Comments on: ICP eyes streamlined look for solar power

Montreal-based company plans to offer a line of roof tiles with the solar cells built into the tiles.

[angle.sky]

Solar Technologies (Rocks) cool

If solar power is made available and understandable I would invest solar power for my small home. Are options are Canadain Tire and USA web sites. People don't know what to buy! At least I don't I have a wood electict furnace and I would love for that to run on solar, my hole house too. One thing you can depend on is that even if hydro goes down because of a little wind you alway have that good old Sun to depend on. THANKS FOR THE INFO.

[thrudd]

Appropriate use of energy

I would never use solar to run a furnace since that would be the worst of all worlds. If you need heat and want to use solar power then use the power to run a heat pump and / OR use solar heating technology, which is at least efficient.

Can Tire only caries the comodity panels but at least they carry something.

What we need is some distributors to get of their high horses and big butts and make these tiles available.

I rememebr one company used to make sheet steel panels that looked like your garden variety asphalt roof shingles using, I beleive, thin film cells from an IOWA company and they looked to be as easy or easier to install than the asphalt shingles themselves. They have evaporated since I cant find them any more and the IOWA companies products have become more expensive for some reason.

I want my solar room dang it. At least you dont have to work about municiple code violations like you do with a wind turbine. >_>

[shera89]

But is the technology ready for market?

Solar roofing material is great in theory and a very promising technology, however, as the technology stands now, each shingle must be individually connected. This leaves a great chance that a connection could go bad and affect the entire system-and could be costly to maintain. This technology needs to be refined before it hits the mass market.
By the way, author of this article, maybe you shouldn't be making blanket statements about PV panels being so "ugly" when, this is your opinion, and not everyone who is interested in solar power shares it. I, for one, think SunPower panels are sleek, thin, black and beautiful. What I find ugly is the ever-increasing rates and corruption of public utility companies. Oh yeah, and global warming is pretty ugly, too!

[yorkvillesolar]

lets all go solar now!

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www.jointhesolution.com/yorkville

After you get real excited about this program and want to help spread this GREEN solution, go to:

www.powur.com/yorkville