Free Post: Details Emerge on Dow’s Solar Shingles

• ToddSullivan
• October 7th, 2009

Every time I read something on this, it just keeps getting better…we may actually have a solar product people will really buy…. on a large scale

From ICIS:

DOW POWERHOUSE Solar Shingle – photovoltaic panels that can be installed on rooftops with standard asphalt shingle materials.

Technology from DSS would integrate low-cost, thin-film CIGS (copper indium gallium deselenide) photovoltaic cells into roofing shingles In 2007, Dow received $20m in funding from the US Department of Energy (DoE) to develop building-integrated solar arrays for the residential and commercial markets.

Dow’s (DOW) solar shingle system will cost on average 10% less than applied solar panels – those that are bolted onto rooftops, and 40% less than similar building-integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) systems, Palmieri said.
BIPV systems, while in existence today, are “very boutique and very niche” as well as expensive. Also, applied systems have major aesthetic limitations, she added.

The cost to the average US homeowner consumer would be around $27,000 for the DOW POWERHOUSE system versus around $30,000 to upwards of $45,000 today, excluding federal, state and local subsidies, Palmieri said.

In the case of Arizona, which has large local subsidies for solar panels, the after-tax cost to consumers for the Dow system would be around $7,400 versus $9,300-18,000 for other existing systems, she added. “It will depend state to state, but this reduces the overall cost impact to the consumer in a considerable way,” Palmieri said.

“We eliminate the need for a solar installer or electrician, since our product is installed just like a conventional shingle – by roofers,” she noted.

The shingles would be interlinked and the power sent either to the homeowner’s converter box to supply power directly to the home or to the electric grid, where homeowners could earn credits, the head of DSS noted. The use of Dow’s solar shingles in a home would typically offset between 40-80% of power usage, or 2-4 kilowatts, Palmieri said.

Dow will first sell its solar shingle systems directly to major homebuilders such as Hovnanian (HOV), Pulte (PHM) and Lennar (LEN). “We’ll sell directly to the builders initially as we’re interested in proving that this product can drive solar adoption rates for the masses,” Palmieri said.

“Then we can envision other distributors that would allow us to penetrate the re-roof and smaller custom homebuilders,” she added.

The potential here is simply stunning. Rather than pester people to turn off lights or get a better light bulb, if the gov’t is truly concerned with energy use, then providing tax incentives or credits for people using this technology is simply the best and most effective way to do it. It also has the neat little side effect of putting contractors back to work in droves.

Go to the homebuilder. If you want to differentiate your product from the other guys and sell some new homes, why not implement this into every design and tout the “green energy savings” the buyer will enjoy.

State and local governments can jump ahead of the Feds and give incentives for both contractors and homeowners to use the system. If Arizona can get the cost down the $7, there isn’t any reason other States cannot follow suit.

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