Obama pushes solar shingles in State of the Union address
Photovoltaic roof shingles can provide more energy at a lower cost.
SUN POWER: Solar panels attached to roof shingles create energy while being tested at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden, Colo. (Photo: John Moore/Getty Images) 
Comments
Curious:
A more sustainable roof to retrofit over your existing shingles makes more sense and requires less skilled labor..... Even the basher troll admits he likes it!
Check out these links below and you will see a system that is easy to integrate commercially available solar technology:
The system is 425 lbs per square, min 83 units per square and has an uplift of 190ftlbs. with 20% less Polyfoam than some "S" tiles. Just like any barrel tile system, the.... More
Solar Energy has been a viable technology for over 40 years....who's kept it off the market and oil prices soaring -- eating away at everyone's quality of life -- the answer is in the question -- O I L! Who's manipulating the world's economy?
Can someone just tape this clown's mouth shut? He is starting to make Joe Biden look intelligent.
Can someone just tape this clown's mouth shut? He is starting to make Joe Biden look intelligent.
Can someone just tape this clown's mouth shut? He is starting to make Joe Biden look intelligent.
...that this has turned into a political discussion. Populations which refuse to make reasonable changes with the times become obsolete.
The President really needs to explain how innovation is going to save the United States when every innovation that this country every came up with is now made in China. We do need to repair our infrastructure but that will not make us more competitive, it will dimply provide for better facilities to get things her from factories in China and Mexico.
the analogy of sputnik was correct. the U S came from behind the soviet union to be the first to put a man on the moon (neil armstrong 1969). prior to that, the soviet space program was well ahead of us. Sputnik 1957, yuri gagarin orbited the earth in 1961. the first U S astronaut to orbit the earth was john glenn in 1962. John Kennedy made it a priority to take the lead in the race for space,and we did..
I say lets add one more to the plan “Hydrogen” instead of “Natural gas”! Hydrogen can easy be produced from H2O though Solar, Wind or catalyst methods like generating Hydrogen from aluminum alloy (alloy of aluminum and gallium). Oh, Hydrogen is one the most abundant elements In the Universe!
All of these methods can be and need to be done today!
Let’s say hello to the new Hydrogen economy now.
Please see link.
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what a complete dolt. sputnik had nothing to do with the demise of the soviet union (1957.)....maybe she should apply somewhere that better meets her qualifications, like the "moonlight bunny ranch" sarah "sputnik" palin takes you around the world..
You have Palin Derangement Syndrome.
Palin was not mentioned once in this article. She did not mention Sputnik...OBAMA mentioned it. OBAMA made the analogy up. OBAMA made that horrible, horrible analogy that doesn't hold an ounce of credibility.
Dear Mr. Platt: The new picture you posted (captioned "SUN POWER: Solar panels attached to roof shingles ...) shows the same SHR-17 solar shingles that lost their UL certification and became ILLEGAL to sell in the United States. I understand your difficulty finding pictures of actual legal solar shingles on actual roofs - solar shingles account for less than 0.1% of rooftop PV installations in California (which basically means in the US, as California is about 50% of the US PV market). The.... More
Forget 'optimum'. ANY roof that produces electricity is better than one that doesn't. Hopefully someone will think of a breakthrough solar cell that is truly efficient, but until then we'll work with what we got, thankyou!
Conoclast: It is not true that any roof that produces electricity is better than one that doesn't. As DOE Secretary Chu has pointed out, in certain cases in certain locations, it makes much more economic and environmental sense to simply paint the roof white (the air-conditioning savings outweigh the electricity generated by PV panels). Remember, residential PV rooftop installations make no economic sense today (that is why they rely on various subsidies). Putting solar shingles instead of.... More
Uh, you spelled "Sputnik", "Spunik"....
To ECD Fan", since when does gaining or losing UL certification make anything illegal. UL certification is voluntary and UL is a privately run laboratory. Kindly be specific when making a profound and damning statement such as "illegal!" You go on to make several claims that are dependent upon roof orientation and that it is not better to use a product that aesthetically blends with existing structures whereas panels are, uh, rather unsightly.
Now if you wish to discuss wasteful.... More
rustyone: Are you familiar with the National Electrical Code (NEC), specifically Article 690? It requires PV equipment to be UL certified. While the NEC is not itself a U.S. law, NEC use is commonly mandated by state or local law.
Unisolar's SHR-17 solar shingles lost their UL certification, and thus, they became illegal. Get it now? UL certification for PV can also be performed by other Nationally Recognized Testing Labs, not just UL - like ETL/Intertek, for example.
PV panels.... More
Apparently, you are unaware that the solar shingles you have pictured, SHR-17, are illegal and have been taken off the market as they lost their UL certification. Moreover, it is not true that LUMA's solar shingles cost less than regular solar panels. Solar shingles, even the ones made by LUMA and Dow, are a wasteful source of PV electricity generation, as they underperform due to overheating and suboptimal tilt. Please do a bit of research before posting misinformation!
ECD Fan, are you saying that I shouldn't look into solar shingles? The idea sounds great and I'd be interested, but obviously price would be the major driver. I don't have a clue what it would cost.
Do you have better alternatives to offer? I'd be interested in any links or information that you'd be willing to share.
Curious: Solar shingles make no economic sense - not only are they more expensive per Watt than regular PV solar, they also underperform regular PV solar on yield (or, energy delivered per rated Watt). You can call the various manufacturers, and they will quote you their prices. Regular PV solar panels can be had for $1.70 per Watt plus a rack for about 60c per Watt or less today, retail, if you know where to look. Solar shingles will cost you at least $5 per Watt or more (that also.... More
