The Dow Company has recently expanded its reach with solar shingles. After piloting the product in Colorado, California and Texas, they will soon be available across the USA.
Solar shingles are an interesting dual solution product: in addition to covering and protecting your roof as regular shingles, they also replace traditional photovoltaic panels.
The roofing system includes a custom-designed array for your home based on its size, its style, your budget, and your energy-saving goals. Dow supplies a complete system, so they include an inverter that converts the Direct Current (DC) power into Alternating Current (AC).
(For more info about AC & DC, see our article: What’s the difference between AC and DC?)
Dow can also supply a monitoring system that allows management of real-time electricity usage. And because Dow Powerhouse Solar Shingles install like ordinary asphalt shingles, a complete solar energy system can be quickly connected.
Solar Shingles are popular partly because of their aesthetics – some prefer the thin, low-profile design to traditional, bulkier, bolt-on solar panels.
Dow Powerhouse solar shingles are fully tested and can stand up to the elements. The shingles have passed seven different certifications for performance and safety, and like other PV solutions can withstand winds up to 110 mph and hailstones as large as 1” in diameter. The solar shingles come with a 20-year warranty from Dow and made in the USA.
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p>More information can be found at the Dow Powerhouse site.