Dow announced that in 2010, it will begin producing a limited number of solar shingles, dubbed “Powerhouse” shingles, and the company hopes to go to full-scale production in 2011.  Dow claims that solar shingles could be 10-15% cheaper than a rack of panels (per watt) and as much as 40% cheaper than a fully installed and tied-in solar system.  Significant savings and aesthetic appeal are what Dow is banking on for the panels’ popularity, and they might be onto something.

Photo Credit: Old House Web

It doesn’t hurt that Dow is claiming that solar installers don’t need specialized training to install the panels. According to Reuters: “Dow Solar Solutions said it expects “an enthusiastic response” from roofing contractors for the new shingles, since they require no specialized skills or knowledge of solar systems to install.”  The shingles can be installed in 10 hours rather than the 22-30 hours necessary for traditional PV arrays, shaving money off of the installation, which can account for up to 50% of the overall cost.

The company hopes that the product, which features a thermoplastic rather than traditional polysilicon composition, will storm the market.  The cells are rated at about 10% efficiency, below the high end of polysilicon models, whose benchmark was recently raised to 18% by Innovalight. Even though Dow’s Powerhouse shingles are on the low end of efficiency, the company feels that the product is a viable alternative to other means of achieving solar independence.

Dow’s Powerhouse shingles are on the cutting edge of a kind of technology called Building Integrated Photovoltaic (BIPV), which refers to residential solar power technology built right into the materials that make up a structure.  To date, solar shingles have looked very nice on the roof and very empty in the wallet.  Dow says that its product will cost 30% to 40% less than other BIPV products on the market.  The U.S. Department of Energy helped Dow fund its research and development with $20 million in funding for its BIPV products.

Dow estimates the solar shingles could turn into a $5 billion market by 2015.  The company’s estimate assumes that they can inch into the already huge market for roofing materials and that there are enough solar consumers, or state incentives and government subsidies to make the actual purchase price of these products attainable.  And what about longevity of the purchase? A Dow employee stated that the shingles have had “everything from hail to fire thrown at them,” but I don’t recall running across the expected lifespan of the shingles.

This easy-to-install and easy-on-the-eye approach has Robert J. Cleereman, Senior Director of Solar Development for Dow, going so far as to say, “I can see utility companies paying for the roofing for customers.  It would save them money on building power plants because the solar shingles can act like individual little power plants.” Maybe too hopeful, but I like utopia when I can get it.

So how successful does Cleereman think the panels will be?  “One day, a person would no more think about buying a house without solar shingles than they would buy a house without plumbing.  That is our hope, at least.”  So, like everything in an economically challenged market, things are speculative, but Dow’s solar shingles are amazingly attractive on a roof.  If they are as easy to install as the company claims, Dow’s hopes may well be realized.

For a few good images of what these shingles look like installed, check out this blog site.

Photo Credit: Solar Stocks

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Posted on October 13th in Solar Products by Craig.