Countryside sunset from Crestock Stock Photo
TIME named Solar Shingle the 13th best invention of 2009. Dow Chemical Co. developed the Solar Shingle, a type of roof shingle that doubles as a solar panel. The shingles, which can be used alongside traditional asphalt shingles, use inexpensive thin-film cells made of copper indium gallium diselenide.
What’s nice about Solar Shingles is that they can be installed by a roofer with nails used to install regular shingles. Their installation costs are therefore much less compared to photovoltaic solar panels since there’s no need for a solar installation crew on the site during the installation. And just like regular asphalt roof shingles, Solar Shingles can be palletized, walked on, and dropped from a roof without causing damage to them. You don’t need to look for a location to install them because they replace your roof’s shingles. Homeowners who don’t like the sight of solar panels now have this alternative option.
An electrician will need to connect the Solar Shingle array to an inverter and to the home’s electrical system. Solar Shingles can be easily plugged into each other to create an array, and there is no need to wire them together like the conventional solar panels.
Dow Chemical plans to begin the test market phase of the Solar Shingle in mid-2010 and will target new home constructions. The company anticipates around $10 billion in revenue by 2020. It should be noted that 90% of residences in the US use asphalt shingles, which is Dow’s target market.
Thin-film has not been used for residential solar power systems because of its low efficiency and because it would take a much larger array to produce the same amount of electricity that can be generated using the typical solar photovoltaic panels. Dow Chemical states that even if that’s the case, a solar shingle array will be 10 to 15% cheaper than the rack-mounted solar power systems and 40% cheaper than building integrated systems.
Solar Shingles might be the solar power solution many homeowners are looking for. They might diminish the beauty of a home to some extent, but they also provide 40 to 80% of its electricity consumption. They are also durable enough to last a lifetime.
TIME issues the list to honor the best new gadgets and breakthrough ideas each year. The 50 Best Inventions of 2009 can be viewed here. Topping this year’s list is NASA’s Areas Rocket.
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