & environmentally friendly.
Thanks Mary, it sounds even better, if it is said by such an expert for everything related to the real estates, as you certainly are. Decentralization of power generation is the only way of real power independence and a real improvement to national security, considering power generation and supply. Wind, solar power, geothermal, hydrogen economy...all those are, what we should be looking for.
It's encouraging to read about the solutions to our energy needs. I find often news coverage doesn't focus on the solutions underway but rather more on the problems. It's well worth the time to research these solutions and become informed about how we can make positive energy choices. We can hypothesize about all the terrible outcomes of climate change but making positive change is a better use of our time. I enjoyed your article and all the useful information, so thanks.
Anja, thank you very much! I also prefer to talk about the problems, because it is much easier than seeking pragmatic solution of any problem. Yet, it is truly so very easy to reach the true national power independence and to save our environment, at the same time, if only our leaders would have wanted to.
1. President needs to sign 'the order' of switching to clean renewable energy as soon as possible. All federal technological and scientific agencies, institutions, etc., and the US Army need to execute switch to renewable. Their immense knowledge and experiences are more than enough to achieve such a goal.
2. Increase of efficiency rates of solar panels to 50% in one year. (current efficiency rates in production line: 10-25%)
3. Massive production lines of solar PV devices by special contracts supervised by federal agencies.
4. Only the President, his government and Congress could bring the price of solar shingles, panels, etc. to just a fraction of current prices in a year, if they would have wanted to.
Until now, absolutely all energy sources have been heavily subsidised. Oil, coal and nuclear still are very heavily subsidised!
It is truly so very easy, if only our top leaders would have decided to switch to renewable energy. The problem is, that they are to deeply involved in oil business, which pays off immensely, due to the record oil prices.
Only the cost of Iraq war is going to be far more than $3.000 billion! And what the people are getting out of it? Financial crisis, record oil prices, total destruction and thousands of casualties.
what an amazing solution to my extremly high electricity bills. its really such a shame the idea hasnt caught on in more homes today. I like you promote your solar shingles with your profile name - keep those interesting hubs coming!
Annete, thank you very much for your kind words about solar shingles and solar electricity. I am hardly waiting that efficiency rates of solar cells would reach the level of 50%, very soon, because that is going to be a true revolution in power generation. I hope that the next President is going to like his/her own people much more, than George W. Bush, Gordon Brown or Nicolas Sarkozy.
Thanks for the detailed information - I'd love it if our house could be more energy efficient, but as you said earlier, "Prices in UK are much higher than in the US" - ain't that always the way!
Yes, Caspar. The prices in Britain are just over the top considering solar photovoltaic devices and installation costs, as well. The government in Britain is in constant fight with itself, instead of delivering power independence to Britain and renewable energy sources. (And yet, what you could have expected from the Labour political party, which completely betrayed their members and labour unions and completely turned to the upper class and famous celebrities under Tony Blair and Gordon Brown.)
Thanks for the information
Good for the environment. Thanks for the information.
Wow... That is a pretty cool product. It is too bad that I live in Washington State where there is never any sun.
RyanRE, thanks! Solar shingles work well, even there is no direct sun, but only day light. I am really looking forward to much higher efficiency rate of solar cells in a year or two, which is going to produce up to 5x times the current power.
First Class! How about the issue of storage. A country like Ireland that wouldn't see the same sun strength as elsewhere (we could and should bottle rain water as an industry lol!) Can you elaborate on this issue please? Keep up the good work, get this message out there
Peter, thanks! (I am blushing, really). If I am honest the storage still 'sucks' in this moment. One needs a range of old fashioned heavy wight batteries to power the house and be truly energy independent. In so many years of technological development batteries haven't really performed well. Their capacity rates are still far too low, considering the given volume and mass. I could see our near future with: hydrogen power storage (already viable today), energy storage in nitrogen and its salts (in regular use in some large solar farms), nanotechnology used in batteries (not yet on the market). There are some other ways of energy storage, which are going to be very suitable soon, but in this moment an old fashioned sealed battery banks are the best option.
This is obviously a necessary consideration with the rising cost of energy and just about everything else. Before this article I never heard of these shingles. Now that I am looking for a home to upgrade this will definitely be an option to include.
If oil corporations and their power lobbying wouldn't have been so extremely powerful and influential in the USA and in the rest of the world, I believe, that US would have already been using vast surface of American roofs for harnessing free and endless solar power for many years at 50% efficiency rates. Why to waste free land, if there are empty roofs which are 'just asking' to be populated by photovoltaic.
Great hub there! In Arizona, it is a crime that solar is not used more. We have 355 days of sun a year. In my next home I buy, I am going to definitely solarize it, even if it means I buy a smaller house.
We have just bought another caravan and are looking at putting solar panels on it to save us power and be able to camp out. Instead of staying in caravan parks all the time. What with the price of fuel. We have to cut the expenses where we can.
Anyone in australia need their house sat? We can park the van and look after garden and animals. Oh well just an idea.
Doncarlin, thank you! Arizona is just created for harnessing solar power in any form: as direct electricity by solar shingles or solar panels or by solar heat collectors and large mirrors. I believe, that is going to be a great business opportunity very soon under the new President and brand new environmental policy of his new government. Prizes of solar photovoltaic devices are going to be much lower and efficiency rates quite higher.
Dear Eileen, thank you for your sweet comment. The news about your new caravan is just too good to be true! I do hope you are going to have a very amazing traveling experiences with your new home on the road. Decision of implementing solar panels is very wise one, because of your true power independence. Enjoy your new caravan, Eileen!
Great hub! I'm avid environmentalist and believe that a solar shingle is a great idea. I just saw a great article the other day on a solar powered toyota prius that increases its fuel economy by 37% and allows the user to travel to work just on the electric motor. The solar panel is only 2000 dollars!
Thank you Bueller's Way! That is a very good news about the solar powered Toyota Prius. I hope that other car producers will follow Toyota, soon.
Great Hub. I'm into promoting solar myself. Have a couple of sites going on it. Solar definitely is the future. As you already know, there is a lot of research and development for solar going on all the time. People would be surprised to know that you can buy quite a few personal items that are powered by the sun. Most people just think of rooftops and garden lights.
We're really at the start of the solar revolution. Some big investors have come on board recently and that will help to further the technology. Prices for the technology and products will be lowering in the coming years to the point where most people will be able to afford it.
Great Job getting the word out!
Patnet, thank you for your comment about ever increasing presence of solar photovoltaic devices in our every day life. Solar power has enabled creation of life on earth and there is absolutely no reason of not using it for powering all our energy needs.
Did you know that in Israel you are required to put a solar water heater on your roof? I have no idea why there is no law like that on some level anyway in states like Florida and arizona. if every house and building in Florida had solar power we could reduce our dependance on foriegn oil to almost zero!
OSUAV8R, thank you for this news. I didn't know, that solar water heaters are required in Israel, which is very good, I believe. I would expect of Israel to be the world solar power leader, due to its geographic location and excellent technical potential in their human resources.
They just announced that Israelis that put solar cells on their roofs can sell it back to the grid... things are going to change rapidly in Israel
That's very good news about wider use of solar power. Israel is quite a little country, but technologically they are so advanced, that they could have increased efficiency rate of solar cells up to 50% and would have additionally lowered the production costs of solar panels by use of much less expensive and rare materials, if they would had wanted to.
Decentralized use of photovoltaic solar power plants of much smaller size than the usual power plants could really guarantee total energy independence and additionally much strengthen national security and national economy.
Great, informative hub. I'll be building a home within the comming months and will definetely look into solar shingles, and other alternative energy devices. Thanks.
Bill
Thanks for you comment Bill. That is a very wise decision to get a true power independence for your family. One never knows, what the future will bring. Solar power is just out there waiting for us to harness it.
Thanks for all of the great information. We are going to add these to our products for our Solar Company Sslite Advantage, Inc. My husband invented the Solar Sign Light which was patented 2 months ago. Now we are moving forward with all forms of alternative energy to showcase. These will be great. Thank you again for the great video's.
I'm all about saving energy where I can although I'm curious if the solar shingles do their other purpose which is being a shingle. Hold up against harsh weather rain, hail, heat, snow. I'm assuming they are made of some sort of rubber which in certain temps will shrink and expand. Over time cracks usually form from the expansion and contracting which intern would cause a leak in your roof.
awaiting your answer,
curious ?
James, thank you for your very constructive concern. The straight answer to your question is: Yes, the Solar Power Shingles = Solar Roof Shingles do their main purpose of being a strong and long term reliable roof shingle. The companies would have bankrupted in their first year of performing their business activities, if solar tiles wouldn't have been strong and reliable enough to protect the building. No rubber or similar material is part of a power shingle. Guarantees for these photovoltaic devices are set at about 20-25years or even longer time period.
Great HUB!!! I want to go solar so BAD!!! Especially living in New Orleans. Of course, er....during an evacuation, I LEAVE!!! Thanks for doing so much research on this hub. I will be checking you out soon. Kee writing!!
Peace,
Monica
Dear Monica, thank you for your kind comment about use of solar power. Your city is truly perfect place to use solar shingles, panels or solar heat collectors. I hope, you'll soon managed to get an optimal equipment for your house, there.
If the panels get cheaper I'm going solar too!
Svetoslav, you are right about the price of solar photovoltaic devices. Prices are still so high, due to the low support for the renewable energy sources in White House under the current President, who is addicted to oil, only. However, even the time of George W. Bush is coming to its end that is certainly an excellent news for the environment and much wider use of endless and free solar power. Solar panels, shingles-tiles, carpets, curtains and other PV devices need to be at least 50% cheaper and 100% more effective. The world needs about two years to achieve these goals, under the new team in Washington.
What an informative hub on solarshingles and now I understand your screename :). I am glad I looked back to see you had this hub because it is very informative and good for any home owner to refer to. We have the technology and ability to use these resources and I hope people start to do this on more of a widespread level.
SweetiePie, thank you very much for your very kind comment about solar shingles and wider use of renewable energy. We simply have no other option, if we would have liked to produce enough power, saved our badly damaged environment and made our society truly power independent. Solar energy is endless and absolutely free of charge. The vast surface of all our roofs could cover absolutely all our power needs, if only we decided to.
Solar shingles great post and thanks for helping educate others about solar energy. They are making great leaps in technology and I have heard thru the grapevine that the cost of panels is about to drop drastically because of a new production method.
Just so you will know - In America we are so far geared to a smaller less restrictive government which believes in the market controlling these things. And as far as incentives there are federal and State level incentives and credits for alternative sources.
The technology is being researched at incredible levels and everyone will be surprised at the pace of change in the next few years.
It all will still come down to the people deciding to bite the bullet and pay the price. Looks like many have gotten their wish about the cost being in line with fossil fuel. It's just not the direction they chose.
Health conscious, thank you for your kind comment about use of renewable energy and solar power in America. I also think, that the government with its $3 trillion budget is not smaller and less restrictive in the most important topics, such as energy (DoD). Its immense financial, technological, intelligence and planning power is far the largest world-wise. And the leader of that government is a President. I strongly believe, that the present leader has failed in promoting free sources of endless renewable energy and also he has failed in achieving a true power-energy independence of the nation. Dependence on foreign oil at record oil prices is just devastating for the personal budget of 'his' citizens - the people he is responsible to.
Thank you so much for writing this hub! When solar goes down in price we will get them. A question about storage though. Our house is in the mounatins (foothills to thos who live on real mountains) and we are in a forested area. We get sun in dappled shade and full sun in the winter months. Being that our house used to be a vacation home we are on stilts. We have enclosed the bottom and put in a partial basement which is on a cement slab. How and where would you suggest we store underground? Oh and we are on Shale. We found out that our roof is leaking and would love to put in solar panels, but money is tight right now because we are in the process of getting new windows that are energy effeciient--more so then the single panel windows that are in this home now. It's been a long time renovating this cabin into a home.
Dear Lady Guinevere, thank you for your kind comment and a direct questions. I'll send you some real examples by email, that you could study them at home.
Considering your new roof and tight financial situation, I would advise you to wait, because the prices of solar shingles-tiles and solar panels will drop considerably due to the support of the new American government, after the election. More than $150 billion is going to be invested into renewable energy sources and much more in tax credits, rebates and other financial leveraging. You could also expect higher efficiency rates of new solar photovoltaic devices, which is going to produce more power at much lower cost.
Thak you very much for the advice! I can't wait until Bush is out of office. I live in the United States in the Mid-Atlantic in the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia. I am about 2 hours west of Washington D.C.
Great hub! Love the info!!! My husband are looking into solar power on a house we will be building next year, I made him read it too :) I am sure as we start building I will have lots of additional question.
Flstatefan1, thank you very much for your 'real life' comment! It is much better, if you could plan renewable power installations in advance, while you are designing plans for your new house. I believe, you could truly use the solar shingles or solar panels in an optimal way. You could also expect lower prices, better conditions and higher quality of PV products on the Solar Power Market, next year.
Wow, so wonderfully laid out and very interesting!
Collbora, thank you for your kind support of this hub about harnessing endless and free solar power by use of solar shingles, solar panels and other solar power photovoltaic technologies.
Great! This could very well minimize our dependency for oil. I like the discussion on the economic side, the savings you will make in the long run.
Jezzbb, I really like the feeling of being power independent. The roof surface is large enough to give me absolutely all power needed if I use the combination of solar roof shingles and solar heat collectors (hot water), large enough battery bank and large tank for hot water. I have experienced some war situations and other emergency situations, such as earthquakes, floods, fires, power blackouts, power restrictions, which have taught me to count only to my own resources, if possible. Power - electricity is one of the most important ones, beside fresh water, food, warm clothes and medicines.
Hi. Thanks for the article. Solar power would be the the solution to all our energy problems in India. Particularly in rural areas. However, the cost of setting up these panels is still extremely prohibitive for the average household in India.
Adite, you are correct about the cost of solar photovoltaic devices (solar power shingles, solar PV panels). They are far too expensive. However, an amazing new interest in renewable energy sources such as solar and wind power in last years, due to the record oil prices, is discovering much better and cheaper solutions. Thin PV film, solar windows and solar dyes are going to totally transform our individual power generation very soon. Top scientists have been already working on this topic for some years and we could already see their first successful technological results. New solar powered devices will be much cheaper and much more powerful - more efficient on given surface. Here is one technological breakthrough of MIT scientists (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) about solar power harnessing: http://solarshingles.blogspot.com/2008/07/solar-pa
We need more guys like you! I wanted to get all solar shingled up, but it would cost over 100,00.00! The government would pay 60% of that, but that still leaves more than I can afford. Instead of spending all of our money on Iraq and really stupid things like corn ethanol, the government should be getting every home in the USA solar shingled, and if you are under a certain income bracket, they should pay for it, and just take the profits from the extra profits that are sent back to the electric company. I really wish I knew more about government grants which would help out lower income home owners. Did you know that evern ancient Rome was into solar power? They used up all the wood for miles around and they had to find another way to heat their homes in winter, and they did it with passive solar! That is just amazing! I am looking forward to your future Hub Pages. Do you think you could do a hubpage about solar hot water heaters? I heard it is illegal in Germany NOT to have a solar water heater for your home. Is that true?
Magnoliazz, thanks for your very interesting comment about your personal experiences with solar shingles and about how old Romans were using passive solar power for heating their houses in winter time.
Marburg, a town in Germany with population of about 80.000 has decided to make the solar panels installation compulsory on all new buildings, and any older ones which are renovated or altered. Fine of not following this rule is €1,000. State money, will help in paying for solar panels and installations.
I wish ALL roofs here in the US were required to be shingled with solar panels from now on like Marburg.
When we talk about our national defence and security it's insane that we are so dependant on foreign powers for our energy needs. It makes no sence to me at all why anyone building a home today wouldn't want to be energy independent.
Thank you for helping to light the way.
Great hub, very informative and timely. Making the switch to solar energy certainly makes economic sense. As the interest and market for solar power grows that too will help bring down the cost.
Dear Shelly, you are so right about the vast unused potential of Solar Power on every single point of our planet Earth. Renewable energy sources are even more interesting, if we are looking from perspective of national security and true power independence. That should be the very first goal of any government. USA government has a budget of $3 trillion = $3000 billion, and it spends only 'peanuts' for solar power, wind and geothermal, due to the total control and obstruction by ever greedy oil lobby and the President George W. Bush and his advisers.
ArchK, you are very right that switching to solar power, wind, geothermal and other renewable energy sources makes economic sense. However, the implementation of renewable energy sources is still far too expensive, due to the lack of governmental energy-power control overt that topic and almost total obstruction by the President George W. Bush and its Power Oil Lobby, who simply want to preserve their position of profiteering at record oil prices. In normal circumstances these people would have been locked in long term prison sentence, because they really don't care about an average citizen and national security, as well. Absolutely all federal agencies who care about the future and the state of the nation have totally failed about these topics.
Only a few large contracts and some new legislation and financial arrangements could slashed the prices of solar panels, shingles, other photovoltaic products, solar heat collectors, wind farms and geothermal power plants by more than 70% and make them truly affordable and wide spread. No more reliance on imported foreign oil and no more paying the ridiculously and artificially ballooned record oil prices, due to the war in Iraq and very bad relations and provocation towards Venezuela, Iran, Nigeria, etc. (failed and wrong Foreign Policy). Long term positive impact of record oil prices is going to be total switch from oil, gas and coal to renewable energy sources.
Great Ideas when I build my healing center I certainly want to be off the grid
I will need information then.
Todd, that's a great idea and it'll be even more viable, if Barack Obama wins the Presidential race. We could expect much wider support for the renewable energy sources, especially solar power (solar panels, shingles - tiles, solar heat collectors and solar heat and PV power plants). Prices is going to decrease substantially and we could also expect much higher efficiency rates of solar powered devices.
Great in-depth article. Kudos.
This is an excellent hub. I think that every house should be able to instal the shingles and reap the benefit of the sun. Thank you for this great hub.
Sylvia
Thank you the dentist!
Dear Sylvia, I totally agree with you and I think, that solar shingles and solar panels should represent a substantial part of every home, factory and any other building. Only the government could set a proper and working renewable energy policy, which could slash the prices of solar photovoltaic and solar heat technologies by even 90%. True power independence could be very close and quite easy achievable, if only the White House will get some fresh minds to occupy it, which are not so blindly devoted to oil power lobby as it is the case with George W. Bush and its team.
Do you have any connections in Canada? This would be perfect for my first home.
Superior Post! Excellent information on Solar Energy as a viable source of free energy. I hope to one day build a house that is free from energy companies tight grasp. Plus i believe very highly that we should all do our part to help keep this planet clean and beautiful. Keep up the good work buddy!
This is a wonderful hub. Where we live the sun shines 97% of the days in each year so it would make great sense to use solar power, except for two factors, first the panels might get damaged in our monsoon season (a time of year when we should consider getting a power assist from the wind!) and also because, unbelievably, even in nice areas people have been known to steal solar panels. We would definitely have them anyway except that we live in a condo, so it isn't our call.
good hub...learned much abt the use of solar power
Hey man... this was a great post ( i shot you an email)... But the content was concise and well worth the time investment, Great Job!
This is the best first hub I have seen so far. I think you write very well as you can see by the heap of positive comments. Congratulations you are a major asset to the internet.Please write more interesting and informative hubs like this one.
Hi RealEstateMan, very nice to see you here! (Could you send me another email, please, because I haven't received it) I also think that additional knowledge about wider practical use of solar powered rooftops could help us much more that we could have even imagined.
Hi Earnesthub, thank you for your ultra kind words. It is quite easy to write about solar power, solar panels, power shingles, heat collectors, because I know that subject quite well. And your beautiful country of Australia (down under:) is particularly rich with solar power.
Renewable energy is a subject close to my heart as well. Some people may think using renewable energies is only a "drop in the bucket", but if enough people use it, we can make that bucket overflow!
Wow! This is the best Hub I have ever seen.
This is a a very helpful hub especially for someone like me who's planning to buy a house. Thanks :-)
Dear Luise and JKSophie, thank you for your comments about usefulness of solar power shingles and renewable energy. I am very delighted that every day there are more news in Media about practical installations of solar panels, solar roof shingles and wind turbines all over the planet.
Great hub! Solar Power Shingles is really environmental friendly. Thanks for the information.
Yes, you are right. There is nothing more environmentally friendly as is solar power and other renewable energy sources, such as wind power and geothermal energy. More we will use and develop these new renewable technologies more efficient they will become and what is the most important: they will become cheaper and cheaper.
Very informative hub, only one question, since solar energy is relatively new have they done any research on it regarding health side effects from it, like for instance the health questions that came along with cell phones.
Yellowburgandy, thanks for your question about the impact of solar photovoltaic devices (solar cells, solar panels, solar roof power shingles) to our health.
The main difference between a mobile cell phone and a solar cell is that mobile phone emits - radiates quite strong electro-magnetic field, which could be harmful to our body and to all other plants and animals. Solar cell radiate light (visible, invisible), which is also a radiation, but with much, much lower energy. Imagine the sun light, but weaker, because a share of energy is transformed into electricity - power. That level is called efficiency rate and it differs in range from 15% up to 30%. Efficiency rate is ever increasing and it is only a question of time when it'll reach 50%.
In last 25 years, there were many studies in Germany about the impact of solar panels to the environment. Germany also performed additional research before its government officially declared their plan of switching to renewable power sources. German Prime Minister Angela Merkel holds a PhD. in physics and cannot be easily tricked considering highly scientific matters and she regularly asks many highly provocative questions. They have found out that the only problem with solar cells and panels could be the very production process, which could be very harmful for the environment. So the problem could be on the side of production and not consumption. They have additionally tighten environmental laws (make them more rigorous and precise) and it is very easy to be jailed and to lose all your possessions if you don't respect them as producer. Germany and some other EU countries have also very strict laws about recycling and waste collection, and every village, town or city has its own exact channels of waste collecting and recycling, and one exactly knows where to put solar photovoltaic devices and other electronic gadgets.
The opposite pole is China, which allows endless pollution in all production processes and power generations to increase its export and cash income, but their practices are not to follow:)
Ervin, I really enjoyed this hub on solar power shingles - I read it some time ago and cannot believe I forgot to leave a comment. Your responses to all of the other comments are just as helpful as the hub itself. You clearly know the product well. I am excited to see these technological advances being incorporated into green building designs. As the price of oil continues to rise, more and more people should be looking to alternative energy sources like solar power. It is very exciting to read about!
Stephanie, thank you for your kind words about solar power shingles and wider use of renewable energy sources, such as solar energy, wind power, geothermal and hydrogen economy. More than $10 billion is spent every months on war in Iraq. Only 10% of that cash sum spent in research of solar cells ($1 billion) could lead to doubled efficiency rate of solar photovoltaic devices - from 25% to 50% in one year time! Also, It could cut the current production prices of solar photovoltaics devices by 80% by lowering the amount of expensive material! It could create at least 1 million new well paid jobs in US in following years and completely transform American power generation. America with its wast renewable energy resources simply calls to become truly power independent country.
This is a great hub. I have enjoyed reading it and learning from it. thanks.
Thanks for the info. Very important. What is the cost of installing the solar roof? Just a sq ft average.
Thanks.
Thank you for the information on your hub. I have wanted to go solar for a long time - live in Arizona and have plenty of sun. Definitely will look into this when I am ready. Thank you again for the great hub.
You have an awesome hub here, solarshingles. This is not one of my favorite topics, but you've made it interesting.
Cheers,
Mitch
where can i get me some of that and how much
I've always been facinated with renewable energy. This is a great and practicle way to go solar. Thank You
This is a very interesting article, thank you very much for the information.
What a very well written blog on solar power. I am glad that you went beyond the usual and covered the national security issues of relying on oil. If include the cost of security and defense expenses needed to secure our supplies, then solar power is way more economical even today. Keep up the great work!
I've always wanted solar power for my home, had no idea they made nice looking shingles though! It might just happen now...
excellent hub. I'd like to see this get closer to those lagging politician's minds.
hey great hub... solar power its great and also useful...
The main problem of solar power is that it do not produce as much energy as required. Take solar car for example, it do not achieve the speed that is achieved by it's general cars. I hope scientist come up with some more better equipment that will be able to trap is energy more effectively thereby generating more power.
I agree with you DIY but still a lot of improvement is needed in the if solar power has to replace the normal fuels being used in cars today. But I think it is never too late to start, even if government of different countries start putting effort today then the come generation will enjoy the fruit of power of sunlight!
Sometimes its hard to see past the initial investment, but it really is worth it to go solar. Great Hub
This will certainly help ease out global warming. Great article!
I would love to have this at on my house. They really would help you save in the long run.
I am very interested in this subject, but the payback of about 18 years is just way too long. I don't think very many people will by this product until the payback is around 5-7 years. The cost is just to expensive in today's economic climate.
I'd love to have my own solar shingles roof but I since I'm still renting a groundfloor abode... I think I'll look for solar panels that can be installed on walls instead. Thank you for the very informative hub :)
Solar's a great way to go. The high upfront cost is a barrier to entry for sure. Want to start up a new 'solar powered home' mortgage company? :p
Those shingles are very cool. Let's not forget that PV isn't the only (or even the most efficient) form of harnessing the sun's power. Using the sun to heat your house and hot water involves much less cost upfront and can save you even more.
Solar shingles would seem to be the perfect solution for capturing solar power without changing the way our homes look.
Hopefuly they will soon be a standard fitting on all new homes
Thanks for great information. it can save our electricity consumption. It need to aplicate to all house in the world.two thumbs for you!
das good
we're interested in solarizing our home & offices to become greener throughout our life. any tips and resources where we could explore pricing for Solar roofing/shingles in North Carolina? (zip code 28227)
So good and informative article! thanks. I hope people should make use of this technology.
We have a passive solar home in Colorado and we are looking in to going more active. I will have to return to this hub with my husband...
Yes, they sound awesome, but after a year of searching in my spare time I still cannot find a place to actually sell me the shingles. I am not going to pay a contractor to install a roof on my house when that is what I do for a living. Can anyone tell me where to buy these shingles?
Another step off the grid...thanks for this info! WIll be back with my husband as well!
cgull8m says:
2 years ago
My new home will be 100% Solar and Wind powered, I wish government mandates every one to adopt at least 10 to 15 % solar components at home.