Every time you come across the word ’solar energy’, the very first image that comes to your mind is the big solar panels fixed on the roof top. Many people avoid the option of solar energy, as they don’t want to spoil the looks of their house by fixing these panels. Now, you can go green without compromising the appearance of your building or home. The solution lies in installing solar roof shingles or photovoltaic shingles, instead of other roofing materials. Unlike earlier solar panels, this type of roofing shingle is cheaper and also easy to install. It serves two purposes at the same time - providing protection to the roof structure and producing energy by harnessing sunlight.
What are Photovoltaic Shingles?
Photovoltaic shingles are also known as solar roof shingles. These are like regular roofing shingles but the difference lies in the fact that solar power cells are incorporated into the structure of the solar roof shingles. These shingles look like any regular roof shingle and cannot be distinguished easily. Once fixed, the warmth of the sun facilitates strong bonding between the shingles, which forms a weather resistant seal over the roof top. It is claimed that the special support structures that come with these photovoltaic solar panel shingles can withstand winds with a speed of up to 80 mph.
A photovoltaic solar roofing system consists of a PV module, which denotes the photovoltaic shingles that produce electric current, battery storage and an inverter and wiring, which facilitates conversion of direct current (DC) from the sunlight to the alternating current (AC) required for households. Small systems can be directly attached to the appliances, whereas the big ones are used stand-alone to supply energy to the whole building. The size of photovoltaic shingles depends on the energy demands. Normally, each solar roof shingle can produce 17 to 50 watts of electricity, which can add up to significant amounts, if you take into consideration the whole square footage of the roof.
Installation of Photovoltaic Shingles
It has been observed that the installation of solar roof shingles is much easier, as compared to solar panels. It is a common misconception that the area of the roof where you plan to install the solar panel shingles should receive direct sunlight. But, as per the proponents of this product, enough daylight is sufficient for these shingles to produce electricity. Hence, it is claimed that it is beneficial to install solar roof shingles on both, the front and back sides of the roof. The installation of these shingles is similar to that of asphalt shingles. After the installation, the wiring is connected to the appliances or lighting systems.
Benefits of Photovoltaic Shingles
One of the very obvious benefit is its environment friendly nature, combined with low costs of electricity. All you have to spend is the cost of the shingles and its installation charges. Once it starts working, you can save up to 60% of your electricity bills. As there is no need of any additional layers underneath these shingles you can save that expense too. Solar roof shingles look much better than the solar panels and are more stable. Being lightweight, it is very easy to install these shingles. Another benefit is that these shingles are easily replaceable.
If your house is under construction, you can easily install these photovoltaic shingles. Otherwise, you can replace the existing ones with solar roof shingles. In some places, government grants are also available for the installation of these solar roof panels/shingles. However, you can also promote the ‘go green’ campaign by tapping solar energy through these shingles.
