Builders take a shine to solar shingles

Las Vegas — RGS Energy, the manufacturer of Powerhouse 3.0 in-roof solar shingles, was recognized by the building industry for offering one of the best products exhibited at the 75th annual International Builders' Show.

Denver-based RGS, the registered trade name for Real Goods Solar Inc., won the Best of IBS award in the category of energy-efficient products for Powerhouse 3.0, which is the third generation of solar shingles to use technology developed by Dow Chemical Co.

RGS licensed the commercial rights for Powerhouse in October 2017 and 16 months later received an IBS award for a product that shows the best combination of design, functionality and innovation, according to judges for the National Association of Home Builders. NAHB put on IBS, which was held Feb. 21-23 in Las Vegas.

Powerhouse 3.0 shingles were recognized for their sleek look compared to mounted tilting panels and the fact they can be installed by roofing contractors along with asphalt shingles as part of remodeling jobs or new construction.

"This award further validates our game-changing Powerhouse solar shingle," RGS Energy CEO Dennis Lacey said in a Feb. 25 news release. "Powerhouse 3.0 was designed to offer our customers a better-looking solar product at an attractive price."

RGS says the cost of Powerhouse solar shingles installed along with asphalt shingles is expected to come in at about $4.15 per watt compared to $8.14 per watt installed for a full roof of solar tiles by Tesla, which is eyeing the luxury home market.

Tesla patents show the use of a couple of plastics in its system, including a polymer paste to connect the conducting busbars of one shingle to the next and polybenzimidazole for its low thermal conductivity, which traps emitted heat to cure the conductive paste.

The average price per watt for solar panels ranges from $2.67-$3.43, according to EnergySage, an online comparison-shopping marketplace for solar solutions backed by the U.S. Department of Energy. Solar panel costs for an average-size installation in the U.S. ranges from $11,214-$14,406 after solar tax credits, EnergySage says.

In November, RGS officials said they expect the average Powerhouse kits, which include shingles and an inverter, monitor, nonelectrical components and freight fees, to bring in revenue of about $19,000 each from roofers.

RGS says its supply chain partners are ready to manufacture and distribute more than 5 megawatts of Powerhouse in the first quarter and then increase shingle production throughout the year. Two U.S. injection molders — Creative Liquid Coatings Inc. in Kendallville, Ind., and Revere Plastic Systems LLC in Clyde, Ohio — are the contract manufacturers producing the shingles, which use polypropylene for the composite base structure from General Polymers Thermoplastic Materials LLC of Clarkston, Mich.

The Powerhouse solar components and wire harness connectors are being supplied by Ningbo, China-based Risen Energy Co. Ltd.

While the first two versions of Powerhouse used copper indium gallium selenide technology, the latest system uses traditional silicon solar cells, which RGS says reduces cost while increasing panel efficiency.

The patented technology was approved in January by California's Clean Energy Commission (CEC) and added to the list of eligible photovoltaic modules that comply with the state's Title 24 mandate, which will require almost all new homes, condos and apartment buildings to be equipped with solar power starting in 2020.

Meanwhile, Malvern, Pa.-based CertainTeed Corp., which has been serving the California market for several years, told attendees of IBS about its Apollo II integrated solar roofing. The show drew a crowd of about 100,000 people, its largest number in 10 years.

The solar shingle frame of the Apollo II system is made with extremely heat-resistant polyphenylene oxide and the solar shingles can be used with asphalt shingles when a new roof is being installed as part of a remodeling job or new construction, Chris Fisher, CertainTeed's solar business development manager, said at IBS.

CertainTeed offers another model for roof retrofits that's more of a traditional rack-and-panel system, he added.

"Each product fits a different customer segment," Fisher said. "Apollo II is primarily for a homeowner that wants to go solar but is concerned about aesthetics, perhaps because the best roof plan is on the front of their house. They don't want those big bulky panels on the front of their house where everyone can see them."

A lot of those homeowners wanting solar are in California. The state has the nation's largest ​ solar market with almost 19 percent of its electricity coming from solar power, according to the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA), a national trade group. The California Building Industry Association says about 15-20 percent of new single-family homes currently built there have solar power.

Next year's statewide mandate, which applies to single- and multifamily houses under three stories, will dramatically drive demand. When the new standards take effect, CEC says the number of California homes built each year with solar panels or shingles will increase from about 15,000 to 100,000.

The Title 24 program is expected to reduce home energy use by 53 percent while saving Californians some $1.7 billion in energy costs over the next 30 years, CEC calculates. The commission determined that the standards will add about $40 a month to the cost of housing but save consumers about $80 a month on heating, cooling and lighting bills.

Other states and cities, like Oregon, New York, Massachusetts, New Jersey and Washington, D.C., have target goals for clean energy. New York, for example, aims to offer 100 percent clean energy by 2040.

Good solar energy markets also exist in Florida, Colorado, Texas, Connecticut, Rhode Island and Hawaii, Fisher said.

"What do they have in common? High electricity rates," he added. "If you can use solar to replace an expensive electricity that you're buying from a utility, then your return on that solar investment is much better."

Nationwide, solar capacity is expected to more than double in the next five years, with more than 14 gigawatts of capacity installed every year by 2023, according to SEIA. The group says the U.S. currently has about 60 gigawatts of solar capacity — enough to power about 11.3 million homes.

RGS and CertainTeed both distinguish their solar shingle systems from competitors in the building integrated photovoltaics (BIPV) market by saying their products' development began as a roofing material.

"Powerhouse wasn't made from a module changed to fit a roof. It's a roofing product built around solar," John Hardwick, RGS's vice president of construction services, said at IBS.

The system uses a proprietary touch-safe connector that Hardwick likened to plug and play. The connectors are hidden by the row of shingles above. The shingles have 2 feet of overlap, which also allows water shedding. In addition, the shingles carry a Class A fire rating — the highest that can be obtained — and are impact-resistant.

"Powerhouse can withstand fire and ice and wind and rain," Hardwick said. "For hail, we do a 2-inch steel ball drop from 51 inches on the same spot twice. You can walk on it, too. We've actually done X-rays right out of the box, installed it, walked on it like normal, pulled it off and did a new X-ray. There were no microcracks. I don't think there's any other BIPV manufacturer that says you can actually walk on it. They might say the glass won't break, but we measured the silicon cell inside and found we had no microcracks."

Powerhouse also is rated for winds up to 200 mph. Hardwick says the system uses wind hooks and fasteners to clip and connect shingles together and hold them in place.

The shingles can be replaced easily, too, he added.

"If, for any reason, I need to change one out, I take off a few screws and pop it out. Nothing major structurally has to come out. It's almost like changing a cassette tape. You have to get into the structural mechanism to replace competing products. They didn't think about replaceability; you have to undo what you did. With replaceability and durability, we blow them out of the water."

As for energy efficiency and household budgets, Hardwick said, "If we can cover 60-80 percent of your roof, there's a high likelihood we can cover 60-80 percent of your bill."

CertainTeed also approached its solar shingle development from a roofing perspective in terms of ratings, design and installation.

"Anyone with any roofing experience and training can install it," Fisher said. "You look at it and say, that makes sense, the way they do the flashing and the way it integrates with the shingles. It's part of the techniques that roofers use on a regular basis."

Launched in 2012, the latest iteration of the solar shingle has a coating technology that blends better with asphalt shingles and reflects more infrared light as opposed to absorbing it and converting it to heat.

"That was driven primarily by California and Title 24," Fisher said. "CertainTeed developed the technology to maintain a darker appearance while reflecting that infrared light. During its first two years on the market, Apollo II had a different cell technology and frame geometry so it looked a little thicker and appeared blue instead of black."

Made with tempered glass and backed with a sheet of black laminate to keep moisture from getting into the electrical parts, Apollo II comes with a 25-year warranty.

"Because we're also a roofing manufacturer, we can offer a warranty that covers the entire roof when both our solar and traditional roofing is used. You've got one place to go if you have a problem," Fisher said.

Apollo II systems also are rated to withstand loads up to 250 pounds per square foot and are certified for both roofing and solar safety and performance. In addition, the solar shingles can be installed in any wind zone, including Florida's high-velocity hurricane zone.

At IBS, Apollo II solar shingles were displayed with traditional shingles that had the coating technology to reflect infrared radiation and keep a home cooler during summer. CertainTeed says the combination works well together and allows the use of a smaller, more cost-effective solar system.