Dow Chemical recently announced that their new Solar Power House photovoltaic shingles may soon be coming to a home near you. Their announcement of efficient, affordable, and easily-installed solar rooftop shingles has reportedly shaken the building and solar industries quite a bit, as the company itself revels in the expectation of around $5 billion in revenues by 2015 for this solar power electricity producing product alone.
The solar power shingles perform at lower efficiency than do solar panels, but their ease of installation and lower cost will offset the lower efficiencies are likely to generate greater popularity among homeowners. Their use in roofing replacement projects as well in new construction may well help energy savings efforts greatly in the years to come. While Dow’s CIGS cells will be less efficient than the leading polysilicon cells, their cost-effectiveness is geared towards a wide market and will likely compete well with traditional solar panels.
Dow says that one of the greatest advantages the shingles bring to homeowners is their ability to be installed in about ten hours. Since the installation process accounts for about 50% of the cost of traditional solar power electricity systems, this significantly short installation period will likely make the shingles more affordable for a greater variety of people and types of homes.
Rather than requiring an entirely new roofing structure or design, the solar shingles can be integrated with the asphalt shingle pieces used on most modern homes. Unlike the process of purchasing parts for solar panels and putting a system together, Dow indicates that their solar power electricity shingles require little special knowledge or training, a factor that may well lead to their use in areas that are usually averse to solar energy due to a lack of specialized solar workers.
As interest in the creation of green buildings grows, and as homeowners and contractors look for ways to cut costs on “green” initiatives, the solar power electricity shingles may well prove to be one of the company’s most exciting and lucrative products in the solar power house arena.
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