Solar roof shingles are used to do the roofing of the house. They look like the conventional shingles made out of asphalt. Solar shingles have solid solar panels the size of regular shingles. They come in strip and semi-rigid designs which contain several silicon solar cells. The latest designs have the more efficient film solar cells which make the solar shingles even more flexible. The solar shingles are an award winning design which made the roofs of commercial and residential buildings become electricity generators while protecting the inhabitants from the elements.
The solar roof shingles are designed to blend in with the conventional shingles in the context of texture and surface. They are 219.71 cm long and 30.48 cm broad and can be nailed into place on the roof over 130 pound felt sheeting. There are 12 inches long electrical wires which extend from the underside and go through the felt into the interior roof connections.
After the solar shingles are place the heat of the sun seals them in place, known as the weather resistant seal. The size of the array can be varied according to the energy requirement. These shingles can produce 30% of a home’s energy requirements. These are useful in remote areas which are not connected to the electricity grid, therefore they are known as stand-alone. These are a good backup to compensate for blackouts and they can also be connected to the electric grid that excess electricity can be diverted to the grid for others to us. These solar roof shingles come with a 20 year warranty and they are hail resistant. In full sunlight they produce 120 watts of DC electricity. An array can be anywhere from 8 to 40 shingles and generate anywhere from 480 to 4000 watt of solar electricity in full sunshine. This would total to a good 580 kWh/month.
They can withstand winds up to 125 miles per hour. An inverter is a necessity as the electricity is made in DC and has to be converted into AC for the appliances to use. A battery bank of 40kWh is a good as a back up to store the power to compensate in the event of a blackout thereby allowing an uninterrupted power supply. It can be recharged everyday as the sun shines and its potential energy gets stored. The solar roof shingles can be fixed on the roof unlike the solar panels which have to be places on a rack on the roof or backyard, they are aesthetically pleasing too. It is a logical to pick the solar shingles over the regular ones and solar panels as they give a two in one benefit of roofing and clean energy. These PV shingles are purple or dark blue in color made of polycrystalline single solar cells, they are fitted with a P-N junction diode which converts light into electricity. The solar roof shingles come are a viable option as they not only provide us with free energy. Their cost is met within the first 2-3 years of installation and it is pollution free source of unlimited energy for the next 25 to 30 years, not to mention the potential improvements to your home value.