The tile panels are made from a lightweight performance polymer with a solar film attached to them. They hook together in a “plug and play” fashion, so regular tile roof installers can be trained in installing them pretty easily.
According to the manufacturer, “SRS Energy rigorously tests the Solé Power Tile™ under harsh conditions for durability, including long-term UV stability, color fastness, wind resistance, electrical output, safety, and extreme mechanical stresses. The tiles ship, stock, and install just like traditional roofing, but are even lighter than their ceramic counterparts.”
The panels generate 500 Watts per 100 square feet. That’s a 10′ by 10′ area, in case you don’t feel like doing the math yourself just now.
It’s not clear how much they cost per Watt. It can’t be as cheap as regular solar panels, but then again, the tiles are doing double-duty as your actual roof, so the payback period could be faster than if you tried to install regular solar panels over a tile roof.
solar panel tiles installed on a roof
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
I don’t mind having real solar panels on the roof. Are you sure it wouldn’t be cheaper to do it that way?
Not if your roof needs to be fixed, anyway. Or if you’re doing new construction.
Are the tiles easy to steal?
Great question. Because they interlock, I think they’d be damned tough to get off. Probably a lot harder than just unscrewing a regular solar panel rack.