Solar Panel Roofing

The rise in global warming has led manufacturers looking into ways of conserving the environment, making it friendlier and productive in the large scope. Solar energy is the most readily available and economical way to harvest that energy and converting it to usable energy.

The use of this energy has been applied severally from car manufactures to home usage mostly due to the economic benefits (and environmental of course!).

Rooftop Solar Panels: Benefits, Costs, and Smart Policies

Solar is, to a great extent, an equal opportunity renewable energy, with sufficient sunshine across the nation to make solar an attractive option in every state. A well-sited five-kilowatt solar (photovoltaic, or PV) system can generate the equivalent of two-thirds to three-quarters of a typical household’s electricity use.

Individuals and businesses have been attracted not just to the environmental benefits of solar power, but also to the ability to generate their own power and to the fixed and competitive price of electricity that these systems provide. Read more…

When it comes to roofing we find ourselves with the challenge of whether to redo the entire roof or install panels and it starts to get complicated finding the right company who will look into costing and any after sale service.

Most companies (private) offer to install panels on an already built roof as it seems much “easier” than redoing an entire roof unless you can afford it! But what if you plan way early in the development stages of your home, where do you start? Well, companies like Strauss Energy have looked into that strategy. As Douglas Injugu puts it:

How this local Kenyan company is tapping solar power directly from roof tiles

One company in Kenya has combined renewable energy and housing needs to come up with a unique tile product.

Strauss Energy, started in 2008, has developed roof tiles that have inbuilt solar panels to help provide solar power for cooking, lighting and housing needs. These tiles dispense with the need and expense of installing separate solar power panels on completion of roofing.

Upon registration of your home or building, the Strauss team will visit the site and asses your energy requirements. This is measured against parameters such as the size of your roof and the climate conditions of your locality. This information is used to determine the size and capacity of the right installation for your domestic or commercial situation. Read more..

This strategy has great impact to home owners as they know from inception of the house plan to a final cut of the house that they may not primarily relay on heavy cost of putting up electricity from the grid to their new home cause trust me there is nothing as frustrating as entering your new home and there is no power.

We find a lot of venture capitalist and other investors coming in to maximize this space of solar panel/roofing installation because it serves the mass and as technology improves, so does the manufacturing.

Charity Wanjiku who is COO Named Among the Top 40 under 40 Women shares her view:

In conclusion, solar energy can and is one of the ways to conserve our environment and this development and technology is readily available not only to rural areas but urban as well. In fact, solar roofing has attracted quite a following in the urban set up where commercial apartments are adapting solar panels to light up basic energy usage such as heating water and energy to pump water etc.

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