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Solar Slates – further solar energy developments from MySolarPower

Solar slates can be supplied in numerous sizes and are compatible with conventional slates, both manufactured and natural.

One company we are aware of has indeed been granted approval to locate these solar slates on a grade one listed building – fair praise indeed as to the way the solar cells have been designed today to resemble the originals, be so unobtrusive and aesthetically pleasing.

In 2007 a comment from the on-line building magazine (building.co.uk) stated; “Solar panels may be admirable, but they’re definitely ugly. Now two suppliers have launched products that look like simple roof slates”.

Even Tony Blair had a lengthy procedure in order to get permission to have standard solar panels located onto his listed Georgian house.

So the question arose as to whether or not there were unobtrusive solar panel alternatives for buildings with pitched roofs?

We now know (see other relevant pages) that excellent alternatives have been found. Such as solar shingles, solar tiles and also solar slates, and even these have moved on recently.

Originally two companies recognised that there are a lot of properties with slate roof structures and that a solar cell that would fit seamlessly with these would satisfy a lot of people’s requirements. Both of these companies then made products which could be mixed with concrete slates, which were easy to fit and were efficient when it came to generating electricity. The leading edge looked exactly like slate (which is the visible part as seen from street level) and the main glass surface complemented all of the slates alongside.

Normally the solar slates are made from a toughened glass and can in many instances, be installed via metal hooks onto the conventional timer battening, and are often installed as a patch surrounded by normal slates of a similar size, or even next to concrete tiles. Where this is the case they are simply stepped into the existing slates, but where the entire roof is to be covered then there are, depended upon manufacturer, several sizes available, from Eaves solar slates to solar ridge slates etc.

With several varieties of the solar slates, the roof will have insulation board across the rafters, breather membranes and vertical counter-battens, and often at this point a silicone absorber mat will be fitted. A series of manifolds are fitted which are connected to the building pipe work ready for the glass solar slates.

Since the start of solar slates newer products continue to develop and the solar slate mentioned at the start of this article which has been approved to be located to a listed building also claims that’s it poly crystalline photovoltaic solar cell can deliver up to 8W of power / tile and at peak loads 1kW for every 7 meters squared at peak loads.

With a claim of (a) excellent efficiency, (b) very consistent energy production, (c) almost no maintenance, and (d) maximum carbon saving; it would seem that it is possible to have efficiency with good looks as well!

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