The age of millennials has coincided with the resurgence of renewable energy. More and more people are looking to save energy and support the world. But how can you possibly save energy when it comes to roofing? Well, the answer is quite simple; enter solar shingles. Solar shingles are quite different from the usual solar panel installation on the roof. Solar shingles are a lot more effective, and in this article, we explain everything you need to know when it comes to solar shingles.
The design is quite simplistic, and if you’ve been around the renewable energy block, you should know that these solar shingles can be viewed as one solar cell unit. Each solar cell unit has a photovoltaic cell inside which is made up of silicon as the semiconductor. The solar shingles unlike the panel that houses the solar cells are in the form of a tile. Hence the roof from top to bottom is covered by solar shingle tiles. The shingle tiles replace regular tiles and also increase the overall surface area over which solar energy from the sun falls on. In the case of solar panels; the biggest hurdle is to have enough solar panels to generate electricity, and they can often be extremely chunky to place on the roof. But the tiles completely eradicate the need to have large equipment on the roof thus giving you more space on the roof to work with.
The biggest obstacle to solar shingles was their poor electricity conversion rate, but that has greatly been overcome due to the advancement of technology. The rate of conversion has increased from 10% to over 20% in the last decade, and experts believe that rate is only going to go higher with newer technologies being added to the solar shingle.
The solar shingle can greatly reduce your electricity and utility bill by up to 70%, and each solar shingle is said to generate around 63 watts during a bright day. Although everything looks greener on this side, the fact of the matter is that solar shingles aren’t quite there yet. The solar shingles do have a larger surface area of absorption, but they cannot be moved to get better absorption rate as the earth rotates. Solar shingles also have a very metallic appearance and would look out of place. The biggest hurdle would be the installation costs; generally, solar shingle installation can cost you upwards of $30,000. We believe that solar shingles are definitely here to stay, but in terms of scalability, there is still a long way to go.
