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Solar Roof ShinglesSolar Shingles vs Solar PanelsSolar roof shingles can offer an alternative to installing solar panels on the roof, but are they practical? Photovoltaic shingles are made with flexible thin film solar cells, and they're not only lighter than most rooftop solar panels, but they can generate similar solar electricity for homes.For someone who doesn't want a heavy solar panel system installed on the roof and doesn't have the yard area for a ground mount system, solar power shingles are worth considering. And, if you're handy with a hammer and a tape measure and can shingle a roof, then you might even be able to do some of the installation work yourself. Here's some information on solar power roof shingles that will help you to decide whether you would want to buy them to install them yourself or to hire a solar energy contractor to do it for you. Solar Shingles And Roof DesignThe building's roof design will influence how easy or difficult or expensive your solar shingle installation will be. A large gable roof offers the easiest installation. This type of roof features large areas of flat surface, and the thin film solar panel shingles can be easily integrated into the current composition shingles, depending on your power requirements.The surface area of some photovoltaic shingles is textured and colored to blend in with the conventional roofing material. At a glance, few people would ever notice that you have a solar roof. Keep in mind that thin film solar shingles do well to generate about half the wattage of standard solar power panels covering the same area. So, your estimates should allow using almost twice the roof area that a regular solar panel array would occupy. You will need to determine if the roof that's covered with thin film solar roofing is large enough to supply the electricity requirements for your household. Installing Solar Roof ShinglesThe installation of solar power shingles is quite similar to installation of traditional asphalt roofing, and you can even use roofing nails. However, solar power roof shingles are nothing like conventional shingles. They contain complex wiring that transfers the electricity produced by the thin film solar cells into your solar power system.For each solar shingle, you'll need to drill a hole through the roof deck, insert an electrical wire from the shingle, and then connect that wire to the rest of the array from beneath the roof. Since each hole and wire must be precisely placed, it makes for painstaking, tedious work, especially if you're covering a large roof area, and your attic is hot, stuffy, and difficult to access. Because installation needs to be precise, it's important that you plan ahead and know exactly where you will install the thin film solar shingles. Also realize that they cannot be cut like a traditional shingle because of their solar cells and encapsulated wiring, so there's little room for error during the installation process. Solar Roof Shingles: Pros And ConsSolar roof shingles are weather resistant, and many are about the same size as the traditional asphalt variety. Since they fit together like traditional shingles, you can install a combination of asphalt and solar roof shingles if you cannot afford doing an entire roof in solar power shingles.Thin film solar cells are less effective than crystalline silicon panels in bright sunlight, but tend to be more effective in overcast conditions and at dawn and dusk since their semiconductor materials offer more sensitivity to the solar spectrum. The fact that solar shingles cost significantly higher (both to purchase and install) and have a lower overall efficiency has kept them less popular with homeowners than the more common solar power panel. Also, their efficiency tends to drop after 10 years whereas the best solar panels tend not to lose more than 10% of their efficiency over 20 to 25 years. Like traditional roofing, most photovoltaic shingles have a 20 year lifespan. If you have the patience, the necessary skills, the time (and the money), solar roof shingles can offer a roof that delivers green and renewable solar electrical power to your household. However, for the present, high efficient solar panels are more affordable and offer the better choice for most of us. TOP of Solar Roof Shingles HOME to Solar Power Systems |
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My name is Don, and my goal with this site is to introduce solar power as the best available option for alternative, renewable energy.
The solar information on this site is freely given to assist you in your journey to an affordable green energy future.
Solar Power Ontario
Heiko Liebethal, Flagstone CEO
If you live in Ontario, Canada, and qualify for the Ontario Power Authority (OPA) microFIT program, you could sell all the electrical power that your solar panels produce back to the OPA, and they will pay you up to 80.2 cents per kWh. Guaranteed.
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