Dow’s Solar Shingles: A Solar Product People May Actually Buy

Every time I read something on this, it just keeps getting better…we may actually have a solar product people will really buy…. on a large scale

From ICIS:

DOW POWERHOUSE Solar Shingle – photovoltaic panels that can be installed on rooftops with standard asphalt shingle materials.

Technology from DSS would integrate low-cost, thin-film CIGS (copper indium gallium deselenide) photovoltaic cells into roofing shingles In 2007, Dow received $20m in funding from the US Department of Energy (DoE) to develop building-integrated solar arrays for the residential and commercial markets.

Dow’s (DOW) solar shingle system will cost on average 10% less than applied solar panels – those that are bolted onto rooftops, and 40% less than similar building-integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) systems, Palmieri said.

BIPV systems, while in existence today, are “very boutique and very niche” as well as expensive. Also, applied systems have major aesthetic limitations, she added.

The cost to the average US homeowner consumer would be around $27,000 for the DOW POWERHOUSE system versus around $30,000 to upwards of $45,000 today, excluding federal, state and local subsidies, Palmieri said.

...

“We eliminate the need for a solar installer or electrician, since our product is installed just like a conventional shingle – by roofers,” she noted.

...

Dow will first sell its solar shingle systems directly to major homebuilders such as Hovnanian (HOV), Pulte (PHM) and Lennar (LEN). “We’ll sell directly to the builders initially as we’re interested in proving that this product can drive solar adoption rates for the masses,” Palmieri said.

The potential here is simply stunning. Rather than pester people to turn off lights or get a better light bulb, if the gov’t is truly concerned with energy use, then providing tax incentives or credits for people using this technology is simply the best and most effective way to do it. It also has the neat little side effect of putting contractors back to work in droves.

Go to the homebuilder. If you want to differentiate your product from the other guys and sell some new homes, why not implement this into every design and tout the “green energy savings” the buyer will enjoy.

State and local governments can jump ahead of the Feds and give incentives for both contractors and homeowners to use the system. If Arizona can get the cost down the $7, there isn’t any reason other States cannot follow suit.

Comments

[Mad Hedge F...:]

xft Solar is about to become a big part of our lives, as it careens toward long sought profitability, and it will suit you to learn more about it. To get a good introduction to the industry, both through some good engineering statistics and some great pictures, then check out the September edition of National Geographic magazine by clicking here . Total world electricity demand today is 16 terawatts (16,000 megawatts), and that is expected to grow to 20 terawatts by 2020. Solar comes in two flavors, thermal and photovoltaic (PV). Thermal is the old dinosaur technology, with thousands of convex mirrors arrayed to heat piped oil, which is then used to power a conventional steam power plan, converting about 24% of the sun’s energy into electricity. The future is with photovoltaic solar, which uses the semiconducting ability of silicon to grab electrons directly from sunlight. PV is less efficient at a 10% conversion rate, more expensive, but is making great leaps forward. It would only take 100 square miles of PV panels placed on rooftops to meet all of the electricity demands of the US. The final goal is to develop silicon paint which you then apply to your house to generate power, all for the cost of a bucket of regular paint. PV chips in the lab are already achieving efficiencies of 40%. First Solar (FSLR) now owns the cutting edge with its thin film panels, a company I have written about extensively (click here for the report ). It is also a great trading vehicle, with plenty of volatility, and the recent silicon panel price war with China has knocked the stock down into “buy” territory. The additional of FSLR to the S&P 500, the first alternative stock to do so, is the writing on the wall. I regularly mine this magazine for long term technology and environmental trends, and my kids love cutting up the pictures. After all, it was founded by one of the original venture capitalists, Alexander Graham Bell, the inventor of the telephone.

Oct 07 01:37 PM

[mbkelly75:]

Solar is making paybacks in certain areas of the country right now. Last year when fuel prices were so high - buildings in Los Angeles (with large flat roofs) were fitted with Solar Panels to lower the operating costs of the building. I believe FSLR was the company in charge of these refits. It should be easy enough to check. Around the country - there have been more than one area that has not had to build extra power plants because of Solar and Wind projects. They have used the money saved to hire new workers. Solar (and Wind) have more benefits than most people think about.

Oct 07 04:32 PM

[Douglas Hvi...:]

A variation now becoming available is PVT. This uses PV, but collects the waste heat and uses it. Resulting efficiency runs around 70%, and the average cost is lower. Remaining problem: how do you get a plumber?

Oct 08 06:41 AM

[ChrisbRogue:]

I am curious how Dow and other surface applied solutions address heat transfer.

I understand that another reason besides achieving the ideal angle to the sun that PV panel are raised is to allow airflow. This is so that the energy not captured as electrons but rather as heat does not end up heating the attic or floor below to uncomfortable levels.

It would seem that will be a key issue that heat capture as suggested in previous posting may or may not address. Solar thermal hot water might be one way to use the excess heat. Solar thermal hot water for pools and household use has for a long time has shown the quickest ROI of any solar application. Pool owners in the Northwest for example see a payback in 2 years even without subsidies. Conversely though the pool owner in Phoenix or LA does not need the hot water so once again where heat transfer is an issue handling the transference is most important.

Just wondering.

Oct 08 02:07 PM

[33Nick:]

We covered this ingenuous company and product a while back tinyurl.com/yg8sos7, but seeing the government become wiser and pushing the back bone of our economy, i.e. small companies and their innovations, hints toward a more sustainable economic model.

This is smart capitalism at work. Indeed, rather them bother taxpayers to consume less, give tax breaks. Great article.

The Electricnick.com team with the Electric Car Examiner.com

Oct 08 02:32 PM

[quick:]

Dang, and I just put a stupid "normal" roof on my house this summer! Oh well......there's always the garage!

Oct 08 05:16 PM

[Midwest guy:]

Nice.
Thanks for the link I put it in my fav list.


On Oct 08 02:32 PM 33Nick wrote:

> We covered this ingenuous company and product a while back tinyurl.com/yg8sos7,
> but seeing the government become wiser and pushing the back bone
> of our economy, i.e. small companies and their innovations, hints
> toward a more sustainable economic model.
>
> This is smart capitalism at work. Indeed, rather them bother taxpayers
> to consume less, give tax breaks. Great article.
>
> The Electricnick.com team with the Electric Car Examiner.com

Oct 08 06:02 PM

[rooferguy:]

Not many people have actually installed shingle-level PV panels. It’s hard to imagine a solar shingle that would meet the fire rating requirements unless there is layer of non-combustible material between the shingle and PV material. Moreover, every shingle needs a pair of wires (+ and -). If there’s any metal frame, every shingle needs a ground connection to meet NEC requirements.

So the reality of installing 5 kw of solar shingles (say each one has 10 watts of output, about a square foot) is that you’ll need 1,000 wiring connections (+ and -), and maybe another 500 ground connections. Do you want that on the surface of your roof, in an accessible attic, or concealed between roofing materials? Or not at all.

The practical and reliable alternative is to get standard solar panels that can achieve the same output with only 50 wiring connections and 25 grounding connections (200 watt panels), all done underneath the panels in an accessible place. Potentially those 75 wiring connections can be reduced to zero if any of those new plug & play AC modules are installed.

Because of fire and wiring concerns, BIPV solar shingles have historically been a great idea hitting the impenetrable walls of reality. Sort of like a flying car.

Oct 09 01:18 PM