Solar Shingles

Solar shingles. The solar shingles can be a huge asset both for helping to benefit our beautiful Earth and for long term energy savings.

In today's world we are becoming more aware of the serious nature of the crisis we need to take positive action in whatever ways we can.

Many efforts are being made now, both by individuals and also by large corporations to lessen the amount of harmful materials released into the environment. When the processing of fossil fuels releases these wastes, the solar energy is a bright alternative. The solar shingles is one of interesting development in solar energy technology. Photovoltaic shingles are designed to make use of solar energy for our businesses and homes.

Actually, solar shingles are small solar panels and look like the typical roof shingles. Their photovoltaic properties collect the light and heat from the sun and to convert them into electricity to run equipment and devices.

Physically, solar roof shingles are around 218 centimeters (7 feet) long and 30 centimeters (11.6 inches) wide. About 13 centimeters of their actual width are exposed to absorbing the light from the sun directly.

It is an exciting experience using solar shingles that replace existing roof shingles and convert the sun's light into electricity for your home appliances.

Besides generating electricity and keeping the look of your house, solar shingles look like conventional shingles and like the old fashion kind of shingle, they protect the roof from weather and rain. In some cases, more electricity can be generated by solar shingles, so you can sell back to the power company.

Most solar shingles are laid in an overlapping pattern either grouped together in one area of the roof, are about 12 inches wide, covering the entire roof or mixed in with asphalt shingles in a patchwork pattern.

Generally, the solar shingles are connected to each other and either into an inverter that converts the electric current into usable AC, or into a battery for storage to use on cloudy days or at night. The excess of electricity produced by the solar shingles goes directly into the power grid and then you can sell it to the local power company.

Compared with larger solar panels, solar shingles are more expensive to install. However, when you take into account the savings on the roofing tiles that the solar shingles replace, the impact of the up-front costs can be reduced.

It is much easier and faster to install solar shingles on you roof than installing solar panels since it comes in thin squares that are the same size as conventional asphalt shingles on your roof.

Initial costs to install solar shingles for an entire roof are high, it is about $30,000. But, depending on how much you want to spend and your energy needs, you not need to cover your entire roof with solar shingles.

You should not trying to install solar shingles yourself unless you have roofing experience and training from the manufacturer. Go with an experienced installer and don't expect a conventional roofer knows how to install solar shingles.

The primary manufacturers of solar shingles are United Solar-Ovonic and Atlantis Energy Systems. The Uni-Solar Shingles produce 17 watts each and The Atlantis solar shingles produce about 13 watts each.

Check other post on global warming and electric fireplace

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