Solar shingles -- your next roof?

Thanks to rising energy costs and new federal and state incentives solar energy is making inroads into the residential market. However, in some areas there are restrictive covenants or maybe just owners that don't want "ugly" solar panels on the roof. Here's where solar shingles come in. Solar shingles look just like regular shingles, whether they be asphalt or tile.

Even before new federal and state tax incentives, "the cost of generating solar electricity has fallen 95 percent since the 1970s," says Noah Kaye, of the Washington, D.C. based Solar Energy Industries Association. But that doesn't mean it's cheap: Factoring in equipment and installation costs, the price of a kilowatt-hour of solar energy (the amount required to power ten 100-watt lightbulbs for an hour) is about 25 cents, versus around 10 cents for a kilowatt-hour of natural gas or coal generated electricity from the grid.

General guidelines call for 1 kilowatt, or 1,000 watts, per 1,000 square feet of house area. The economics of whether or not to install a system depend heavily on where you live. While houses in sunnier states can collect more solar power than those in northern climes, solar payback is strongly affected by local electric rates. "If you have a 2-kilowatt PV system in Albuquerque, New Mexico, it produces 25 percent more electricity than the same system in Boston," says Kaye. "But the savings are greater in Boston, since electricity there costs so much more."

One example of a solar shingle is the Sunslate by Atlantis Energy Systems. According to their website "Sunslates™ are an advanced photovoltaic product. Sunslates™ allow the roof of your home to serve as both a roof and a power plant simultaneously. A typical installation of 216 Sunslates™ (about 300 square feet / 28 square meters) will cover from 60 to 80% of your power needs, depending on location." See Atlantis Energy Systems for more information about Sunslates.

Another solar shingle is the UNI-SOLAR PV Shingle. This shingle can be inter-mingled with standard asphalt shingles. They can be nailed down directly to wood decking with the wiring on the underside of the shingle so all the connections can be made inside the roof space.

For a solar shingle that looks like a roof tile click on over to SRS Energy and check out their SRS Barrel Tile.

There are a number of special financing options and incentives available to help offset the cost of adding solar power to your home. The Department of Energy (DOE) lists resources to check to see if incentives are available in your area.

Solar shingles are an attractive, environmentally friendly way for reducing energy costs. Learn more about solar power by visiting the DOE Website.