Solar Shingles for Tiny Houses or Prefab Homes? Yes, these are being produced! They’re the same ones being used on any residential roof, but there are some variations, and these ones are a bit different from probably any you’ve seen before. Look at the shape of them.
Whereas most solar panel shingles are flat, these ones look like s-curved shingles common as an aesthetically-styled shingle option. Yes, it’s pretty much just for looks. Because the look of a person’s roof is important to them. Most solar panels are the flat, square kind, and this is efficient — they take light in the most simple way, and they’re easy to maintain. And these curved ones would arguably be less efficient in letting in light, and require more upkeep, but people have been saying these are nice looking roof tiles, so that might count for something, depending on what kind of tiny house or prefab house (I’m assuming most of the people reading stuff on our site are interested in those two options, at least somewhat) you’re considering.
They’re called solar shingles, and they’re a crystalline solar panel roofing system from Sweden. Yes, they’re glass: high transparency glass. For short, these ones are referred to as “SolTech”.
There are other benefits to them as well: they protect against theft of solar panels, as well as damage.
They work in coordination with the building’s heating system, usually by means of a storage tank for water — yes, warming water for the whole house year round.
The company installs special absorbers designed just for SolTech into the glass roof tiles and the water circulates through those. The water works are covered by polycarbonate enclosures.
And as for power output, underneigth the glass roof tiles, the output is 1kWp.
For design purposes, these special solar roof tiles can be installed with regular concrete or other tiles to create attractive effects, like in the photo. For more about the Swedish SolTech Energy company, or to browse more prefab or tiny homes, find them in the Building Homes and Living directory.
