Dow’s announcement that their new line of Powerhouse solar shingles received Underwriters Laboratories (UL) certification last Tuesday. This is a major milestone for the company and earns them the distinction of being the first residential solar roofing shingle with an integrated connection system to receive UL safety certification.

According to Dow, the new solar shingles will reduce installation time and complexity using a design that eliminates on-roof wiring, minimizes through-roof penetrations, and allows the product to be installed in the same manner as a standard roofing shingle. The Dow Solar website says that the solar shingles can be installed by roofers using conventional tools and techniques. A nice prospect for many conventional roofing contractors, but don’t jump on board just yet.

Dow partnered with Global Solar Energy which produces thin-film, flexible CIGS solar panels for a variety of markets. Two other partnerships in the residential solar market were announced a couple of years ago with ASTI/Icopal and SRS/CertainTeed. Dupont, which currently manufactures secondary solar materials may be entering the market as well.

The new solar shingle uses thin-film CIGS (Copper Indium Gallium deSelenide) as the PV material. According to Dow, CIGS technology offers the best balance of low cost and highest sunlight conversion efficiency of the commercialized thin film technologies available today. But is it necessarily the most efficient material? Probably not.

The CIGS cells used by Dow were designed to meet a Solar America Initiative (SAI) 10% energy efficiency, below the efficiencies for the top polysilicon cells and conventional framed solar panels. The CIGS cells would cost 10 to 15 percent less on a per watt basis. While this is a less expensive option for the homeowner, it will also require massive amounts of roof space to generate large quantities of usable electricity. Small homes need not apply. Larger homes in the southern regions may even see some return on their investment in the long run, especially after government solar energy subsidies.

Given the current state of CIGS technology, residential solar shingle projects may only be a drop in the bucket compared to larger solar panel projects. Can Dow make a go of it? Time will tell, but it is an innovative start.

Sheffield Metals International Inc. is poised to rebound from the recession by expanding into new markets and offering solar roofing. The 12-year old company got its start by manufacturing coils of steel, slit to custom widths, which are used in the fabrication of metal roofing. SMI currently ships to hundreds of customers across North America.

SMI started selling steel roofing panels with building-integrated photovoltaics (BIPV) a little more than two years ago during the financial crisis of 2008. The steel BIPV panels are manufactured under the SOLR brand name, and they only buy steel and solar products from domestic producers.

SMI also sells rolls of thin film solar laminates with an adhesive backing that can be installed in the field. The solar laminate adhesive is rated to withstand winds up to 160 miles per hour, according to the company website.

SMI offers the following with their SOLR brand solar standing seam roofing systems:

• Photovoltaics that are integrated into the roofing panel (BIPV).
• A complete, standardized solar roof system that includes all schematics and specifications for all electrical components.
• Product delivery and installation from a reputable standing seam roof manufacturer.
• ROI of 10 years or less.
• 20-year warranty

According to Jason Watts, vice president of business development, their solar product is really starting to take off, so much so that the company is designing a separate business plan just for its solar laminates.

OPEL Solar Inc of Shelton, CT, USA and Toronto, Ontario, Canada, which makes high-concentration photovoltaic (HCPV) panels (as well as both roof- and ground-based solar trackers for mounting them), has been issued a patent from the US Patent office for its CPV module used for generating electricity in utility-scale solar power plants, as well as commercial and industrial building applications.

The new HCPV module was developed by Edward J. Linke and Francisco A. Middleton and represents the fourth generation of OPEL’s HCPV technology and modules.

The HCPV module contains a housing structure that supports an array of photovoltaic cells and corresponding light guides. Using concentration lenses to focus incident solar radiation into the housing toward the light guides that then project the solar radiation onto photovoltaic cells, the module has been recognized as a new, highly efficient solar energy apparatus, says OPEL.

“Our current HCPV module is a high-performance, reliable, cost-effective system developed for a wide array of grid-connected solar systems for medium-to-high solar irradiance climates,” claims president & CEO Lee M. Pierhal.

Source: Semiconductor Today

Gold River Productions Inc. recently announced for AeroQuest Technologies that the company’s patent pending technology of a monolithic, photo-voltaic solar roof will soon be filed on a world-wide basis. John Ohlin, President and CEO, says that there is no known, established market for this technology, because all established PV solar roofs are ‘bolt on’ systems.

Ohlin expects PV solar roof will be huge in the US alone in 2010. According to Reed Construction data, $2.4 trillion dollars of commercial and civil construction (the major market for this type of technology) is in the ‘post bid’ phase. Of that total, the roof portion of the construction is between 5%-10% which means that the total available market for PV solar roof construction is estimated between $120 billion to $240 billion in the U.S. alone.

The AeroQuest system will allow solar roofs to be installed in 60′ free span lengths, with an R-value in excess of R-42. Photovoltaic solar cells, producing up to 13 watts of power per hour per square foot are integrated into the exterior skin of the monolithic, structural insulated roof panels.

The PV solar roof panels will be produced on high-speed, fully automated laminators which are expected to produce in excess of one million sq. ft. of PV solar roof panels per month. If you are doing the math, this can translate to potential sales in excess of $30 million dollars per month.

AeroQuest has no plans to produce conventional bolt-on solar panel systems for pre-existing structures. The panels will be produced for new construction only.

There have been two approaches to capturing the sun’s energy that we are all accustomed to. Photovoltaics can turn sunlight into electricity and solar-thermal systems, which concentrate the sun’s heat directly for hot water or home heating.  Solar-thermal can also be used to boil water to turn a turbine engine.

There is now a third approach being researched by MIT whose potential was seen decades ago — the thermo-chemical approach.  Conventional solar-thermal systems require effective insulation and even then will gradually let the heat leak away. Storing thermal energy in chemical form has the potential to make it indefinitely storable and transportable for years.

Thermo-chemical research came to light during the energy crisis of the 1970′s. They were looking to  find a chemical that could reliably and reversibly switch between absorbing sunlight and then release heat. Such a compound was discovered in 1996, but it included ruthenium, a rare and expensive element. Ruthenium was impractical for widespread energy storage and the research hit its first major obstacle.

MIT used a combination of theoretical and experimental work that has revealed exactly how the molecule, called fulvalene diruthenium, accomplishes its energy storage and release. A molecule of fulvalene diruthenium changes its configuration when it absorbs heat, and later releases heat when it snaps back to its original shape. This understanding should make it possible to find similar chemicals based on more abundant, less expensive materials than ruthenium.

“Experiments show that the process could produce temperatures up to 200 degrees, which  is plenty hot enough to heat your home, or even to run an engine to produce electricity.” — Jeffrey Grossman, Associate Professor of Power Engineering at MIT

With vastly improved technology that has determined that ruthenium’s heat stability is actually part of a two-step process and a database showing the characteristics of “tens of millions” of known molecules –- one or two of them might be a substitute for ruthenium at a more reasonable cost. Researchers are optimistic to move thermo-chemical into the mainstream of solar energy technologies.

Related Reading:

• Catching the sun’s Heat – MIT News
• Storing solar energy indefinitely – CalFinder Solar

In the highly competitive photovoltaic product market, manufacturers are pressured daily by the burgeoning demands of end-users to get new products developed, independently certified and to market quicker than ever before. As a result, FM Approvals, the leading third-party testing laboratory for the certification of commercial roofing products, and TÜV Rheinland PTL LLC, the world leader in solar and photovoltaic (PV) testing, announced yesterday they have joined forces to deliver the most comprehensive Approval Standards available for both flexible and rigid PV modules.

The new FM Approval Standard 4476, Approval Standard for Flexible Photovoltaic Modules, and Approval Standard 4478, Approval Standard for Rigid Photovoltaic Modules, currently are undergoing final review and will be released by the end of 2010. These new standards will enable PV module manufacturers and others to obtain FM Approval for their products when used as part of an FM Approved roofing assembly. All FM Approved PV modules will be listed in FM Approvals’ online roofing resource, RoofNav.

Under an agreement signed by the two testing laboratories, FM Approvals will test the fire and natural hazard performance of PV modules as part of complete large-scale roof assemblies at its Natural Hazards Laboratory in West Glocester, R.I., USA.

Complete details of the announcement can be found in this TUV Press Release.

A Michigan based company, LUMA Resources, is producing and installing solar shingle roofing systems. Launched in 2008 with a grant from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, LUMA is a spin-off of a family owned roofing business.

Installation of a LUMA Resources solar-powered shingle system on a Santa Cruz, CA home.

The solar system received Underwriter’s Laboratory certification as a roofing product first, before the solar-electric functions were certified. The patented solar roof kit system is the brainchild of Gary Allen. With his years of experience, Gary was able to see the perfect way to marry a solar system compatible with any residential roofing shingle. “It fits with any cement or clay tile, asphalt shingle, cedar shakes and shingles, slate – anything,” says Gary Allen.

The company pitches its product as being cheaper and less susceptible to leaks than roof retrofits done to prepare for traditional solar panels.

PowerPly 400 by Lumeta Inc. is one of the first “peel n’ stick” types of workable home solar power systems. Using monocrystalline technology (or PV), the system insures maximum energy output per square foot of roof area.

The poly-Si thin-film solar cell on glass (with solid-phase crystallization of evaporated a-Si) contains a DuPont™ Tefzel front sheet and fiberglass-reinforced plastic (FRP) substrate that allows module flexibility, yet provides the rigidity needed to assure module strength.

Read the whole story on ‘Peel ‘n Stick’ Solar Panels from CalFinder.

This is an excellent time to go solar powered. There are many state and federal tax incentives (up to 80% of the cost) and dealers looking to sell their product in the down economy.

Image (left to right) -- a set of panels for solar water heating and then two different solar electric cells.

The economic stimulus package signed into law by President Obama includes tax credits for solar technologies. One technology, hot water solar collectors embedded into the roof are becoming popular.

Aesthetic solar roofing shingles look just like normal black roof tiles, and blend in nicely with the roofscape. The shingles are covered in a thin film photovolaic (PV) material which generates the electricity.

The stimulus package expanded tax credits for energy-efficient home improvements that expired in 2007. Home improvements must be made to primary residences beginning in 2009 to qualify for any tax credits.

The stimulus also provides $6 billion in loan guarantees that will help solar energy grow by making more credit available. Solar energy is a low-risk investment, in which the sun produces power, which in turn makes money (or saves it).

You can increase the value of your home, reduce dependance on the electricity grid and save on utility bills all in one go.

More Reading:

• Benefits of Solar Roof Tiles from Alt Dot Energy
• Credits for Solar and High Efficiency Hot Water Heaters from PlanetThoughts
• Stimulus Package Has Green for Clean Energy from the Entrepreneur

With energy prices rising to record levels, consumers and businesses are looking for alternatives. One alternative is solar energy captured by roofing tiles, shingles and panels. Solar technology is advancing at a rapid rate, offering new options for those who want to take the making of electricity into their own hands.

Solar roofing offers clean, efficient, free electricity. While the costs for the equipment and installation of the solar systems are usually not in the average consumer budget, those costs are starting to decline with advances in technology. Tax credits, government subsidies and incentives are also footing a large chunk of the bill. Solar roofing systems are starting to look more attractive for the consumer every day.

Show me the money

But where are these credits and incentives? There are literally hundreds of Federal, State and Municipal tax credits and incentives out there. Hundreds.

The Database of State Incentives for Renewables & Efficiency (DSIRE) is an ongoing project of the North Carolina Solar Center and the Interstate Renewable Energy Council (IREC) funded by the U.S. Department of Energy.

The DSIRE website provides a fast and convenient method for accessing information about renewable energy and energy efficiency incentives and regulatory policies administered by federal and state agencies, utilities, and local organizations. DSIRE comprehensively tracks tax incentives, grants, loans, rebates, industry recruitment, bond programs, and production incentives. DSIRE also tracks rules, regulations and policies making this website your one-stop shop for information.

Visit the DSIRE website FAQ Page for more information.