Dow Powerhouse is some kind of long running joke. I was in contact with them about 4 years ago when we were early in construction of our home. If I recall foundation was just poured. They told me they would have something end of 2009. We were a little delayed during our project but when I followed up with them later that year they had no updates. Another year later after we were pretty much done with the house I get an email saying they'll have some news early 2011. Flash forward to now and there still isn't any data on their product.
That's a long time to not have something. I'm calling it vaporware... I mean potentially it could exist but all of the concerns that were brought up are valid.
Sorry to go off topic but these shingles after reviewing the site.. The contacts look a bit sketchy. No way to guarantee the friction/pressure fit will last through thermal expansion and contraction.
-
The number of connections that would be next to impossible to access scare me as much as anything.Leave a comment:
-
The OP's website painted a story of how his father objected to having to put a brand new roof in (their roof was too old and should be replaced before solar) only to have the solar people drill holes in his brand new roof. I kinda chuckled and asked myself "What's the big deal? People drill holes all over brand new roofs for vent pipes anyway. Won't you have to drill holes for vent pipes with the solar tiles, too?" LOL
In the OP's first post, he said "the idea is to eliminate huge and not very beautiful solar panels of roofs of residential houses". I think this vision is flawed. I bet you not too many people think the current solar panels are ugly. People (myself included) may prefer to have the same roof style as the rest of the subdivision, and just put solar panels on top as needed. After all, the market to install new solar on top of existing roofs is vastly bigger than the market to install customized solar tiles on brand new homes.
The focus of the vision should not be about the aesthetic just because the OP thinks the current solar panels are big and ugly (too subjective to be agreed by everyone). The focus should be about the economics of the savings when combining tiling and solar together into 1 piece. Show people the money (savings) and they'll follow.Leave a comment:
-
Yep, I'm sure I didn't cover all questions, only listed out a few that came to mind like I said.
For sure the integrity of the roof to keep out rain and moisture is an obvious concern. But it's such a fundamental thing that if it can't even keep out rain and moisture, then it's pointless to ask any other questions. The assumption is that it has to be certified and passed as a roofing material before it can even be put on the market.Leave a comment:
-
You missed the question about the integrity of the roof to keep out rain and moisture.
All in all the idea of integrated pv in a tile is pretty cool but the logistics on how the system works and can be maintained are the big questions.
Maybe if these panels were used on a trellis or carport that can be easily reached from the ground instead of a house roof they might have a market.Leave a comment:
-
I checked out your website and I'd have to say that I'm unimpressed.
It looks like you're only at the prototype stage and are still trying raise money to get it certified as a real building material and start a production line on it. But your website is woefully lacking of information to help address many obvious concerns that people have. Don't ask people for inputs and money until you've provided enough information yet. There are so many obvious questions that you should have thought out ahead of time and answer in an FAQ on your website first.
Some obvious ones were mentioned in the posts above, I'll add a few more:
1. The tiles look really slippery. How are people going to be able to walk around on the roof surface to do service?
2. The tiles seem to be interlocked all together. How easy is it to remove a single tile for repair/replacement?
3. If a tile's solar cell fails, how is diagnostic done to identify the trouble tiles?
4. There's no information at all about the whole system, how they're connected and work as a system?
5. What does a single tile failure do to the performance of the whole system?
6. What are the projected costs?
7. What is the business model?
8 On and on, there are so many obvious questions that you should have anticipated and answer before asking for money.
So far, all it looks like is a proof of concept.Leave a comment:
-
It gets real slippery when connections are talked about - this looks like a nightmare to me.
Lose one unit in the middle of the roof and what happens.Leave a comment:
-
Looking for feedback from homeowners of solar panels on roofs
Hi Everyone!
My father and I created an amazing roof tile which has solar cells integrated - styleTILE. The idea behind it was to eliminate huge and not very beautiful solar panels on the roofs of residential houses. After 5 years we are finally on the point, where we have our first roof up and running (cca. 30kWp) and it looks... great
Yesterday we started an Indiegogo campaign and it is the first time that we putted styleTILE out in the world (literally - even the locals don't know that the roof is producing electricity) . I would love to have some feedback from the people who decided to put the solar panels on the roof.
All feedback about the product or campaign will be great so please - share your thoughts on styleTILE with me
There are a few more pictures on my gallery if anyone would like to see them -
Looking forward to see your responses about it
Gregor Pollak Mod note - if you wish to advertise contact user name Jason
Leave a comment: