With continued emphasis on alternative energy systems and applications, the newest feature to hit the American market place is thin film amorphous solar products. These products are individual solar panels that look like standard shingles, but are actually solar cell panels that can produce electricity. A recent posting from Firegeezer brought these units to the fire service attention.

UniSolarUnited Solar Ovonic LLC is the world's largest manufacturer of thin film amorphous solar products. In plain English, Uni-Solar makes roofing shingles that look like standard shingles, but that are actually individual solar panels. When installed, you can network these shingles together to generate electricity to power a house or other occupancy setting. These shingles do not require support structures and are installed like conventional asphalt shingles to blend with existing shingles when installed.

The Dow Chemical Company announced on October 5, 2009 its line of DOW™ POWERHOUSE™ Solar Shingle, revolutionary photovoltaic solar panels in the form of solar shingles that can be integrated into rooftops with standard asphalt shingle materials. The solar shingle systems are expected to be available in limited quantities by mid-2010 and projected to be more widely available in 2011, putting the power of solar electricity generation directly and conveniently in the hands of homeowners.


Check out the rest of the article on Taking it to the Streets, HERE

Don't forget to check out Buildingsonfire on Facebook, HERE