Related Posts
8 Things to Consider when Installing Solar PanelsRelying on the sun for energy is a bit more dependable than other energy sources. The sun will...
Globama: Help Convince the White House to Go Solar!Even though they can’t seem to get a climate bill finished for the life of them, the US...
HMO Kaiser Permanente is Going Solar
US residents have been rather upset about the new health reform lately and understandably so. However, there is...
Solar Panels too Expensive? Try Solar Hot Water Heaters Instead.
Solar panels have officially become mainstream: You’ll see them on homes, offices, schools, and so forth. It certainly...
HomeSun: Get free solar panels on your UK roof thanks to the Free Solar and SolarShare programs
I can’t wait to have solar panels installed on my roof. When I think of electricity, the continuous...
Tip of the Day
Go grocery shopping locally to help reduce your carbon footprint
Dow Chemical to integrate the solar shingle into mainstream home construction products
Used under license from Shutterstock.com
Residential roof shingles with solar panel-like design have recently been unveiled by Dow Chemical. A solar shingle array is said to be 10 to 15 percent cheaper than standard rack-mounted solar panel system and about 40 percent less expensive than building-integrated photovoltaic products.
Although thin-film solar cells have relatively low efficiency versus conventional solar panels, it can still reduce between 40 to 80 percent of a home’s electricity consumption when used.
It can be handled like conventional shingles, which means it can be palletized, walked on or dropped from a roof. Costly installation can be offset because these powerhouse thin-film shingles can be installed by any roofer.
Scheduled for test marketing by mid 2010 to target new-home constructions, these solar shingles from Dow’s Solar Solutions Unit is another breakthrough for environment-friendly products in support of sustainable development. Read the full article here
By Maria Belgado
Tags: dow chemical, solar panel cell, solar power
Other Greenfudge.org posts
European supergrid could power UK with foreign green energy
Soon Wales will receive wind energy generated off the coast of Ireland via high voltage cables spanning the bottom of the Irish Sea. There is already a link between the UK and the Netherlands via the BritNed cable and by 2019 a 900km interconnector between Norway and the UK should be completed, supplying energy from a clever pump storage system powered by wind turbines. Another connector between the UK and France is already in existence, with two more proposed, although one...
Canadian seal hunt highlights international controversy
The annual seal hunt is currently winding down in northern Newfoundland, Canada. Clubbing and hooking baby seals while they squeal helplessly on the ice is a disturbing image – even for some hunters. It's a plainly brutal practice that draws lots of sympathy, especially in societies that categorize animals into sometimes-arbitrary roles. Cats and dogs are 'companion animals' and cannot be killed for food, while pigs and cows are slaughtered routinely, often in shockingly industrialized conditions. From an article in the...
Conservation Groups Petition to Protect Bumblebee Under Endangered Species Act
There is a new contender for the endangered species list from the US northwest: Franklin’s Bumblebee. Robin Thorp, an entomologist at the University of California at Davis, along with the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation, formally petitioned the US Fish and Wildlife Service to protect the insect under the Endangered Species Act. Xerces Society executive director, Scott Hoffman Black, explained that the petition is part of an ongoing effort to reverse the decline of bees around the world due to habitat loss,...
Hybrid moments: Interspecies relationships among captive and wild animals
I was recently at the national park in Białowieża, Poland where I saw a zubron, a hybrid between European Bison and domestic cattle. Like their North American counterparts, the ‘beefalo’, zubrons were first bred for hardiness and size. The hulking beasts proved to be more disease resistant, easier to care for, and due to their enormous size, provided more meat than either cattle or bison. But for whatever reason, they never really caught on. Man-made animal hybrids have a way of not...
Beyond The Hive: Creating 5-Star Accommodations for London’s Insects
I have traveled a lot throughout my life. I’ve been camping, crashed on friends’ couches, and have stayed at an ungodly amount of hotels. Very rarely have the accommodations ever reached 5-star status (as they are typically out of my price range). It almost makes me wish I was a London insect—they’re getting a choice of 5-star accommodations for free. Yes, it certainly sounds strange and bizarre, but check this out. To continue the celebration of 2010 as the International Year...
‘Climate Thoughts’ from COP15 website
A section on the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen (COP15) homepage entitled ‘Climate Thoughts’ allows you to vote on ideas relating to climate change that you ‘support’. You can also write and link your own climate thoughts and see who agrees with you. Popular climate thoughts on the COP15 site include Sir Paul McCartney’s ‘Meatless Mondays’, urgent action on melting Arctic ice and – most popular of all – a warning against financial bailouts that do not incorporate...
Canadian ‘climate spoof’ websites shut down
In an event that touches on issues surrounding freedom of speech, the boundaries between parody and the deliberate misleading of the public – as well as legitimate environmental activism, the Canadian government succeeded in shutting down two websites that lampooned the country's climate policy. The news website commondreams.org reports: The websites that Canada shut down were part of an elaborate "identity correction" carried out by anonymous Canadian activists, the Climate Debt Agents of Action Aid, and The Yes Men. They used...
Study on global emission targets says temps will rise by 4C
An analysis based on national emissions targets suggests that global temperatures will rise by 4C (7.2F) by 2100. Six months after over 100 governments pledged to limit their countries’ emissions in order to keep temperatures from rising more than 1.5-2C (2.7-3.6F) above pre-industrial levels a major international study of over 60 nations, called the Climate Scoreboard, has calculated that temperatures are set to double if current targets are held to. Another study by Climate Analytics, at the Potsdam Institute in Germany, suggests...
Polar Bear Cannibalism: Normal Occurrence or Result of Climate Change?
The polar bear has been dubbed the mascot for Climate Change. It is well known for its appearance in books and films, such as the ice bears in Philip Pullman’s “His Dark Materials” fantasy trilogy (The Golden Compass, for example) and the great film documentary, “earth”. It has been used for advertising campaigns by Coca-Cola and Nelvana, appears throughout Native American legend and folklore, and has even been featured as a license plate. This bear is the most carnivorous of its...
New UK Govt’s environmental policies: Clegg and Cameron still split on nukes
The Tory/Lib Dem coalition government has already announced agreements concerning its environmental policies. These include building a smart grid and initiating a high-speed rail network, scrapping plans to build a third runway at Heathrow Airport, and moving ahead with feed-in tariff systems. The Conservatives and Liberal Democrats still disagree on the nuclear power issue, with the Conservatives in favor of the construction of new plants and the Lib Dems remaining against. From an article in the Guardian: Both parties are committed to pursuing...
View all articles
You can also log in to post a comment.