Want Some Green Energy With That New Roof?

In 2007, Dow Chemical received $20 million in funding from the U.S. Department of Energy to develop “building integrated” solar arrays for the residential and commercial markets. Which lead Dow to form the Solar Solutions business unit and invest more than $100 million in solar solutions.

This past October the company unveiled its product called Powerhouse Solar Shingles, which can be nailed to a roof like ordinary shingles by roofers without the help of specially trained solar installers or electricians. The solar shingles should cost 30% – 40% less than other solar-embedded building materials and 10% less than the combined costs of conventional roofing materials and rack-mounted solar panels, according to company officials.

The majority of solar technology today is built around silicon-based solar cells, Dow’s technology uses a much more cost-effective and durable PV material called CIGS (Copper Indium Gallium diSelenide). The new thin-film technology is incorporated into the product by over-molding the cells with a proprietary Dow polymer formulation, resulting in a unique product design that has similar reveal, weight, and installation practices as an asphalt shingle. (more…)

The Ability of Light to Produce Electrons, and Thus Electricity, Has Been Known For Over 100 Years.

At the Albuquerque, New Mexico’s Sandia National Laboratories, scientists have developed tiny glitter-sized photovoltaic cells that could revolutionize the way solar energy is collected and used. (more…)