Tag Archives: roof
STUDY: Roofs with White Surfaces 43 Degrees Cooler than Asphalt
A New York City roof covered in a white synthetic membrane was on average 43 degrees F cooler than surrounding black tar and asphalt roofsduring times of peak heat last summer, according to a study by scientists from Columbia University and NASA. On the hottest day of the summer — July 22, 2011, when the [...]
Why Cost-Effective Local Solar will Change Everything
With the cost of solar power plunging and retail electric prices rising, 100 million Americans in the nation’s largest cities will be able to “go solar” for a lower price than grid electricity in the next ten years. Seizing this opportunity requires rethinking electricity policy and planning even while solar produces less than 1% of [...]
Raising the Roof for Solar
The BRC/SolarForm Canada PV project resulted from the use of an innovative solar system designed to maximize solar production on a physically constrained commercial rooftop. It was built under Ontario Canada’s Green Energy Act and Feed-in Tariff program. The project began with a targeted production capacity of 250 kW on a site that was less [...]
SunPower: 2011 Commercial Installer Market Leader
SunPower and SolarCity are embroiled in a legal battle regarding IP theft and computer fraud. SunPower alleges that a group of former employees stole sensitive sales and project information as they defected to rival solar installer (and presumptive IPO aspirant) SolarCity. The legality of that will be decided by the courts. In regards to the [...]
In Focus: Integrated Solar Storage Tile
Solar researchers from Kerala, a southern state of India, have designed the world’s first integrated solar energy storage roof tile. Utilizing special electronics, the researchers have managed to develop solar tiles with integrated battery to store the generated power. Forty researchers of the Amrita Center for Nanosciences, headed by Shanti Nair and Vinod Gopal, have [...]
Rooftop Solar: New Roof Needed?
Before you consider investing in a roof mounted solar PV or solar water heating system, there are several things to consider. The first, of course, concerns the added weight of the solar system. Is the roof structurally sound to accept it? As a rule of thumb a solar power generating system (PV) made up of [...]
Solar Shingles: Making Solar Less Ugly
Different homeowners have given different reasons for not wanting to invest in solar installations. Some worry about the up-front cost or the value of their home, though that argument is quickly fading away. Others question whether the technology is effective, though again those ranks are steadily disappearing. But one still common complaint from some people [...]
Selling Your Solar House
Do not think for even a minute that the people who buy your house with solar panels on the roof won’t need every bit as much electricity as you are using … and it’s possible they’ll need a whole lot more! Think about how we are all using more and more power with each passing [...]
Residential Solar: Ready to Take Off?
It seems like the ultimate in green technology for an emissions-savvy citizen of the 21st century: solar panels on your roof, providing carbon dioxide-free electricity whenever the sun is shining. But as huge utility-scale solar and wind projects continue to make news and the economy continues to struggle, the state of the residential solar sector [...]