Time Magazine recently unveiled its Top 50 Inventions of 2009. While many of those inventions are really useful, or very cool, or are destined to save the world, my favorite is one that many of you might overlook.
That is the Dow Powerhouse Solar Shingle, which is basically a solar panel that has been turned into a regular roofing shingle.
Solar panel technology has been around for years, but it's still very rare to see (especially in the Midwest). That's because solar panel installation is prohibitively expensive (frequently over $30,000), requires special installation and takes decades to pay off the original investment.
Plus, normal solar panels are ugly, and (if the owner wants to maintain the curb value of their house) are limited in where they can be installed.
The new solar shingles could solve many of these problems. They'll cost up to 15% less than traditional solar panels and can be installed much more easily. They're small, so homeowners can start with just a few solar shingles and install new ones gradually (instead of taking the costly plunge all at once.) Plus, as you can see from the photo above, they blend right into the roof of the house.
The reason I love this idea so much though is because it means that the solar panel is finally becoming approachable - and that means this innovation is finally about to take off and become really useful.
A new invention can be very cool, such as the new technique for cloning puppies or the Human-Powered vending machine (two other inventions on the list), but until that invention becomes a reality for real people in their everyday life - it's still just a cool science project.
I am recommending this to my roomate who is planning to buy a house in Phoenix in 2 years and who plans to install solar panels. But I see nothing in the Time article that suggests when exactly this will be made available to the public, only that Dow expects a high return by 2020.
And will roof installers become integrated into this part of the solar industry, seeing that an owner need not replace all shingles to install the solar shingles? There are some aspects of who does what section in the building specification book which seem to defy logic. I can just see roofers now needing an electrical endorsement, when many roofers aren't electrically inclined at all.
Posted by: Lynnea Urania Stuart | April 01, 2010 at 06:42 PM
Reinventing Europe means moving from a knowledge society to an innovation society. For citizens, this means releasing the potential of a broad range of ideas to solve real problems, to find real solutions. Innovation often happens when people from different backgrounds and countries put their ideas together to create new solutions. This new EU clip shows how you could reinvent Europe through innovation. Watch it!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l1T-9uhIMwI
Cheers,
Annie
Posted by: Annie | April 15, 2010 at 10:17 AM