They say 'Home is where the heart is' and it is probably true. A house is the most loved and precious material thing for everyone and rightly so. As people take keen interest in decorating their homes as well as protecting it, there are many facilities around that help them in securing their dream home that provides insurances for septic tanks to patios or Solar Shingles that look similar to traditional roofs but generate electricity from sunlight. The solar shingles are catching the fancy of homeowners as they give their homes a conventional look along with being eco-friendly.
A solar shingle is an integrated photovoltaic product that captures sunlight and converts it into energy. Used mostly to generate electricity, there are some models that can even convert electricity to heat. Solar shingles operate in a similar way as that of the bulky solar panels, the only major differences being the cost and looks. Designed to look like traditional asphalt shingles, the solar shingles serve two purposes – generating electricity and acting as shingles. These features make them less expensive in the longer run as compared to solar panels, which perform only task - generate electricity.
So how does a solar shingle work? These shingles are coated with a special surface so that when sun rays fall on it, an electron is freed from the particle of light. This electron then travels through an electrical circuit to the place where other electrons are stocked up. A harvest of this group of electrons generates an electric current and hence produces electricity. This is how photovoltaic systems are used to power any solar device. The working of PV systems is described in detail at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Photovoltaic_system .
The amount of energy produced by solar shingles depend on various factors like the geographic location of the house, amount of sunlight received, current utility rate of the building, etc. But the best thing about these shingles is that they can work almost anywhere, even in places that receive low sunlight.
There’s only problem with solar shingles - the installation. As they are of the same size of normal roof shingles, the process of installing one shingle after another is quite tiresome and time consuming. If you are planning to install a solar shingled roof, make sure you hire a certified professional. Although it is not advisable for homeowners to install these shingles by themselves, it is said that in near future the advent of better technology will make it easier for anyone to easily install solar shingles in their homes.