Solar Panel Roof Tiles
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Solar panel roof
tiles and solar-powered garden features are two excellent
solutions if you love the idea of powering your home with solar
energy, but are worried about what your neighbors will think. If
this sounds like you, you are probably remembering solar panels
from the seventies that sometimes looked like another house
perched on the home it provided power for. |
And because of solar
power’s reliability, I am sure that there are still a few of those
panels out there, quietly providing clean energy. But today, there are
a lot of solar panels out there on houses and around them that you
probably haven’t noticed and there are some that you wouldn’t notice
unless someone pointed them out.
Solar panel roof
tiles are made with built-in photovoltaic cells and are designed to
blend in with most types of roof tiles whether they are concrete,
slate, or shingle. Each solar tile has a connector and the tiles are
wired together during installation. These solar tiles can be installed
during roofing or re-roofing your house. Some of the companies
currently producing solar panel roof tiles are General Electric,
SunPower, and Premier Power.
Now if you are a
“roof-purist” you won’t like the look of the solar roof tiles unless you
roof your whole house in them or completely go without. You can clearly tell
the difference between the photovoltaic tiles and the tiles or shingles that
they are incorporated with. But they don’t stick up like regular solar
panels and therefore preserve the appearance of the lines of your roof. If
your house looks good in a dark-colored roof, the solar tiles will blend in
even further.
Garden features are another
handy way to install solar power and still look good. I have solar path
lighting, accent lighting, and a solar-powered water feature. From personal
experience, I can say that the best part of solar garden accents is that
there is no wiring to do. At all! You don’t have to wire the lights together
and more importantly, get power from the house. This means that you can
light up a cozy back corner easily or rearrange your accent lighting every
week. You also don’t have to worry about cutting any wires when you plant
your spring flowers.
See, you can have solar
power and keep your property’s beauty or even add to its appeal!
