A couple of years ago, Steven Weissman, an energy lawyer at the University of California-ÂBerkeley, started to shop around for solar panels for his house. It seemed like an environmental no-brainer. For zero down, leading residential provider SolarCity would install panels on his roof. The company would own the equipment, and he’d buy the power it produces for…
Dear EarthTalk : I’m getting my roof redone and have heard about solar shingles. Are they available—and are they practical for the Northeast? —John Denson, Glastonbury, Conn. Solar shingles are photovoltaic cells designed to look like and integrate with conventional asphalt roof shingles. First commercially available in 2005, solar shingles were much more costly…
I’ve been getting a lot of questions about Tesla’s recently announced solar shingles. Based on the information I’ve seen, Tesla certainly has a great-looking and potentially groundbreaking building-integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) product. But there s a dearth of information about cost and performance so far, as GTM has pointed out in its analyses here and here…
Sustainability involves developing technology that can be productive over the long term. Finding cheap materials to withstand the rigors of roofing while generating cost-effective electricity is the next frontier for solar. Dow has already introduced its PowerHouse Solar Shingle, a thin-film photovoltaic cell that acts like traditional roofing and lasts the life…
A worker lays down a solar panel on a rooftop. Sergio Flores—Bloomberg via Getty Images Solar installer SolarCity, which is in the process of being acquired by electric car maker Tesla, plans to develop and sell a roof integrated with solar panels. Currently the company installs solar panels on top of its customer s roofs. SolarCity chairman and major shareholder…
RBI Solar acquired Renusol America in June of 2014. This relationship offers a complementary source of roof mount solutions for solar PV systems. With a strong heritage of excellence in German engineering and American innovation, Renusol America has utilized its extensive experience to create mounting systems that are easy to install on flat or pitched roofs…
When first responders arrived to the burning home on Eugene Street in Manchester, New Hampshire just after 2 am on January 27, half the home was already up in flames. It was a big fire, but relatively routine: Working in the dark, the firefighters made sure the two residents got out unharmed, and got to work. Once they reached the roof, though, they ran into…
Making sure your home solar electric or photovoltaic (PV) system is sized, sited, installed, and maintained correctly is essential for maximizing its energy performance. When installing a PV system, consider: How big the system needs to be to meet your electricity needs Where the system will be located and how much room it needs (system siting) Whether you want…
In this video, This Old House energy expert Ross Trethewey installs solar panels. Steps: 1. On the roof, lay out the locations of the stanchions that will support the solar panels. 2. Screw each stanchion through the roof and into a roof rafter. Also, be sure the stanchion flashing fits beneath the roof shingles to prevent leaks. 3. Fasten the upper and lower…
Installing solar panels on a roof is a very popular trend - and growing in popularity. One of the most overlooked aspects of this type of upgrade to a home or business is the type of roof material over which the new solar panels will be installed. Does it make sense to anyone to attach an expensive, hi-tech solar collection system to a roof that won t last as…
NRG has decided to be a leader in residential solar,said Denise Wilson, Executive VP at NRG. Wilson is also President of New Businesses and leads NRG Residential Solar Solutions, NRG eVgo and Energy Technology Ventures. NRG Energy, as financier, already has a fleet of several thousand residential systems installed, but it did hit a sales plateau in 2013, according…
Tesla s new glass-covered solar roof tiles are designed to look like a traditional roof, doing away with the need for separate solar panels. AP hide caption toggle caption AP Tesla s new glass-covered solar roof tiles are designed to look like a traditional roof, doing away with the need for separate solar panels. AP Tesla is now accepting deposits for its new…
I got lucky with my predictions for rooftop solar in 2016 - pretty much on target with nine out of the 10 darts that I threw. But this year is shaping up to be much more challenging, with routine solar-coaster turmoil combined with political uncertainty. Looking forward to 2017, my list no longer includes the benefits of the Clean Power Plan and 500 million solar…
In summer the low growing and diverse blanket of green roof plants are like small air conditioners for the heat sensitive PV elements. At the same time these plants will retain more than 50% of the annual rainfall preventing it from running off into our already stressed sewer systems and waterways. Compared to gravel roofs, reflective roofs, black tar roofs or…
Tesla unveiled a beautiful rendition of its solar roofs Friday evening. They re practically indistinguishable from an ordinary roof, but the shingles absorb sunlight to generate electricity for your home and car. The shingles are part of an all-in-one energy solution for home owners. Tesla is in the process of buying SolarCity, which makes and installs solar…
The growing rooftop solar market has often been mentioned as potential market for energy storage, but a recently published paper in Nature Energy disputes that claim. The paper, “The impacts of storing solar energy in the home to reduce reliance on the utility, ” by Robert Fares and Michael Webber, argues that residential storage can increase power consumption…
On Monday, the U.S. Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory released a report showing that homes with solar panels typically sell for $15, greater than those without solar panels installed. The study analyzed data collected from over 22, homes between 2002 and 2013 to measure the effect that solar panels have on a home’s market selling…
The biggest obstacle to the widespread adoption of solar power is the simple homeowner question: Will I see a return on my investment? In response, major cities across America have unveiled online “solar maps” that allow residents to type in their address and receive estimates of how much money they would save on their electric bill per year. The most accurate…
Tesla says the tempered glass is “tough as steel, ” and can weather a lifetime of abuse from the elements. It can also be fitted with heating elements to melt snow in colder climates. “It’s never going to wear out, ” Musk said, “It’s made of quartz. It has a quasi-infinite lifetime.” In a Q&A with reporters after the presentation, Musk said the tiles…
Applications Expedited permitting follows the steps listed below for roof-mounted solar installation with rated output of 10 KW or less on a one- or two-family dwelling. Step 1: The following fillable PDFs must be completed, printed and faxed to 619.667.1380 to be eligible for expedited review: Step 2: The Building Division staff will contact the applicant following…
Tesla updated its website this weekend to reveal the new solar panel it plans to use to dominate the market for residential solar. The proprietary panels, manufactured at Tesla’s upstate New York factory with Panasonic, will give the electric car and energy company its own photovoltaic panel design to build into products it hopes will convince previously reluctant…
Just as the apartments in a Brooklyn row house might be crowded inside–with living rooms barely big enough for a couch, and postage stamp-sized kitchens–building roofs are typically crowded with skylights, hatches, and equipment. Strict fire codes require a empty path six feet wide and nine feet high, leaving little room for solar panels. A new canopy is a simple…
Google is hoping that some good old-fashioned peer pressure will push more people to embrace solar energy. Project Sunroof, the search giant s solar panel mapping tool and calculator, is adding a nosy new feature, Data Explorer. Now, when you pull up an address using the tool, which visualizes how much sunlight hits each building in an area, you won t just see…
We ve been waiting on pricing details for Tesla s solar roof since last year. They re finally available. Tesla officially started taking orders for its highly anticipated solar roofing system today. Since the public launch of the product last fall, Elon Musk has been dropping small details about warranties and performance - but he s said nothing about how much…
