When will all new homes be powered by solar shingles?
By Sam R on Oct 11, 2016
Solar shingles via electrek.co
Ontarians have been up in arms about the price of power for some time now, as we’ve weathered repeated rate hikes. Statistics Canada says the price of electricity has outstripped overall inflation by about eight times. The rest of the country has seen rates go up at roughly 2% a year, which is close to inflation. “In the past seven years, nothing has risen faster than electricity prices,” wrote Bank of Montreal chief economist Doug Porter when he published a chart comparing the two this past summer. Only water, home insurance, and cigarettes have outstripped the rise of electricity prices since 2002.Although they’re still young (ergo, expensive) technologies for the residential housing market, I’m wondering when Ontarians, especially in agricultural areas hit hardest by the hikes, are going to demand homes that help get them off the grid. Three technologies are, I think, on the cusp of making that possible: one of earth, one of wind, and one of fire.Living roofs/green roofs are mandated in Toronto by a city bylaw that applies to new commercial, institutional and some residential developments over a certain size. Are there residential possibilities to green roofs? Sure, but they remain cost-prohibitive and labour-intensive. While solar is a passive technology that, once installed, leaves homeowners free to go about their lives, green roofs take considerably more maintenance. Homeowners must be willing to pay for someone else to take care of it, or spend even more of their scarce time looking after their property. It takes engineering know-how to plan for, and money to build, and a roof that can sustain the extra weight. Green roofs reduce energy use through added insulation, reduce stormwater runoff and extend roof life; if designed to be accessible, they also offer the possibility of urban agriculture or just a pretty place to lounge. They make far less sense for single-family homes than they do for condominiums, but in order for developers to start seriously considering them, residents have to demonstrate a willingness to pay a little extra, both at purchase and in maintenance fees.
There have been a lot of NIMBY objections to the widespread use of “wind farms” — although I actually think they’re interesting kinetic art, many object to the idea of wind turbines taking over their views, not to mention potentially harming unlucky birds. Perhaps most notably, a decade ago US Senator Edward Kennedy opposed the Cape Wind project, in spite of his being a staunch environmentalist. The project would have put windmills in Nantucket Sound to generate power for residents of Nantucket, Martha’s Vineyard and Cape Cod, but the 130 proposed windmills would clutter up the ocean views he and his elite neighbours enjoyed. The project was greenlit anyway.As with just about every technology, wind turbines are getting smaller and cheaper as time goes on. Grid-tied micro-turbines in residential scale have been available for a while, but they still haven’t substantially conquered some of wind’s biggest challenges as a sustainable power source: wind is unreliable, and capturing its value requires tall towers that don’t work as efficiently in an urban setting. Wind turbines are more expensive to install than solar panels, and because of their many moving parts, are more expensive and onerous to maintain.Led by visionaries like Tesla’s Elon Musk, solar power for the home is easily the most accessible. Photovoltaic shingles are already on the market. Designed to look like conventional asphalt shingles, they are nearing equality price-wise with bolt-on solar panels, and unlike traditional panels, they don’t substantially alter the look of the home. They also function as weatherproof, protective shingles, just like asphalt.
One of the biggest players in the US market, Dow’s Powerhouse, reports that a typical residential cluster of 350 shingles could cut a homeowner’s electricity bill by 40% to 60%, according to Scientific American. In Ontario especially, that’s no small thing. CertainTeed, an established brand in siding, insulation, decking, drywall etc., as well as a wide variety of traditional roofing shingles, makes solar shingles that are less than an inch thick and can even be laid over existing shingles; the company says they’ll cut bills by 40% to 70%. Eco-minded homeowners should certainly consider them when it comes time to redo their roofs, but I don’t know of any new home builder yet offering them as an upgrade on new builds.Tesla CEO Musk has announced a Tesla/SolarCity solar roof launch at the end of the month, which is predicted to be similar to a Forward Labs’ Kickstarter project, Solar Roofing. It combines solar technology with an optical layer that allows for a variety of colours, and it’s comparable in weight to a shingled roof, which means no new engineering costs. In spite of no company yet being successful bringing solar shingles to a widespread market, it’s a hot sector (pardon the pun); solar panel manufacturer Sunpower is embroiled in a legal battle with SolarCity complete with allegations of espionage and pilfering of industry secrets. Tesla is already marketing the Powerwall, a home battery that uses solar panels by day to generate power to be used later in the evening.I don’t think it’ll be long before we see solar shingles offered in community brochures as upgrades, right alongside granite counters and stainless steel appliances. And wouldn’t that be a wonderful thing?
