DOW Powerhouse solar shingles

Does anyone have any info on these? I asked one installer about them (who didn't install solar shingles) and he said that solar shingles (not necessarily these) were prone to overheating and failing.

I'm of course thinking that he's saying this just because he wants me to buy his product... but anyone out there know anything?

http://www.dowsolar.com/

I was told by a reputable source that the Uni-Solar Solar Shingles have been pulled from the market because of fires. :shock:

Well that isn't good. Maybe the DOW ones are better.

Doubt that anyone really knows much about these particular solar shingles as they have just been released in limited markets this month. In fact, I can't even find information regarding the specific price of these shingles except an old post (http://www.energyboom.com/solar/dow-powerhouse-award-winning-solar-shingles) back from April 2010 (where the company estimated that homeowners will pay US$10,000 for 250 shingles spread over 1,000 square feet for basically a 3.5 kw system). A more recent news posting (http://www.mlive.com/business/mid-michigan/index.ssf/2011/10/5_conversation_starters_about.html) suggests a price of $10000-$15000 AFTER incentives for the shingles and the converter box; as far as I can tell, installation costs were not included and I'd assume the price would be rather high as they would need to be installed as the roof and then wired).

While I do believe that the installer is trying to sway you to purchase his products, there are certain limitations to solar shingles. The greatest concern involves efficiency (the first link suggests that these are 13% efficient vs the standard solar shingle being 11% efficient). This gets them closer to the "standard" solar panel which are roughly 14% efficient but below the Sunpower panels which are advertised to be 18-19% efficient. Since not ALL of the roof tends to be a prime location for gathering solar radiation, efficiency can matter a lot depending upon the area on which you are installing them. Furthermore, if the physics remain the same, solar shingles WILL get warm and as they become your roof instead of a panel installed on top of the house, it's likely that they will increase the temperature felt inside of your home. How this impacts overheating I haven't a clue.

Another concern for older solar shingles involved the need for the shingles to be wired down into the roof (making holes on the roof). If properly installed, then the likelihood for weather damage is minimal but this was listed as a potential concern for solar shingles in the past.

As a disclaimer, I do not have a solar PV system and am not a contractor for such things so my information is gathered purely from online sources as I have also been considering the purchase of a solar PV system in the future and like to keep abreast with such issues (and hoping prices drop further).

edit: Oh, I haven't looked at the specific cost of traditional solar panels or the higher efficiency Sunpower ones, but that should obviously be factored in your calculations in comparison with solar shingles when determining what type of PV system will be right for you.

When I was researching solar panels for my house 3yrs ago, UniSolar was the only large installation base for the shingle type and they were about 45% as efficient as a regular glass panel. I went with Sanyo panels b/c there were the best for my location and had the highest California PTC rating at the time.

I really don't think cosmetics should cost me 50% of my power base. These look like they might be crystalline, but I would get an idea of W/sq' before I even considered them.

There are also questions about high wind susceptibility, how are they cleaned, etc. Panels have been around long enough that there are answers, shingles were relatively new so I didn't get answers that made comfortable and I think these will have the same unanswered issues.