Investment propertyLetting The Sun Shine In With Photovoltaics
Can we somehow envision a world of electric cars, quietly streaming by,
leaving virtually no trace of their existence in the air we breathe? How about
roof tiles that garner the sun"s rays, providing all of the electricity we
need for our homes and families and "zero-ing" out our monthly energy bills?
Sound Orwellian, or realistic? The future, as they say, is here now for home
and commercial builders alike with the introduction of PV (photovoltaic) roof
tiles, proving that we can indeed "go into the light" for the latest in
environmentally resource-saving salvation.
One manufacturer of PV tiles is Atlantis Energy,
Their product, called Sunslates, is becoming popular on existing homes (in a
retrofit mode) in large metropolitan areas from California to New York. Now
new home builders are embracing these environmentally "green" tiles for their
new home communities, mostly as an option for home buyers, and the near
future may find builders offering them as a standard feature as their
popularity increases.
Sunslates marry silicon chips to slate-like roof tile, creating electricity
from sunlight. The surplus power feeds into the utility grid and becomes
available to the homeowner whenever needed. Sunslates power can also be
backed up with batteries in case of emergencies. The application of these tiles is quite simple;
a change-out of a certain percentage of planned roof tile to these solar electric tiles will garner
more than enough solar power to "credit" the home"s electricity meter during
the day (literally spinning the electric meter backwards), and debiting the
meter during darker hours. This is called "net metering". Utility companies
across the country have begun to form partnerships with manufacturers of
environmentally correct products such as these, footing the cost for up to
50% of the product for builders. Although the initial price of a photovoltaic
roof to the consumer is higher, the overall cost is perceived to be less
overall, since homeowners keep their monthly electricity bill invested in
their home. The translation of this to the consumer is a winning combination
of not only energy savings, but the availability of higher mortgage loan
amount to the buyer in the form of Federal EPA Energy Star mortgage point
discounts as well as interest rate tax write-offs, according to Atlantis
Energy.
"Ideally, we"d like to look ten or twenty years down the road with the vision
of every new home built crowned with PV tiles," says Tor Allen, president of
the Rahus Institute, a San Francisco Bay Area non-profit organization dedicated to resource
efficiency, with a focus on "renewable" sources of energy. Allen"s
organization also supports the City of Palo Alto Utilities in its renewable
energy projects, including workshop training for local architects, guiding
them in the installation planning of this cutting-edge environmental product.
Marketing Engineer Lindsay Joye of The City of Palo Alto Utilities, heads up the PV
program in the area, introducing the concept and providing funding for the
incentives for this technology to the Palo Alto community. She promotes
products such as these to builders, contractors, city inspectors and building
permit grantors in the Bay Area. "We are pleased to play a role in the
promotion of this technology, because we strongly believe that photovoltaics
are the future of clean, renewable energy sources in both residential and
commercial construction, says Joye. "The use of PV products ensures our
energy future by tapping into an infinite, sustainable power supply."
Although Sunslate roofs have already been successfully implemented into new
home neighborhoods in the Sacramento Valley by homebuilders Prodigy Homes and
Regis Construction, Herman Gyr and Lisa Friedman are among the first in the
Bay Area to experience the new roof tiles on their own home in Palo Alto.
"The roof is not only in line with our values to use the cleanest and most
environmentally friendly energy sources available, it is also beautiful to
behold," says Friedman. "Neighbors who pass by comment on the intensely
shiny, dark blue color of the tiles, reflecting both sun and sky." Gyr and
Friedman run a management consulting firm from their home office, helping
companies plan future strategies for growth, and are the authors of the book,
The Dynamic Enterprise. "Our reasoning is that
if the technology is already in place for environmentally pleasing and clean
products like this, we have a responsibility to make the world a better place
by using them," according to Friedman. Friedman and Gyr and their growing
family are pleased to be a model and real life example of what is possible in
environmental technologies for homes. "Let"s face it," says Friedman. "If
the grass on our front lawns is smart enough to take advantage of a free
source of energy and light, then we, as humans are at least as intelligent as
grass, " she laughs.
The installation of a photovoltaic roof may have another hidden benefit --
the amount of utility power it doesn"t use, freeing up room on the utility
grid when the rest of the neighborhood may need it most for peak time usage
to generate power. This permits homeowners who have it to feel that they
have not only invested in themselves and the environment, but in their
neighbors" lives as well.
The PV tiles offer a 50
year roofing waranty, a class "A" fire rating, individually replaceable
Steve Coonen, Vice President of Atlantis Energy, Inc., reports, "The beauty
of this system is that homeowners can "make" all their own electric power.
This is a completely renewable source of electricity, and can garner 90-100%
of the electricity needed to sustain the average home. Builders love it
because it can be installed by their own subcontractors, doesn"t lessen the
curb appeal of the home, and meets local and national building codes (NEC,
UL, ICBO)." The PV tiles offer a 50
year roofing waranty, a class "A" fire rating, individually replaceable, and the system has no moving parts. How do Sunslates differ from the solar panels with which many of us are now familiar?
Although the concept is basically the same, builders who have become trained
in their installation also cite an important difference: no holes need to be
drilled into the roof itself, eliminating the prospect of violating the
roof"s integrity. The fact that the product is installed in individual tiles
like others on the same roof, instead of large panels, gives it a more
homogenous appearance as well.
If Henry David Thoreau"s adage "The true cost of a thing is how much of life
it consumes," rings true, the future holds no limits for products such as
these, where the forces of nature can be successfully used in their raw form
to provide for our never-exhausting demand for electricity.
Also See:
Solar Power: Letting The Sun Shine In
A Window to the World of Energy Efficient Windows